1 against the Ravens tooYeah it’s a good question. The Pats have given up 21 right? INT v Jets, blocked punt v Jets, fumble v Giants?
1 against the Ravens tooYeah it’s a good question. The Pats have given up 21 right? INT v Jets, blocked punt v Jets, fumble v Giants?
That's crazy to think about. Defense has given up less than 100 points through 11 games when they're on the field if you take out those 28 points(fumble return by Humphries in the Baltimore game too).Yeah it’s a good question. The Pats have given up 21 right? INT v Jets, blocked punt v Jets, fumble v Giants?
89/11 = 8.09. It’s mind blowing.That's crazy to think about. Defense has given up less than 100 points through 11 games when they're on the field if you take out those 28 points(fumble return by Humphries in the Baltimore game too).
Correct. Past Pats defenses have always given up fewer points than would be expected due to the offense and special teams. This D is the opposite.And without a lot of help from the offense. Baltimore's D is helped greatly this year by an offense that absolutely owns the clock and is always playing with the lead. This Pats' offense has struggled to put together long drives and the D has had to shoulder the vast majority of the load.
Congrats in advance to John Brown on his TD on Saturday nightGilmore has been closest defender on 84 passes, 0 of which have gone for touchdowns. Most targets without a td in the league
They've also faced 3 top offenses during the past 6 gamesThe defense has definitely taken a big step back from its earlier performance, but is still playing well on the whole. Now some of the points allowed below were actually allowed by the offense or special teams, but I'm just lumping it all in together because it's easier.
First 8 games:
- 7.6 points
- 234.0 yards
- 12.9 first downs
Last 6 games:
- 20.0 points (league avg: 22.8)
- 314.2 yards (league avg: 348.1)
- 15.3 first downs (league avg: 20.3)
Just their last 6 games' defense, and what their ranking would be if it was this over the course of the whole season:
- 20.0 points: #9
- 314.2 yards: #6
- 15.3 first downs: #1
So it's not like the defense is playing poorly. It would be, on the whole, a top-10 or top-5 defense depending on how you looked at it. And that's during this "bad" stretch.
Yep, and held one of them to just 23 points, 346 yards, and 20 first downs. KC averages 28.1 points, 384.4 yards, and 22.1 first downs a game (28.5, 387.3, and 22.2 vs non-NE opponents). So the Pats' defense did a solid job against them. And against Houston they allowed 28 points but only 276 yards, and one Hou touchdown came on a really short field after a NE turnover. The only game where I thought the defense got shredded was against, of course, Baltimore, and nobody has had the answer for them.They've also faced 3 top offenses during the past 6 games
Dick.Congrats in advance to John Brown on his TD on Saturday night
Houston had 7 games this year where they scored 26+ points, and another 4 where they scored 23+ points. They're more than capable of scoring. The Pats only allowed 276 yards and 16 first downs against Houston that day.Houston has a -7 point differential. giving up 28 to them sucked... seemed to run into Watson on a good day.
This is where they miss Bennett (who I really really wish they hadn't traded away). They generate pass rush with stunts and blitzes and games up front. If that gets picked up, they don't really have the individual skill level to just beat guys one-on-one. Bennett could do that. Not at an elite level, but at a pretty good level.the defense has to be [historically] elite to carry this broken offense, and bottom line they've shown they can't quite be that against the playoff teams. and that will probably end them before January 19. what a run though
it was fun to imagine for awhile they could pull a Denver 2015, but the backbreaker I guess is not enough pass rush, a common issue with Bill teams
He just might be pissed enough about getting let go by the Dolphins after 1 year to actually phone BB and tell him. lolWould certainly be interesting to know from Chad O'Shea if the Dolphins saw and exploited any of these tendencies/tells by the D.
Let's see how they do in the playoffs. If they lose early, then you're right. If they somehow go on to win it all, and the defense is pretty dominant, then they may ultimately receive this kind of recognition.They are a very good defense. I'm not going to argue against that.
What I'd argue against is that they are not a historically great defense.
They destroyed a bunch of really poor offensive teams for which they deserve full credit. They were unworldly good and the number reflected their level of play. But against competent offenses they were merely a good, but not great defense. I don't think anyone should be upset or disappointed by that. It's a great thing to have a good defense and the Patriots have one.
But it's pretty clear that any discussion that compares this defense to the greatest defenses of all time is incorrect no matter what the counting stats say.
Did the NFL close that loophole that allowed a playoff team to add a recently fired coach for the playoff run? (I think the pats did it with Josh??)He just might be pissed enough about getting let go by the Dolphins after 1 year to actually phone BB and tell him. lol
There was a guy in my section last Sunday who spent much of the 2nd half screaming at Belichick about letting his son call the defense. It was kind of amusing, honestly.Has anyone looked at when the wearing of the defensive headset changed from Mayo to Steve Belichick? Does it coincide with a change in results on the field? It certainly seemed that we saw Mayo with the headset on a lot early, but I cannot remember seeing him wearing it at all over the last few games while seeing it always on SB's head.