The beautiful game of football has come a long way over the years. The rules have changed, the game has evolved, the schemes have grown more complex, and technology has opened doors once unimaginable.
However, one thing remains the same, and will likely remain unchanged until the end of time: whoever wins the battle in the trenches will dictate the conditions of the game and, more often than not, will win.
The New England Patriots are well aware of that premise, and they've taken it to heart in training camp. According to Will Campbell, the offensive and defensive lines are working even closer to keep everyone on their toes and ready for the season.
The New England Patriots want to dominate at the line of scrimmage
“As much as we wanna kick their ass in practice and they wanna kick our ass, we want them to get as many sacks as possible and they want us to give up as few as possible," Campbell said (h/t Los Talks Pats).
"...It’s all the D-Linemen talking to the O-Linemen and vice versa. If we see something that they might be showing that we see that we can take advantage of, we communicate that, and they do the same."
According to Team Rankings data, the Patriots gave up a whopping 3.3 sacks per game last season, tied for the fifth-worst in the league. For context, the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks gave up just 1.7 sacks per contest.
Conversely, they were in the middle of the pack on the other side of the field. Their 2.3 sacks per game ranked 18th, 10 spots below the team that beat them, which relied on physicality and an elite pass rush (2.8).
The Patriots made some big moves on both sides of the line of scrimmage to get stronger in the trenches, adding guys like Alijah Vera-Tucker, Caleb Lomu, Gabe Jacas, and Dre'Mont Jones, but that's just the start of the story.
It's up to the players to take ownership and show some pride. They know iron sharpens iron, and there's no better moment to clean up their act and figure out their weaknesses than training camp, when it doesn't count.
This is where seasons are won and lost. This is where teams develop winning habits and set the standard for what is to come. They don't need anyone to tell them what to do; it's a matter of professionalism and determination.
Campbell will be in the spotlight from the jump. He showed flashes as a rookie, but the lows were too low. He gave up 26 pressures, including five sacks and five quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and the Seahawks just kept picking on him left and right in the Super Bowl.
Of course, giving up on him after one year doesn't make any sense, and it's not like the growing pains were much of a surprise; the red flags were always there when he entered the league. But if the Patriots stay committed to their former top-five pick, he'll also have to show some teeth.
As for the defense, not having Jacas for the entire spring is obviously far from ideal, but this team should be better at penetrating and collapsing the pocket with Jones' arrival. Still, this all starts way before Week 1.
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