They were down 31-24 to the Bills. They were down 3-0 to the Raiders but scored on the next drive so technically they weren't behind. They then gave up the go ahead to be down 10-7 but again the offense scored so they technically never defended while behind. Miami scored first and the Pats countered with the tying score.
But that is exactly the point I was making. When you are losing and on defense, a TD puts you down 2 possessions which is a troubling situation. The Pats defense hasn't faced this yet. I think you play differently when losing and defending a 3rd and 7. Giving up that conversion means you are closer to giving up that crushing score and you are sucking time/field position from your offense. On the flip side, gaining 6.5 yards results in a punt and not the certainty of a 4th down attempt the Pats often face now. That is context the statistics abstract away.
The championship teams stuck daggers in the hearts of other teams when up like that.
Correct, but how do you do that? The Pats and Jets were up on the Raiders in consecutive weeks. The Jets blitzed relentlessly even though the Raiders (0-8 on 3rd down) showed no inclination for sustaining a drive. The Raiders played off this and busted big plays outside to turn a 10 point deficit into a 10 point win against a "championship" defense. The Pats took their lead and forced the Raiders to burn a third of the remaining time to get 3 points. Game over.
Championship teams win wars. They aren't concerned about winning every battle. Ego defenses refuse to yield anything and attack regardless of the situation. It didn't work at Gettysburg and it is a risky and brain-dead way to play in the NFL.
The Jets defense didn't give up all those points it was the offense. They shut down the Ravens. Granted the Ravens are a suspect offense, just saying.
My point was that the game wasn't a fair evaluation of the Jets defense. The Ravens realized that the Jets weren't going to score any points on offense. The Jets were not only ineffective, they were scared. It is startling to me that Flacco committed 2 silly turnovers under those circumstances. Flacco attempted 4 passes in the 2nd half even though there was plenty of time for a Jets comeback. That wasn't a product of the Jets defense...that was due to the complete ineptitude of the Jets offense. Saying the Jets shut down the Ravens is like saying the fierceness of my dog prevents me from beating him mercilessly. I don't beat my dog because I don't want to and I don't need to. Drawing the conclusion that I couldn't is faulty logic.
They are inconsistent and I think what you said about the Ravens applies here. When they dominate the LOS they are great but when they cannot the secondary gets exposed.
You can say that about every team in the NFL. Even Revis can't hold a receiver's jersey for over 5 seconds. The trick is what happens when you battle to a draw at the LOS. If you lose every game when that happens, you can't win a championship. If you can scrap and play well enough to give your offense a chance to win, you have a winning formula.
The Redskins have benefited from poor decisions and situational play by the opposing QBs/OCs. Eventually, opposing QBs will hit those open receivers and opposing OCs won't forget you are allowed to rush in the red zone. They aren't bad on defense but not a unit that I would want to pattern my team after.
You certainly need the personnel to pull off a defense like the Jets, Raven, Steelers, etc. I just wish Bill would mix it up more. When they're up two scored give Carter the green light to use and inside move and give up the outside contain for a play here or there. Not every time so you're susceptible to nonstop draws and screens but enough to keep the OT's honest. 3rd and 10 shoot the A-Gap with a LB or S. They're giving up first downs anyway so if you blitz and then get 17 instead of 11 on one play but you make them punt the next I'd take that over the constant pickups that seem to happen every week for the last two years no matter the yard to go.
I hear you. I just find it hard to complain much when the outcome is a 2 score margin of victory. Even the Bills game was heading in that direction (check the Bills 3rd quarter drives) until the uncharacteristic turnovers.
The Pats defense isn't where it needs to be. They failed in the one instance where they needed to stand tall (4th quarter against the Bills). I'm not inclined to panic based on 2 drives in a weird game. They do need to able to dial up pressure and cover behind it with the game on the line. The situation will come up in the playoffs and I would feel better if they had some positive regular season experiences to draw from.
