ctpatsfan77

Just figured I'd throw these out. Note that these are all per drive statistics.

Yards allowed per drive: 26.43 (8th best)
Points allowed per drive: 1.42 (3)
TDs allowed: 17.3% (12)
Drives ending with punts: 43.4% (10)
with turnovers: 16.8% (7)
with INTs: 11.0% (5)
with FUMs: 5.8% (14)
Starting LOS for opponent drives: 26.95 (2)

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"Momentum was quickly snatched away by New England, who once again proved that any Patriot, at any moment, can make a play." —Inside the NFL, Packers v. Patriots

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BelichickFan

Our defense was alright last year. One problem with the stats, though, is other offenses were so out of their element with the huge leads we often had it was tough to judge by stats alone. I think last year was a case where the stats make the defense look a little better than it really was.

TeamPats

This stat surprises me the most, with all our kickoffs due to scores on offense, I am shocked there is a team that trumped our starting LOS average for opponent drives...

Hey ctpatsfan77...where in Fairfield County are you from?

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In front of his team after a 28-10 loss to the Packers in 2002, Belichick said: "We have a lot of smart guys in this room, but on the football field we play like a bunch of f------- morons. If you are one of the players flinching at the harshness of these words, you might as well begin packing. There is no way you are going to last as a New England Patriot."

captain stone

I agree. A better breakdown would be those rankings during the first halves of games, when the outcomes were somewhat more in doubt.

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cstjohn17

It just goes to show you that the defense was damn good last year and they played their best football in the postseason when it mattered.

The first two stats are very interesting:
- Yards allowed per drive: 26.43 (8th best)
- Points allowed per drive: 1.42 (3)

Definately shows the Bend but don't break approach that BB favors. Let the other team move the ball get a couple of first downs. Eventaully the opponents offense willl make a mistake (Holding , offside) or the Patriots will make a play (sack, stuff a 1st down run). Pretty soon the opponent is in 3rd and long and the drive stalls without any points.

Metaphors

But what happens if the opponents mistake (say, holding for instance) doesn't get called or the Pats just miss making a big play (say, a dropped interception or a sack with the QB almost in the grasp)? Oh yeah, I guess we know what happens...

"Bend but don't break" is generally good for TV ratings but it relies on aspects (penalty calls, opposing QB mistakes, etc.) that are beyond the Pats control. In general, that philosophy is a good match for the high-powered offense the Pats can unleash. However, I would like to see a more aggressive approach on defense (and special teams for that matter) to be game-changers...especially when the offense has an off day.

I've said before, I would rather take some chances and potentially give up a quick touchdown and let the Pats offense have 58 minutes to get the points back...than let a putrid offense run a 4-corners scheme for 10 minutes and shorten the game.

lamafist

I don't think it necessarily demonstrates a "bend but don't break" defense. The discrepancy between yards allowed and points allowed can be attributed to the Pats #2 ranking in average starting LOS for opponents' drives. Poor starting field position greatly affects a teams' likeliness to score, while simultaneously allowing them to rack up long yard totals without scoring.

It's just a numbers thing,

cstjohn17

The approach is still solid, it just comes down to making plays. Harrison, Samuel and Merriweather dropped easy interceptions. Green missed a sack, they almost stopped the Giants on a 4th and 2... and then Tyree catches it off his helmet.

The one play they loaded up for a blitz didn't exactly work out so well, Hobbs is still looking for Burress. Everyone likes the aggressive style because of the ESPN style highlights, I wouldn't change the approach too much. I would spend more time teaching the secondary to catch the ball though.

If the Patriots make one more play the defense gives up 10 points in the Superbowl and we are talking about one of the greatest teams ever.

Metaphors

I agree the last drive was a fluke. My issue is with the opening drive. Consider:

• Eli goes 5-7 for 38 yards (a sickly 5.4 ypa)
• Jacobs and Bradshaw combined for 25 yards on 8 carries (an anemic 3.1 ypc)
• They convert 3rd-5, 3rd-6, 3rd-1, 3rd-7
• They consume a life-sucking 10 minutes off the game

People point to the fact that only 3 points were surrendered. I point to the fact that the Giants D went from defending a 60 minute game (which nobody to that point could pull off) to a 50 minute game (which the Colts and others managed quite nicely).

Side note...the 10 minute drive time could have been worse! If Eli didn't get greedy and go to Burress for the touchdown, the Giants could have gotten another 1st down. That could easily have led to almost 3 more minutes of clock time. In fact with an ill-timed holding penalty on the Pats, the Giants could possibly ran out the 1st quarter with a single drive (not likely but just the possibility makes me ill).

Add in the effectiveness of Feeley, Boller and Eli (part 1) during the regular season and this drive was an extreme symtom of an underlying issue. When Steve Martin single-handedly kept the Pats from defending their title in 2002, Belichick made sure the NT position would never be that weak again. When the offense couldn't get a game-killing 1st down in the 2006 AFCC game, Belichick put together a unit and attitude that could finish games (sometimes in the 1st half).

That leads me to believe that the status quo for this defense is not acceptable. New faces. New coach. New wrinkles. Never again letting your offense touch the ball for the 1st time 20 minutes after the opening kick.

cstjohn17

That first drive sucked, but the Giants made some plays as well. The Patriots took the ball and scored a TD on their opening drive, so the end result was 7-3 Patriots.

The Giants had the ball 10 minutes to start but the TOP for the whole game was even, so for the rest of the game the Patriots held the ball 30 minutes to the Giants 20. The defense only gave up 10 more first downs after the opening drive, they put themself in an excellent position to win but couldn't make a play when they needed it. The NFL is about playmakers making plays.