Worth talking about in its own thread.
Yesterday two rookie LBs were out - Jennings and Uche. Both have the potential to be dynamic players. Haven't seen Uche yet. Hoping they both play together soon. LBs need their playmaking ability.
The secondary has struggled. Gilmore in particular. His stats against the past 3 seasons:
2018: 48.4% completion, 11.3 yds/comp, 5.5 yds/target, 73.9 rating
2019: 50.5% completion, 11.7 yds/comp, 5.9 yds/target, 44.1 rating
2020: 61.5% completion, 18.5 yds/comp, 11.4 yds/target, 94.4 rating
That's....a problem. Add in three big DPI penalties and the fact is... he just hasn't been good, never mind DPOY caliber. But it's not just him.
JC Jackson
2018: 48.9% completion, 11.6 yds/comp, 5.7 yds/target, 38.8 rating
2019: 53.2% completion, 9.6 yds/comp, 5.1 yds/target, 34.1 rating
2020: 57.1% completion, 11.5 yds/comp, 6.6 yds/target, 77.1 rating
Jason McCourty
2018: 52.5% completion, 15.2 yds/comp, 8.0 yds/target, 91.7 rating
2019: 48.2% completion, 9.9 yds/comp, 4.8 yds/target, 54.7 rating
2020: 80.0% completion, 15.8 yds/comp, 12.6 yds/target, 158.3 rating (only 5 attempts, but still)
So their top three corners are all playing *significantly* worse than they did in 2019. As a team, the Pats have allowed just 182, 275, and 249 yards (235.3 avg), so the sheer number of yards isn't a huge problem. But they've been helped by the Pats' offense, which has possessed the ball for a long time. Moreover, the run defense has allowed 87, 154, and 126 yards (122.3 avg) which has opened up the passing for opposing QBs. Fortunately, the Pats have gotten turnovers (7 in 3 games), which has been a huge help. But so far, the defense is a far cry from what it was last year. Now, it doesn't have to be THAT good in order for the Pats to be good. Right now they're #11 in the NFL in scoring defense, and #12 in yards allowed defense, so they're not BAD. In fact, they're still pretty good.
Miami: scored 28 and 31 points against non-NE opponents, scored just 11 against NE (NE -18.5 compared to Mia's other opponents)
Seattle: scored 38 and 38 points against non-NE opponents, scored 35 against NE (NE -3.0 compared to Sea's other opponents)
Vegas: scored 34 and 34 points against non-NE opponents, scored 20 against NE (NE -14.0 compared to LV's other opponents)
In other words, the Pats have held each of these three teams to fewer points than they've scored against their non-NE opponents. So they're doing a good overall job. But they're not ELITE. Not so far.
Yesterday two rookie LBs were out - Jennings and Uche. Both have the potential to be dynamic players. Haven't seen Uche yet. Hoping they both play together soon. LBs need their playmaking ability.
The secondary has struggled. Gilmore in particular. His stats against the past 3 seasons:
2018: 48.4% completion, 11.3 yds/comp, 5.5 yds/target, 73.9 rating
2019: 50.5% completion, 11.7 yds/comp, 5.9 yds/target, 44.1 rating
2020: 61.5% completion, 18.5 yds/comp, 11.4 yds/target, 94.4 rating
That's....a problem. Add in three big DPI penalties and the fact is... he just hasn't been good, never mind DPOY caliber. But it's not just him.
JC Jackson
2018: 48.9% completion, 11.6 yds/comp, 5.7 yds/target, 38.8 rating
2019: 53.2% completion, 9.6 yds/comp, 5.1 yds/target, 34.1 rating
2020: 57.1% completion, 11.5 yds/comp, 6.6 yds/target, 77.1 rating
Jason McCourty
2018: 52.5% completion, 15.2 yds/comp, 8.0 yds/target, 91.7 rating
2019: 48.2% completion, 9.9 yds/comp, 4.8 yds/target, 54.7 rating
2020: 80.0% completion, 15.8 yds/comp, 12.6 yds/target, 158.3 rating (only 5 attempts, but still)
So their top three corners are all playing *significantly* worse than they did in 2019. As a team, the Pats have allowed just 182, 275, and 249 yards (235.3 avg), so the sheer number of yards isn't a huge problem. But they've been helped by the Pats' offense, which has possessed the ball for a long time. Moreover, the run defense has allowed 87, 154, and 126 yards (122.3 avg) which has opened up the passing for opposing QBs. Fortunately, the Pats have gotten turnovers (7 in 3 games), which has been a huge help. But so far, the defense is a far cry from what it was last year. Now, it doesn't have to be THAT good in order for the Pats to be good. Right now they're #11 in the NFL in scoring defense, and #12 in yards allowed defense, so they're not BAD. In fact, they're still pretty good.
Miami: scored 28 and 31 points against non-NE opponents, scored just 11 against NE (NE -18.5 compared to Mia's other opponents)
Seattle: scored 38 and 38 points against non-NE opponents, scored 35 against NE (NE -3.0 compared to Sea's other opponents)
Vegas: scored 34 and 34 points against non-NE opponents, scored 20 against NE (NE -14.0 compared to LV's other opponents)
In other words, the Pats have held each of these three teams to fewer points than they've scored against their non-NE opponents. So they're doing a good overall job. But they're not ELITE. Not so far.