patfanken

After listening to all the media yesterday and the PFW guys on the internet this afternoon, I have wonder.......

1, Why is it.....when ever people talk about the Pats you ONLY here 3 things.
a. The Pats great offense
b. The Pats "troublesome defense"
c. Ocho and his role

Well the first is obvious Brady and the offense has been record breaking. HOWEVER when you think that there are currently SEVEN QBs who are on track to break Dan Marinio's passing record. A record that has lasted almost 30 years. You have to wonder if in THIS context, is what Brady is doing THAT remarkable?

Why is it that when the Pats are mentioned, so is their defense. I HAVEN'T heard a single comment about the Packer defense, unless its a positive. Yet the "great" Packer defense has allowed a whopping 2 total yds LESS than the Pats over the first 2 games. In total defensive stats the Packers are #30 while that Pats are 31st (damned those 2 yds.) However in the most important defense stat, scoring D, the Great Packer defense is ranked 26th while the "horrible" Pats defense is a respectable 15th Why is that?

Why aren't people wondering if Clay Matthews is suffering from a "third year slump" or if Charles Woodson is losing his All Pro abilities. Instead its Mayo sucks and McCourty doesn't have a clue.

Why is it that when talking about the Pats the media initially acknowledges the positive aspect of Brady and the offense, yet then immediately focuses on any negative aspect of the defense, real OR not. Again, give the context of the first 2 weeks of offense around the NFL, why is it only the Pats defense that seems to be in trouble.

Why is it that anyone is talking about OCHO at all. At this point of the season he has been totally IRRELEVANT to the Pats offense. If he'd been playing more and gotten,. say 5 receptions per game, no one would be saying anything, but in all likelihood, not a single additional yard of offense would have been added to the total yardage. His catches would have just meant fewer yards for the other receivers. The point here being is that if Ocho had been viewed as "effective" right from the start, he wouldn't have made the offense as a whole any better.....just less newsworthy

This never had anything to do with his work ethic or his knowledge of the playbook. It had everything to do with the individual game plans the Pats had planned, and for the first 2 weeks 3 WRs sets were NOT featured and Ocho IS the #3 WR. A WR who was NOT going to beat out the more established Welker and Branch. Why is it they don't get that?

BTW- With the Hernandez injury its a lot more likely that 3 WR sets will be more prevalent kthis week. There is also the possibility that the Pats will use Ocho in some of plays where Hernandez is split out or in that "bunch set" The Hernandez injury opens up a lot of possible scenarios. But that's a discussion for another thread.

Well these are just a few of the "Why is it that"s I can think of, just to get the ball rolling. I await your comments on mine and all the additions we know exist.

patsfaninpittsburgh

ken

What else can they say?

On nfl.com last week, Lombardi had an article about Henne deserving a Medal of Honor for the pounding he took. At the same time, Bucky Brooks was talking about a non existent pass rush.

It's tough enough to follow one team. Imagine trying 32 teams.

Sicilian

I agree with you Ken, but you have to admit it's hard to fill a long radio show with "The Patriots are 2-0 and beat each opponent by two touchdowns." Negativity and controversy gets better ratings than positivity and context.

RxJock1120

Yes, you are absolutely correct in your assessment that based on these stats the comparison is pretty startling.

But to answer your question, it based on reputation and recent history. Packs have had a good defense and the Pats have had a bad one, RECENTLY. Nit to say that I agree, but that where the media is coming from.

The-Hooded-One

Last we saw these defenses, one was getting shredded by Mark Sanchez, the other was dominating on the way to the Super Bowl. Packers get the benefit of the doubt this early in the season, the Patriots do not.

Jackson 2

Great post. I started a similar one last night and just didn't have time to put it together. I mean, Rivers and the Chargers are mentioned all the time as SB contenders. So Green Bay goes to Carolina, of all places, and gives up that type of yardage and points? I've heard no one on the networks or local outlets question their defense. Many local and national media members hate 1) Belichick, 2) the Krafts and 3)the Patriots entire lack of cooperation with the media as perceived by them. I'll name names: Borges, Felger, Mazz, Mac Mullen, Ryan (to some degree), Shaughnessy, Carter, Schlereth, Hodge, Jackson, Faulk, Sapp, Ditka and dozens of others. Screw all of them. They're either spoiled and lazy because BB doesn't do their work for them (the locals) or jealous and resentful because BB doesn't genuflect at their altar (the nationals). It's a rigged deck used in a game in which BB and the Pats can never win.

Rob0729

I have never heard more complaining about a team that is universally considered a top 2 team in the league other than here. Actually, if people didn't have the rule that the defending Super Bowl champs get the #1 spot until they lose a game, the Pats might be universally #1.

All you have to do is look around the league to see there are no complete teams this year. Not even close. Virtually every team has as many or more question marks as the Pats do.

Yet, everyone talks on this board as the Pats have already lost in the playoffs because of the defense.

Fact of the matter is because of the lockout, most defenses are struggling right now. It just isn't the Patriots. The Pats are installing new things on the defense which will require a learning curve. People act like this is the defense they will be getting in December.

The funny thing is many people felt that the Chargers would put over 30 on the Pats and when they only put 21 points on the board, people act like it was 50 points.

Mark12

Because the Packers Defense has proven they can step up in the payoffs. Guys, this is no longer the 01-07 D, the only starter left is Wilfork that was in the 16-0 year. And what Brady is doing you bet is that remarkable.

patsfan-1982

after two weeks out of the top 10 defenses in the NFL 7 are in the AFC and we know the ravens will get better, Aaron Rodgers may never have to face a top 5 defense on he's way to the SB Tom Brady will have to beat at less 2 top five defenses just to make it to the SB so the Question is what do the pats do when come playoff time Brady only has 300 yerds passing and 2 TD's the type of numbers that have won him three superbowls in the past can the pats still win a playoff game if the defense is playing the way it is right now ?

coolguy

Sadly, it's because the media thinks the pats are a soft and finesse team like the colts during the early 00s.....I'm starting to think the same