TheGreatestEVER

I didn't see this posted anywhere.

49ers, Seahawks, Broncos boast top three remaining defenses - NFL.com

mayoclinic

NFL.com has re-titled it several times under different headings, some much more provocative than the article. Things like "Patriots defense could let them down", "Pats, Packers' defenses aren't super", etc.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

alvinnf

Fortunately there are only two teams left that NE's defense hasn't seen yet, Atl and GB. So preparation wise and learning their keys, is easier. Plus those two teams are in the NFC so you would potentially only play one. So, IMO the next opponent is the toughest D their gonna face. They have faired well against Del Rio and his D. This weekend is the team that scares me defensively.

NSPF

I'm starting to really hate Gil Brandt... He's one of the most shallow analysts out there. Sometimes he's even just flat at wrong, like when he claimed that the Patriots have no rushing game (in his article rating playoff QBs). Even just look at his list of headlines... Gil Brandt

He's supposed to be "NFL.com's personnel guru". Instead he offers about the same analysis that you could get from stopping a random person in a sports bar, and is obsessed with meaningless rankings.

Edit: Oops, that post got completely off topic. On the subject of the actual article, it's meaningless. That ranking did not take a whole lot of effort to come up with, and neither did the explanations he gave.

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TheBostonStraggler

I guess if the games were decided by who has the better defensive ranking then the Patriots have lost. Sure, defense is important. Fortunately the totality of a team's ability to win is where the conversation ends. See the Patriots and their not so good defense of 2011 for example.
The Patriots are a team built to win using potent offense, adequate defense, solid STs and optimum mental preparation/execution. If their is a way to accurately rank teams based on all these ingredients? Give me that list and where the Patriots rank on it!

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cstjohn17

I guess their ranking doesn't include the physical toll it takes on other teams to consistently complete passes up and down the field. The Patriots play rope a dope and let the other teams tire themselves out...

Seriously, some team are better in some areas on paper, now the games begin and as we hoped all year long, the defense just has to be "good enough"

PeerlessKid

I think the ranking you're looking for here is 'Wins'

How many times do you hear turnovers are the secret overlooked statistics of a game? (Actually it isn't because that's what everyone always says), yet they utterly ignore that stat when it comes to ranking defences. Why is always yards the be all and end all of judging a defence, it's so lazy, shallow and well wrong. One of the things that really bug me is that our front 7 gets completely looked over because people always go straight to 'yards'.

I remember when the Chicago Bears defence were creating so many turnovers it was this amazing play by the defence that they would always take the ball away, yet no love for defences that actually do that and not for a small stretch of games.

randomk1

I posted this one in the NFL Forum but in regards to the MVP situation.

That's the same "analyst" that ranked Manning ahead of Brady as he is the sentimental pick. Yet by his rankins Manning is the guy who has a D that is significantly better than Brady's while also playing in the weakest division in football.

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PeerlessKid

No one seems to mention that this Denver defence gets absolutely torched when they come up against the Pats offence. This year, last year in the regular season and in the playoff, you can't blame it on Tebow either.

How much of their defence statistics get padded up by facing Oakland, Kansas and San Diego twice? At least the Bills, Dolphins and Jets can put up a fight.

mayoclinic

Two defensive struggles today: 45, 38, 35 and 31 points scored.

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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi