1%er

We run a fast pace no huddle offense which = lest rest time for are defense.
We score a ton of points which = opponents need to throw the ball more.
We force teams to play from behind which = opponents take more chances and attempt more big plays.

Despite all of that are defense still goes out and stops the run and forces turnovers.

We have Jones, Hightower, Dennard and Wilson as rookies playing key roles.

Lets stop acting like the sky is falling. The NFL is competitive top to bottom and I don't know any team that completely shuts down passing games in this day and age.

Major **********

How bad is "not that bad'?

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'I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Lets see how well you can handle it' 'I hate it when I get my Schwartz twisted'

Sicilian

The defense isn't good, but as has been the norm the last few years, they're middle of the pack in allowing points despite being near the bottom in yards allowed. I'm willing to give them time to see how the rookies do in the second half, see how Talib fits in, and I'll them a pass on the poor tackling against the Bills because A) they've been solid tacklers most of this year and B) with the new rules and lack of padded practices, I feel like a bye week wreaks havoc on the fundamentals.

The big key to the second half defense will be, do the rookies playing those key roles continue to get more comfortable? Or do they hit a rookie wall?

brdmaverick

If making Russell Wilson, Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco and Ryan Fitzpatrick look like Pro Bowlers (instead of Hall of Famers) is 'not that bad' then I would agree.

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Dfresh429

Sorry man, but on at least 6 out of 10 completions, there isn't at Patriots defender within 3 yards...their pass coverage is pathetic.

brdmaverick

Ok, apologies for the sly remark, now the serious one.......

I get where you are going where there are positivies (Jones, Wilfork, Spikes, Mayo) but those positives do not outweigh the negatives.

Case in point, if the defense wasn't that bad, we all wouldn't have had that gut wrenching feeling when the offense had to settle for the field goal late against the Bills. Despite there being only 2 minutes left and Buffalo needing a full 80 yards, there was NO CONFIDENCE of victory even a normal team would have that in this situation.

I do by into the theory that the defense is only as good as it's weakest link (ok, or two links, since you can use double teams). The defense has a solid front seven, but it getting burnt because of the secondary. IF only one or two guys step up they CAN turn it around. Talib is expected to be one of those guys, we need another (hopefully McCourty, maybe a heatlhy Chung), to play better. If assessing this defense solely on what we've seen so far though, yes, they are THAT bad.

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ivanvamp

The Patriots pass defense statistics, 2012:

Opp Comp %: 66.0% (26th)
Opp Yds/Att: 8.1 (29th)
Opp Pass TD: 19 (29th)
Opp Passer Rating: 97.3 (28th)
Opp Pass Yds/G: 285 (29th)

In other words, the Pats have one of the worst four pass defenses in the NFL, pretty much by every metric available. What they do have going for them is this:

(1) They force a lot of turnovers: 10 INT (6th) and 13 FUM (the 23 takeaways is #3 in the NFL).

(2) They are actually not bad at sacking the QB: 20 (16th).

So those two things (especially the turnovers) mask their pass defense deficiencies, believe it or not. If they were even an average team in getting turnovers, the pass defense numbers would look even worse.

Marqui

Shoot, I would take pathetic at this point. Their pass defense right now is almost non-existent.

Snake Eyes

The defense isn't that bad compared to what, exactly?

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"The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery, you must learn it's riddle, Conan, you must learn its discipline, for no one in this world can you trust, not men, not women, not beasts...this you can trust"


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ausbacker

Yes, the defense is that bad. The greatest strength of the D is the Patriots O.