Originally Posted by goheels22002

The arrival of the running game is precisely why the defense will continue to move up the charts and the prospects for a playoff victory against any of the likely AFC opponents are better this morning than they were seven or eight weeks ago.

The quick-strike offense is great for the viewers, but keeps the defense off the field less than they need to be to regroup and make adjustments from what the coaches are seeing from the press box and in the photos.

Against KC, the Patriots ran 35 running plays for a 154 yards. The beauty of the upcoming stretch is that the best run defense the Patriots will see before the playoffs is the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots can continue to work on the rotation and situations for using Woodhead, Vareen and BJGE - three different styles for the opposing defenses to prepare.

I see the Patriots becoming complex offensively over the remaining six weeks with time of possession shifting in favor of the Pats. That works to keep the defense fresh and upping pressure on the opponent. The 4-3 is improving as the front seven gain experience as a unit. The DB situation is the glaring weakness, and the best way to help with that is with an improving pass rush.

As for the playoffs, it is all about match-ups. It looks like Oakland, Texas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati right now. (I was rooting for Buffalo to get a shot, but injuries seem to be undoing that possibility.) None of those teams is any less flawed than the Patriots