Super Bowl Playbook: Blitz Tendencies Throughout the week, Mike Tanier will be looking at the New York Giants and the New England Patriots by the numbers. The New England Patriots use a base 3-4 defense, the Giants a base 4-3. But those labels have become broad, misleading and almost meaningless in modern football. Most teams use dozens of variations on three-, four-, five- or six-man defensive fronts, or more. With his hand in the dirt, a 255-pound "linebacker" like the Patriots" Rob Ninkovich might as well be a defensive end. When the Giants" Justin Tuck lines up behind the nose tackle, he is technically a linebacker, for all the good it does the guys attempting to block him. So it should not be a huge surprise that when it comes time to rush the quarterback, the Patriots are more likely than the Giants to rush with four defenders, despite their "three linemen" philosophy. The Patriots rushed four defenders on 67 percent of pass plays. The Giants did so on 63 percent of pass plays. Here is a breakdown of each team's pass rush tendencies. Goal-to-go plays are not included because defenses sometimes send nine or more defenders crashing into the backfield near the end zone. Pass Rush Percentages # of Defenders Giants Patriots 8 percent 13 percent 6 or more Patriots Coach Bill Belichick is considered a guru of complex blitzing, but his scheme has grown more conservative over the years. He has also kept more defenders back in coverage to protect a weak secondary this season. The Giants are not exactly blitz-happy, but they are twice as likely as the Patriots to send six defenders: usually the four down linemen and a linebacker and a safety or a cornerback. The difference between the Giants and the Patriots becomes more pronounced on third down, when most coaches become a little more daring. The Giants sometimes bring the house on third down. The Patriots prefer to leave the house where it is. Third Down Pass Rush Percentages 16 percent 20 percent If you are wondering about the Giants" tendency to rush three defenders on third down, it is a tactic they used often against scrambling quarterbacks. Most of the three-man rushes came against Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Vince Young and Michael Vick. Would-be pass rushers dropped into short zones to "spy" on the quarterback while taking away quick throws. The Patriots do not blitz much because they are not good at it. They rushed five or more defenders 40 times on third down in charted games this year, and opponents were 22 of 39 for 356 yards, 17 first downs or touchdowns, one sack and one interception. The Giants rushed six or more defenders 30 times on third downs in charted games, and opponents were 7 of 27 for 68 yards, 7 first downs or touchdowns, 2 interceptions and 3 sacks. The Giants" third-down blitz produces some big plays, but just as important, it forces incomplete passes that result in punts. The Giants are also more aggressive than the Patriots in the red zone: 25 percent of their six-man blitzes occurred inside the 20-yard line, and that's with goal-to-go situations removed. In Week 9, the Giants blitz forced two incomplete Tom Brady passes on third down in the red zone. One incomplete pass led to a field goal. The other came just before Rob Gronkowski's fourth-quarter touchdown. Holding the Patriots to a field goal in the red zone is always a win. Applying extra pressure just may be the best way for the Giants to do that.