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New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones, rear, sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Foxborough, Mass. Miami recovered the fumble. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FOXBOROUGH — There are two reasons why this 2014 New England Patriots team is in an infinitely better position to contend for a Super Bowl than the 2013 version.

Rob Gronkowski is playing, and Rob Gronkowski is unlike any other NFL player.

And this defense has developed into a truly great unit. Maybe not Seattle-great, but one of the best in the league.

Early issues against the run have been been shored up, and now the Pats are well-rounded. They have no glaring weaknesses. They have a dangerous pass rush to complement a terrific secondary.

The defense made obvious strides while Chandler Jones sat from Week 7-14 with a hip injury. Now that he’s returned, the Pats have incredible flexibility up front.

We saw what they can do Sunday. Let’s examine:

*Jones played 56 of the team's 81 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. I had him down for 27 snaps on the edge, 26 on the inside (or as a 3-4 defensive end/interior lineman) and four as a linebacker/stand-up rusher over center. Point is, the Patriots moved him around.

Take for example a late fourth quarter possession. On the first snap, Chandler Jones lined up inside of Akeem Ayers on the right side. On the next, Jones flipped with Vince Wilfork, and was in a down stance next to Rob Ninkovich on the left side.

And on the third snap, Jones lined up outside of Akeem Ayers, both in stand-up positions.

When Jones is on the field with Ninkovich and Ayers — both of whom are capable in pass coverage — the Pats have options, as seen below. Here, in a four-man front, Ninkovich drops into coverage and nearly picks off Ryan Tannehill.

And here, with Jones and Ninkovich together on the right side, it appears Dolphins rookie tackle Ja’Wuan James is initially uncertain of which player he should block. Even though it takes only a half-second for James to turn his head toward Jones, he was a half-second too late. Jones gets the edge, and gets the strip-sack.

*Primarily a pass rusher, Jones dropped into coverage a few times, as well.

Late in the fourth quarter, Jones retreats from his right end spot while Jamie Collins blitzes Tannehill. Collins gets to the quarterback, as does Ninkovich from the left side.

*In obvious passing situations, such as a 4th-and-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, New England moved Jones basically over center. He rushed up the middle, while Jamie Collins and Don’ta Hightower came from the right side and Ninkovich rushed from his usual left end spot. The benefit here is simple: Even if Jones doesn’t get to the quarterback, which he didn’t on this play, he has length and athleticism to get his hands on a pass at the line of scrimmage (which he almost did).

*Oh, and Chandler Jones did make some plays, too. Aside from his 1.5 sacks, two others stand out. From his spot in what could best be described as a 3-3-5 package, he made a nice tackle on running back Daniel Thomas. On the play, Jones, Vince Wilfork and Ayers are the down linemen; Rob Ninkovich and Don’ta Hightower are on the edge; and Jamie Collins is patrolling the middle.

Although Jones doesn’t make the tackle on the play below, he holds contain just long enough to slow Mike Wallace, allowing Collins to get a better angle on Wallace as he turns the corner.

*On Jones' Monday WEEI appearance, the third-year defensive end spoke about how he and Ayers can cause problems: "It's funny because me and him are two totally different players, different kind of body types, different rush styles," Jones said. "That will be hard for an opposing offensive tackle to study: A guy that's 6-5, 260 pounds that's kind of long and gangly and can do finesse moves, and then you have a guy that's short and compact and he can run right past you. For an offensive tackle each and every week to have to study that, that could be pretty dangerous."

*A week ago, I wondered how the Patriots would use Jones with Akeem Ayers, his replacement these past few weeks. We found the answer Sunday: They’d use them in multiple ways.

Once again, the Patriots second half defense was superb, shutting out Miami. Over the past four games, New England has yielded a grand total of six points in the second half.