Not always possible but a good play can be to go contrarian and run the scheme that is opposite the current league trend. The Pat's benefited in the early 2000's when everyone was trying to run a cover 2/Tampa 2 scheme. Good surplus of cheap 3-4 pieces on the market and they were able to build a deep & talented defense that was the cornerstone of that run of championships. When the trend flipped and they stuck with the scheme the defense got thin on talent and became their playoff Achilles heel for few years.
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