Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense...

[ALP]

the pressure needs to increase with the base 3/4 guys, otherwise well always have to send an extra guy in there

the db's did OK, they were covering two very good WR's (the cushins they were giving were HUGE)

i sure do ALSO hope Mayo is OK....hes the 2nd most important guy on that defense if not the 1st most....

TBC, welcome back home!

However, the thing I noticed the MOST, and which impressed me the most.....

I cannot remember the last time that I saw a Patriots defense hit like this one did, OWWWW
there were A LOT of hard hits, by our DL, by our LB's, but especially by Brandon......Rodney'd be proud, just OWW

overall, this defense reminded me of a 03-04 defense from the hitting it was doing, and man did i love it....

 

[Laurence Maroney's Dreads]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I know this was a special teams thing, but they were two prominent defensive players, so I'm going to throw it in here anyway: The way Merriweather and Pierre Woods ABSOLUTELY hit and scraped and clawed for that ball out of Leodis McKelvin's hands made me proud. This has the makings of a defense that can get some turnovers when we really need them.

Now, let's all pray for Mayo.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I posted this in it's own thread, but I'll C&P it here too...

Defense: I thought the defense played alright throughout the game. I won't over compliment them, but I won't **** on them either. The four man front was getting some push toward the QB throughout the night, but had a TON of trouble stopping Fred Jackson. Not to mention we're already missing Seymour as quite a few long gains went off what would have been his side of the line. When I saw those gains happen, Jarvis Green was typically playing the position. The LB corps didn't look great after Mayo went down. I really hope he's okay because Guyton looked raw at times out there. A.D. didn't do much outside of the sack of Edwards. The pass rush from both the DL and the LBs were all but nonexistant (outside of a couple of instances at most) throughout the night until we really needed to get a rush in the 4th. By the way, welcome back Tully Banta-Cain. I was very impressed with the secondary though. Bodden and Butler looked great out there. Both Bodden and Meriweather were laying the wood on multiple occasions and Meriweather nearly came up with a pick. On top of that, they nearly shut down T.O. for the night and I don't believe Lee Evans had any catches (though I could be wrong). Great stuff from the secondary. Hopefully it continues into next week.

 

[GoodWill]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I was a little disappointed. I guess I just heard all the build up this week about the Bills makeshift offensive line and expected a little more penetration/pressure then there actually was. It concerns me going into next week against the Jets who have a pretty good o-line.

They made a few good plays at the end there. Overall, I'm a little concerned, but I can be patient while all the new guys gel. And yea... hopefully Mayo is okay.

 

[Patspsycho]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

the pressure needs to increase with the base 3/4 guys, otherwise well always have to send an extra guy in there

the db's did OK, they were covering two very good WR's (the cushins they were giving were HUGE)

i sure do ALSO hope Mayo is OK....hes the 2nd most important guy on that defense if not the 1st most....

TBC, welcome back home!

However, the thing I noticed the MOST, and which impressed me the most.....

I cannot remember the last time that I saw a Patriots defense hit like this one did, OWWWW
there were A LOT of hard hits, by our DL, by our LB's, but especially by Brandon......Rodney'd be proud, just OWW

overall, this defense reminded me of a 03-04 defense from the hitting it was doing, and man did i love it....

I think I want to give our DB's an A for rendering the deep threat obsolete. Bodden also put in a nasty hit. Really love the new physicality of our backfield.

 

[ALP]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I think I want to give our DB's an A for rendering the deep threat obsolete. Bodden also put in a nasty hit. Really love the new physicality of our backfield.

yea right? i love seeing hard hits....make the recievers scared as hell....make them hear footsteps....i LOVE IT

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

On top of that, they nearly shut down T.O. for the night and I don't believe Lee Evans had any catches (though I could be wrong).

Evans had 3 for 25 yards and To had 2 for 46, overall I agree with your analysis. They need time but showed promise.

I forgot how draining these games can be, I cant sleep for 3 hours after the game and Im wiped out whew... welcome back TB.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

The defense wasn't good enough. That's the bottom line for me. To get where we need to go, it needs to get better. It got bailed out by a couple of procedure penalties that we can't count on. It played decent bend but not break defense for much of the game, but with the game on the line, it couldn't get off the field. It also got torched too often on the same kind of play -- open the field a little and get a guy in the open and we were toast. With a great QB that can stick a ball in tight spaces, our lack of pressure up front will be a problem. We were playing against three offensive linemen with zero NFL experience, and were less than overwhelming.

There was plenty of individual toughness, but not nearly enough unit toughness. It's understandable -- it's had a serious makeover this year. But the unit needs to get better if we want to beat good teams.

 

[Patdown93]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

The main problem was a lack of a pass rush with just the four man line. The run defense is a bit concerning as well. There's quite a bit to improve on that should be improved on.

But, it'll be exciting watching this defense gel. They're quicker, hit harder and this D has more of a swagger to it. On a couple occasions I saw Meriweather and Guyton play with excitement and exude passion.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

Bodden looks like he will be a nice addition to the D.

Tully looks reborn. There were some flashes from Burgess. They got to the passer when they absolutely needed to so it's something to build on.

Did Brace even play tonight? He was the one rookie I was looking forward to seeing and I didn't notice him in the game at all.

If Mayo is out for any extended time (IR) then it's a big problem but that's stating the obvious. Lets hope it's not too bad.

Seymour has looked pretty good tonight. It's hard to feel completely comfortable with the trade until there's something tangible (on the field) to show for Seymour but I wasn't completely discouraged with our D line play either.

There is upside in guys like Butler, Brace and Chung, among others, so while it could be a tough few weeks there's a chance that the D is at its most vulnerable right now and could evolve into a pretty good group by the end of the year. Maybe not elite, but good enough. I was pretty encouraged by their last 2 plays tonight. They finished the game on the right note.

 

[thewaylifeshouldbe]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I think they played fair. They hit well, and I am assuming the deep coverage was good because of lack of deep plays.

Seymour will be missed when we face teams with a good OL/running game. (On a sidenote, Sey looks good tonight for joining a new team three days ago.)

If Mayo is out the loss will be huge. Who gets the call first; Bru or Seau?

Vince still has a strong motor. Playing like he is trying to compensate for the loss of Sey. Hopefully he won't be burnt come week 10.

This was the Bills who are supposed to have a crap OL. Either they got away with a ton of holding calls, or we are not up to snuff yet.

This D is NOT ready for Manning/Addai or Brees/Thomas/Bell, and maybe not Flacco or Ryan. Thankfully we only have Ryan and Flacco in the next 3 weeks.

I think the D has the potential to be among the best with a few tweaks here and there....but they need to get better fast with our schedule this year.

 

[condon84]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

ONe thing I noticed most was that the Bills inexperienced OL handled our front four for the most part of the game. It's gonna be a tough go against better lines like the Jets and Chargers if our DLs can't get a consistent rush.

 

[hwc]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

What defense?

All I saw was Buffalo players running downfield with guys in red jerseys bouncing off of them. I they hadn't stopped themselves with mistakes, the Pats would have never stopped them.

When it was 3rd and 15 who said, "Just move the chiains?" I did. Sure enough, 20 yard screen pass.

It's looking like Pats games will have be shootouts.

 

[signbabybrady]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I thought the Secondary played really well.

I wonder if some of the struggles on the run game/passing to backs and particularly Fred Jackson can be attested to attention given to Evans and Ownes who didn't do too much (combined for 5 catches 71 yards).

Dline dialed up pressure when we needed it most but most of the night seemed the pressure was limited and when it was there it was one sided allowing Trent to escape.

LBs...Thomas appeared to play the best of the group which seemed to struggle a little without Mayo...Please let us dodge this bullet because it will be some serious BS to lose key players in the first quarter of the season on consecutive seasons.


Honestly I think the defense played well...if it wasn't for the two roughing calls which really changed momentum on those drives and for the Schobel ridiculous pick six (Dlinemen making one handed grabs are you kidding me) than this game would have been completely different...not to mention the missed field goal and missed 4th down opportunities early.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

What defense?

All I saw was Buffalo players running downfield with guys in red jerseys bouncing off of them. I they hadn't stopped themselves with mistakes, the Pats would have never stopped them.

When it was 3rd and 15 who said, "Just move the chiains?" I did. Sure enough, 20 yard screen pass.

It's looking like Pats games will have be shootouts.

Wow, talk about overstated.

 

[signbabybrady]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

What defense?

All I saw was Buffalo players running downfield with guys in red jerseys bouncing off of them. I they hadn't stopped themselves with mistakes, the Pats would have never stopped them.

When it was 3rd and 15 who said, "Just move the chiains?" I did. Sure enough, 20 yard screen pass.

It's looking like Pats games will have be shootouts.

the 3rd and fifteen was ugly.......but you are definitely overestating things....take the defensive TD off the board for the Bills and they only scored 17. They held the bills two best weapons (Evans and TO) in check and that I am sure opened up the rest.

if you look at the box it looks like a great day for a defense but my eyes tell me they had their struggles but did enough to have a decent to good day.

you can mention some of the bills drives they killed themselves with penalties and drops but we or more accurately the refs also kept two of their drives going with penalties.

 

[fnordcircle]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

Am I the only one who was actually happy with that defensive effort?

I thought there was A LOT more pressure than we were getting last year and at key times. They were faster, more attacking. They aren't perfect but Buffalo didn't get their first 3rd down conversion until the second half. Last year's defense gave up a LOT of 3rd down conversions.

Seriously this is a young, fast defense that is only going to get better and they were playing without their most pivotal player in Mayo.

Get a grip. Division matches mean NOTHING in terms of gauging a team's strengths because rivalries and the resulting emotions can really energize a team. Remember how the Patriots would beat the Bills back in the 90s despite being the clearly less-talented team?

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

Originally Posted by hwc
What defense?

All I saw was Buffalo players running downfield with guys in red jerseys bouncing off of them. I they hadn't stopped themselves with mistakes, the Pats would have never stopped them.

When it was 3rd and 15 who said, "Just move the chiains?" I did. Sure enough, 20 yard screen pass.

It's looking like Pats games will have be shootouts.

Buffalo
Total Net Yards 276 Time of Possession 22:52

New England
Total Net Yards 441 Time of Possession 37:08

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

Am I the only one who was actually happy with that defensive effort?

I thought there was A LOT more pressure than we were getting last year and at key times. They were faster, more attacking. They aren't perfect but Buffalo didn't get their first 3rd down conversion until the second half. Last year's defense gave up a LOT of 3rd down conversions.

Seriously this is a young, fast defense that is only going to get better and they were playing without their most pivotal player in Mayo.

Get a grip. Division matches mean NOTHING in terms of gauging a team's strengths because rivalries and the resulting emotions can really energize a team. Remember how the Patriots would beat the Bills back in the 90s despite being the clearly less-talented team?

I certainly hope so.

 

[fnordcircle]

Re: Everyone's thoughts on ONLY the defense.....

I certainly hope so.

So looking at the game and the statistics, what, exactly can you give me for issues with the defense other than the typical hyperbole this site vomits up?

Sorry that Buffalo wasn't held to negative yards and shut out, it's your fault if you don't understand just how competitive this league is.