How the Patriots defense found a late-season identity by embracing the blitz

How the Patriots defense found a late-season identity by embracing the blitz

Do you remember the first few minutes of the Patriots’ season? How the worst team in football dropped a bomb on their defense on the opening drive of the season opener? That’s right. Raiders quarterback Geno Smith lobbed a 26-yard touchdown into the waiting arms of Tre Tucker over a poorly timed, badly executed blitz. It was third-and-11, and the Patriots’ two highest-paid defenders, Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, had dropped into covera…