Food for thought

[patfanken]

I went over to the NFL.com stat page for some info go see see if the Pats had relinquished their hold on the 32nd spot in total D, Not to worry, THAT slot's still ours...and could be for a while But I also found some other stuff that you might find interesting. You know, some food for thought.

1. If you needed anymore proof that THIS is not your father's NFL, check this out. The WORST defense, and the 2nd WORST defense, and the 3rd WORST defense were the Pats, Buffalo, and Oakland. The combined win loss record of those 3 teams is 11-4

2. The number 1,2 and 5th ranked pass defenses were the Steelers, SD, and the Jets. Well Brady put up 400+ yds against the Chargers, 300+ yds against the Jets, and the next time that Brady doesn't throw for 300+ yds against the Steelers it will be the first time since 2001. Think about what that tells us about our passing offense

3. It doesn't look like we are going to lose that strangle hold on the 32nd worst pass defense anytime soon. The Cowboys have the 3rd best passing attack in the league

4. The Good News is the Cowboys have the 26th best rushing attack. The bad news is that they have the BEST rush defense in the league Like I said....food for thought.

5. I was surprised to see that the Cowboys ranked 12th among pass defenses, which I thought was better than I expected. However it makes some sense when you remember that they have played the Jets, SF, and Skins, Only Detroit had a semblance of a legitimate passing attack. In fact the Sanchize put up over 300 as well. So much for statistics.

6. We are so ensconced in last place that it might take 3 good games to improve on those rating. But what is interesting to note is that the Pats are now 17th in scoring D. Once again we see how Total Defense stats do NOT reflect the real strength of a defense. And while I'm not saying that 17th is anything to be proud of, its a lot better than 32nd (btw- we'd be ranked as low as 12th if not for the 3 garbage time TDs we gave up)

DISCLAIMER - these stats represent past performance and in no way guarantee future results. This writer is in no way responsible for how Reader may interpret these stats now and into the future. You have been warned.

 

[slash83]

Im still hungry..

 

[strngplyr]

3. It doesn't look like we are going to lose that strangle hold on the 32nd worst pass defense anytime soon.

I just want to point out thay the 32nd worst pass defense would be the best!

 

[Lurks_All_Day]

I just want to point out thay the 32nd worst pass defense would be the best!

English majors. "Yes, that's to go." LOL

 

[patsfaninpa]

We're actually 15th in points allowed per game. Dallas has given up 101 in 4 and St. L 113 in 4. So, we're ranked ahead of them too.

It's a pet peeve of mine. I just don't understand why defenses are ranked by yards. That would be like evaluating pitchers by their WHIP instead of ERA. The goal is to not allow points/runs. WHIP and yards are useful tools. But, not as important IMO.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

English majors. "Yes, that's to go." LOL

You know, your user name is sooo wrong. On one hand you have Welker who is a beloved Patriot. On the other, my grandparents (when I was a kid a long time ago) used to torture me by making me watch Lawrence Welk with them.

i haave to go play so Black Sabbath to get my ears right.

 

[ALP]

what is funny about pats, OAK and buff is that each of those teams has played the other...

and obviously they all had good passing attacks

 

[Off The Grid]

The notion that the Pats are the 32nd "worst" ~ can I assume you MEANT to say 32nd BEST?? ~ Defense is ALMOST as fundamentally flawed as the notion that we can be expected to REMAIN at our allegedly low level.

***

To pretend that YARDS, and not POINTS, determine the outcome of games...is indescribably vapid.

***

We are 14th in Points Allowed...and our Defense is coming together NICELY, despite a myriad of injuries.

...As PREDICTED.

 

[DarrylS]

Perhaps it is the way we view success in the NFL.. while the traditional stats have been imprinted in our brain.. maybe there needs to be another method that takes into account things like wins...

DVOA currently ranks us as 29th in Defense... #1 in offense.

DVOA currently ranks Dallas as 7th in Defense... # 19 in offense.

The worse defensive teams are Miami, Tampa and Carolina..

 

[patsfaninpa]

Perhaps it is the way we view success in the NFL.. while the traditional stats have been imprinted in our brain.. maybe there needs to be another method that takes into account things like wins...

DVOA currently ranks us as 29th in Defense... #1 in offense.

DVOA currently ranks Dallas as 7th in Defense... # 19 in offense.

The worse defensive teams are Miami, Tampa and Carolina..

Too many things affect yardage stats. Playing with a big lead. Don't give up the big play. Bend, but don't break defensive philosophy. That's the key with us. Let's use this scenario as an hypothesis.

Team a - Aggressive like to blitz
Series 1 - 3 and out 8 yards
Series 2 - TD. Safety bites on play action TD 80 yards
Series 3 - Really mad now ..blitz sack.....minus 8 yards

Gave up 80 yards and 7 points

Team b Pats
Series 1 Long drive ends up in FG 61 YARDS
Series 2 Couple of firsts stalls at midfield 28 yards
Series 3 Similiar to drive 2......47 yards but force a turnover

Gave up 126 yards and 3 points

Test Question

Which defense did the better job? Seems pretty obvious to me. The one that gave up 3 points not 7.

 

[Off The Grid]

To pretend that YARDS, and not POINTS, determine the outcome of games...is indescribably vapid.

Ahhhh....

The Timeless Wisdom of Off The Grid. :eat3:

 

[The Brandon Five]

We are 14th in Points Allowed...and our Defense is coming together NICELY, despite a myriad of injuries.

They are getting some help from our "Prevent Offense". See: the 6:12 drive at the end of the fourth quarter Sunday.

We had almost twenty more plays than the Jets did (72 - 53).

 

[patfanken]

Ahhhh....

The Timeless Wisdom of Off The Grid. :eat3:

Cmon, Grid, you are going to dislocate your shoulder, patting yourself on the back so hard. Suffice it to say your have a well developed "keen sense of the obvious".

 

[Uncle Rico]

They are getting some help from our "Prevent Offense". See: the 6:12 drive at the end of the fourth quarter Sunday.

We had almost twenty more plays than the Jets did (72 - 53).

I'm with you to an extent. But credit where it's due: Pats held Jets to a lot of three and outs, especially early and at a few key points later.

 

[Mainefan]

I figure this: We score 35 points a game, we win most of our games. Who says games are won by defenses?

 

[Fball]

I figure this: We score 35 points a game, we win most of our games. Who says games are won by defenses?

It's sort of an old school sentiment. The rules have changed so much over the past decade to the benfit of offenses, and - for better or worse - that's the kind of league it is, now.

 

[GostkowSKI]

It doesn't appear to be a coincidence that 3 of the NFL's 4 worst defenses in terms of YPG had to play against the Pats offense.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Suffice it to say your have a well developed "keen sense of the obvious".

Hey Off The Grid, I hear they are still looking for a replacement for John Madden.

Also, I award you 50 word-of-the-day points for using the word "vapid"... but doesn't vapid mean dull, not stupid?

Next word-of-the-day assignment: gravitas

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

This is real football, not the fantasy version.

Score more points than you opponent scores. Who gives a flying $&%$$ about yardage allowed? Afford that concept no gravitas, my friends.

#14 in points allowed. Not great, but not the end of the world. I expect that it will get better.

 

[patchick]

It's a pet peeve of mine. I just don't understand why defenses are ranked by yards. That would be like evaluating pitchers by their WHIP instead of ERA. The goal is to not allow points/runs. WHIP and yards are useful tools. But, not as important IMO.

Worse yet, team scoring stats are recorded by TEAM, not by offense. So, for instance, you can go to NFL.com and choose stats/offense/scoring and come away the the impression that the Jets offense ranks a respectable 13th in the league in points per game...because defensive and special teams scores are included. And on the flipside, their "defensive points allowed" includes all the scores rung up on them by the Ravens D.