Not too long ago the Pats were ridiculed for having a very old, very slow defense. So the past year-plus they've almost completely overhauled the D, with just a few exceptions, and now they sport one of the youngest defensive units in the entire league (last 3 weeks they've started four rookies on D: Deadrick, Cunningham, Spikes, McCourty).
First 3 games:
- ppg allowed: 27.3
- ypg allowed: 379.3
- turnovers created: 4 (1.3 per game)
Last 4 games:
- ppg allowed: 18.0
- ypg allowed: 387.5
- turnovers created: 9 (2.3 per game)
Not saying that they're a dominant unit yet, but that's some pretty good improvement. And their four opponents rank as follows, from an offensive standpoint:
- Miami (#13)
- Baltimore (#14)
- San Diego (#1)
- Minnesota (#18)
Avg rank: 11.5. So they've improved while facing pretty good offenses. It'll be interesting to see what they can do against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. But they're young, improving, and potentially on their way to being a great defense. Let's hope!
First 3 games:
- ppg allowed: 27.3
- ypg allowed: 379.3
- turnovers created: 4 (1.3 per game)
Last 4 games:
- ppg allowed: 18.0
- ypg allowed: 387.5
- turnovers created: 9 (2.3 per game)
Not saying that they're a dominant unit yet, but that's some pretty good improvement. And their four opponents rank as follows, from an offensive standpoint:
- Miami (#13)
- Baltimore (#14)
- San Diego (#1)
- Minnesota (#18)
Avg rank: 11.5. So they've improved while facing pretty good offenses. It'll be interesting to see what they can do against Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. But they're young, improving, and potentially on their way to being a great defense. Let's hope!