FOXBORO — It’s a different defense this season.

The Patriots have bid adieu to the three-man fronts — which dictate more of a read-and-react situation — and have instead gone aggressive with four-man fronts this summer. Through its first two preseason games (as well as most of camp) New England has gone into more of an attack mode, and the results have paid off across the board — the Patriots have left Jacksonville and Tampa Bay quarterbacks' bruised and battered.

It’s made quarterback Tom Brady very happy.

“Any time you talk to a defensive coach at the beginning of the week, they say ‘We have to get after the quarterback.’ It was really fun to see from our sideline,” Brady told WEEI on Monday. “Those guys are really teeing off on the quarterback. I love to see that.

“From another quarterback’s perspective, to stand there on the sidelines and watch them attack the quarterback — force them into quick decisions, force them into throws that you don’t want to make but have to make because you don’t have time to see the coverages — that’s good for any defensive football team.”

It’s a small sample size, but you can’t help but be impressed when you stack it up against last year’s defensive numbers.

New England struggled to get pressure on opposing passers the last two seasons — the Patriots were tied for 14th last season with 36 sacks, and were 23rd in the league in 2009 with 31. But they’ve had little trouble getting after the quarterback this preseason. In the preseason opener against Jacksonville, the Patriots got four sacks, and last week against the Buccaneers, New England came away with three sacks, including two from linebacker Jerod Mayo. In two games, the Patriots have been credited with 11 quarterback hits.
 
It’s also showing up in the third-down defense: Last year, New England’s third-down defense was absolutely atrocious — the Patriots couldn’t get off the field, allowing teams to convert 47.1 percent of their third-down chances. But through two preseason games this year, New England’s defense is holding opponents to 5-for-25 on third down. (The Bucs were 2-for-12 on third down against the Patriots and 1-for-8 in the first half.)

It's not only new schemes, but new faces: Players like Andre Carter (who was in the face of Tampa Bay quarterbacks all night last Thursday) and Mark Anderson — both of whom are experienced pass rushers — have cranked up the pressure. (On Thursday, Carter simply embarrassed Tampa tackle Donald Penn and backup James Lee.) In addition, two of the newest Patriots’ pass-rushing possibilities have yet to see a game: While defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth isn’t a pure pass rusher, when he’s been right is the sort of tackle who can easily collapse a pocket. And newcomer Shaun Ellis has 72.5 career sacks over an 11-year career, including two seasons (2003 and 2004) of double-digit sacks when he was with the Jets.

In the wake of the win over Tampa Bay, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the result of the added pressure New England was able to generate on Bucs’ quarterbacks Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson was the result of several different things.

“They played a lot of people,” Belichick said of Tampa. “They had about three different groups on the offensive line. A couple times, when we pressured, it looked like they just had a breakdown in assignments — they just didn’t block a guy. So we had a few of those.

“And then we had some good rushes up front at times and were able to beat some blockers and get pressure on the quarterback. But I would say it was a combination of things. A couple times, it was more them making a mistake than us making a great play. And there were times where we had good rushes when they should have had us blocked, but we were able to be disruptive with even an individual pass rush or a stunt that was called or something like that.”

Regardless of whether it’s the result of an opposing offensive line struggling or the Patriots’ own defensive front seven surprising their opponent with a new approach, the results have brought a smile to the face of veteran defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who said that some of the veterans have been learning new aspects of the defense as the preseason has rolled on.

“Any football player that is aggressive loves to attack,” he said with a grin. “At times it calls for us to attack. At times it calls for us to sit back and play some good technique. I was always told, ‘When the coach gives you leeway to go make a play, you better make it count.’ That’s where we’re at right now.”

The aggressiveness up front has made life easier for the secondary, according to cornerback Devin McCourty.

“The best part is when you get to go back and you get to watch the film and you see those guys up front getting after the quarterback,” McCourty said.