Pats' D going into the playoffs

[Schmo]

Our D has looked pretty crappy for the majority of the season, but going into the playoffs, we could have a pretty complete group of players. Our D-line has been solid, with 300 lb linemen actually getting a pass rush (including Ellis today and Deaderick). Assuming we get Spikes back, we will have a run-stuffing LB in addition to the middle pass rush that Fletcher brings (I'm really impressed by him in the last 2 games).

As far as our absolutely sh***y secondary, Arrington has been solid all year, Chung SHOULD be coming back, but FS is a question mark. When I saw McCourty make the INT, I thought that all he needs is a little confidence to own the WR's he faces. His main weakness as of late has been the deep zone coverage when he depends on the safeties, otherwise he has been in-stride with his man on most pass plays. Admittedly, he's had a sophomore slump, but I think he's this close to being a very effective man-coverage corner.

I see our D being in much better shape for the playoffs. Dissenting opinions?

 

[JackBauer]

I agree with you. I think they can tighten up the run defense, and having Spikes is key there.

The only thing that really worries me is the safeties. I like Ihedigbo's resilience in playing through injury but he's not really a starting-caliber NFL safety. Obviously, the other spot is a revolving door. We'll need these guys to up their games if we plan on beating a Brees or Rodgers-led team.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

My main concerns are how effective can Chung/Spikes be after coming back and FS. Ihedigbo is a trooper and all but he hasn't been the most solid tackler, not great in coverage either.

 

[PatriotSeven]

I LOOOVE the Pats D. They are proving one of the biggest myths in football wrong. And so are GB's. That yards actually don't matter, never did, and that "total defense" in yards allowed is NOT a team's TOTAL defense. It's just their yards allowed. And that's all that stat is. And it only represents a part of your team's defense anyway.

They are at the top of the league in points allowed, and were the 2nd most efficient defense in the league going in today.

The worst possible thing that an offense can do, which directly leads to losing games is to go up the field, and not score. To get yards without scoring. The Patriots defense, GB defense are exactly those types of defenses that forces opponents offenses to play inefficient.

Pats D give up lots of yards and few points. They are proving the stupidity of America's obsession with yards over points or efficiency in football. I feel great about this Patriots defense. A lot of vets who play very smart defensive football instead of physical football. I think this team is in it to win it.

More teams with top defenses in yards allowed have won Super Bowls(but not championships) than those without. However, more teams with efficient offenses than those with top defenses in yards allowed have won Super Bowls. And that's a fact. And 8 out of 10 times an efficient offense will always beat a "top defense in yards".

The 2011 Patriots are one of those teams.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Our D has looked pretty crappy for the majority of the season, but going into the playoffs, we could have a pretty complete group of players. Our D-line has been solid, with 300 lb linemen actually getting a pass rush (including Ellis today and Deaderick). Assuming we get Spikes back, we will have a run-stuffing LB in addition to the middle pass rush that Fletcher brings (I'm really impressed by him in the last 2 games).

As far as our absolutely sh***y secondary, Arrington has been solid all year, Chung SHOULD be coming back, but FS is a question mark. When I saw McCourty make the INT, I thought that all he needs is a little confidence to own the WR's he faces. His main weakness as of late has been the deep zone coverage when he depends on the safeties, otherwise he has been in-stride with his man on most pass plays. Admittedly, he's had a sophomore slump, but I think he's this close to being a very effective man-coverage corner.

I see our D being in much better shape for the playoffs. Dissenting opinions?

They need Chung and Spikes, especially for the AFCCG where they could face a run-heavy team like baltimore or pitt.

 

[tests]

I LOOOVE the Pats D. They are proving one of the biggest myths in football wrong. And so are GB's. That yards actually don't matter, never did, and that "total defense" in yards allowed is NOT a team's TOTAL defense. It's just their yards allowed. And that's all that stat is. And it only represents a part of your team's defense anyway.

They are at the top of the league in points allowed, and were the 2nd most efficient defense in the league going in today.

The worst possible thing that an offense can do, which directly leads to losing games is to go up the field, and not score. To get yards without scoring. The Patriots defense, GB defense are exactly those types of defenses that forces opponents offenses to play inefficient.

Pats D give up lots of yards and few points. They are proving the stupidity of America's obsession with yards over points or efficiency in football. I feel great about this Patriots defense. A lot of vets who play very smart defensive football instead of physical football. I think this team is in it to win it.

More teams with top defenses in yards allowed have won Super Bowls(but not championships) than those without. However, more teams with efficient offenses than those with top defenses in yards allowed have won Super Bowls. And that's a fact. And 8 out of 10 times an efficient offense will always beat a "top defense in yards".

The 2011 Patriots are one of those teams.

lets hope so

 

[SVN]

As bad as our D is ,look at the QB's they might face in the playoffs other then ben roethlisberger..

flacco,sanchez,yates,dalton(good but rookie), matt hasselback,tebows,carson palmer.

really, pats have as good a chance as any of these and better with our QB. Pitt is the most complete team on offense and defense and probably the toughest out.

 

[condon84]

The great thing about our D is their ability to take the coaching and adjustments that is asked of them during the game and going out there and executing it. Our D is what it is. We don't have the front line talent in our defensive backfield, but we have a top of the line nose tackle in Wilfork, a decent linemate in Love and solid LBs that will be even better with Spikes coming back. I don't expect us to shut offenses down in the playoffs, but I do expect them to make necessary adjustments to give our offense a chance. Our offense just needs to show up and we'll be all right.

 

[Mack Herron]

My big concern is the D's propensity to give up big plays. There is always the real possibility the other team will fire one over the defense for 40-50 yards. If Chung returns, the safety play will improve dramatically. But that is a big if. And even with Chung, McCourty has had a bull's eye on his back all season. I keep hoping for improvement, but today was just more of the same. Eventually I see them in a shoot out. Brady will score big--but will it be enough? Let's hope it turns out like 04.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

The D has shown little reason for fans to believe they can win a game on their backs. They have shown moments where they can play but little to suggest a full 60 minute performance. The Patriots will win in the playoffs with a truly complimentary performance. The O moves the ball and scores (O Line performance!), the D gets some stops, ST's keep the opposition from having good field position, no stupid penalties, no stupid turnovers, good game plan by BB and staff. The good news is the Patriots have shown multiple times they can turn in a complimentary performance like I just listed.

No one should be surprised if the Patriots win their two AFC playoff match ups. They have shown enough ability to beat anyone. The confidence, though, of them most likely winning those two games can't be considered abundant. Everyone should just buckle their seat belts and prepare for a wild ride starting January 15th.

 

[Schmo]

The D has shown little reason for fans to believe they can win a game on their backs. They have shown moments where they can play but little to suggest a full 60 minute performance. The Patriots will win in the playoffs with a truly complimentary performance. The O moves the ball and scores (O Line performance!), the D gets some stops, ST's keep the opposition from having good field position, no stupid penalties, no stupid turnovers, good game plan by BB and staff. The good news is the Patriots have shown multiple times they can turn in a complimentary performance like I just listed.

No one should be surprised if the Patriots win their two AFC playoff match ups. They have shown enough ability to beat anyone. The confidence, though, of them most likely winning those two games can't be considered abundant. Everyone should just buckle their seat belts and prepare for a wild ride starting January 15th.

I would say they did today. Show me a game this season where the O played a flawless 60 minutes and I might believe you.

 

[alvinnf]

The D has shown little reason for fans to believe they can win a game on their backs. They have shown moments where they can play but little to suggest a full 60 minute performance. The Patriots will win in the playoffs with a truly complimentary performance. The O moves the ball and scores (O Line performance!), the D gets some stops, ST's keep the opposition from having good field position, no stupid penalties, no stupid turnovers, good game plan by BB and staff. The good news is the Patriots have shown multiple times they can turn in a complimentary performance like I just listed.

No one should be surprised if the Patriots win their two AFC playoff match ups. They have shown enough ability to beat anyone. The confidence, though, of them most likely winning those two games can't be considered abundant. Everyone should just buckle their seat belts and prepare for a wild ride starting January 15th.

They actually won today's game in my opinion. No it wasn't 60 min. There aren't any 60 min defenses in today's NFl. So, if your looking for that you'll be waiting a long time. Their defense played extremely well today and bailed out an offense that was having trouble getting traction. They passed the eyeball test for me. Their DL is nasty, linebackers are good but smart and the secondary for the most part does what they are asked. They had to be flawless to give this team a chance. They didn't flinch until the last drive. So, on 3rd and 10, I am actually ok with them getting burned on a zero look. Shows balls and takes confidence.

 

[BHSL2]

Our D has looked pretty crappy for the majority of the season, but going into the playoffs, we could have a pretty complete group of players. Our D-line has been solid, with 300 lb linemen actually getting a pass rush (including Ellis today and Deaderick). Assuming we get Spikes back, we will have a run-stuffing LB in addition to the middle pass rush that Fletcher brings (I'm really impressed by him in the last 2 games).

As far as our absolutely sh***y secondary, Arrington has been solid all year, Chung SHOULD be coming back, but FS is a question mark. When I saw McCourty make the INT, I thought that all he needs is a little confidence to own the WR's he faces. His main weakness as of late has been the deep zone coverage when he depends on the safeties, otherwise he has been in-stride with his man on most pass plays. Admittedly, he's had a sophomore slump, but I think he's this close to being a very effective man-coverage corner.

I see our D being in much better shape for the playoffs. Dissenting opinions?

Patrick Chung played FS last year. If the coaching staff decides to leave him at FS, Ihedigbo can stay at SS. Or if they could shuffle Fuller/Jones at SS.

I hope they can position some other good cover guys at safety when Chung returns.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

I would say they did today. Show me a game this season where the O played a flawless 60 minutes and I might believe you.

Fair point (and to Alvinf's post too). The D played a solid 30 to 40 minutes today and that was a big reason the Patriots won (without the D play in the second half, the Patriots don't win this game). The Patriot D has been more responsible for other games this year too ( a couple). However, we still needed the O to play well in the second half. This was a complimentary win with the D holding up more than their share (STs really help up their end too). However, this was not an example of a defense that shut down the opposition and made it 3-3 in the first half. If the O is capable of scoring only 10 or 14 points, can the D carry the day? I'd like that to be the case but have not seen evidence to believe that will be the case against playoff quality teams.

As far as the O playing a flawless 60 mins? The O has had moments where they have struggled, no doubt. But everyone must know by now the Patriots will win with a potent offense versus a stellar defensive performance.

 

[makoute]

As bad as our D is ,look at the QB's they might face in the playoffs other then ben roethlisberger..

flacco,sanchez,yates,dalton(good but rookie), matt hasselback,tebows,carson palmer.

really, pats have as good a chance as any of these and better with our QB. Pitt is the most complete team on offense and defense and probably the toughest out.

The problem with your hope is that the last two playoffs they lost for the Pats came at the hand of Sanchez, and Flacco. So, you can't depend on facing crappy qb's, since that hasn't worked too well for the pats the past two playoffs.

 

[Kontradiction]

The best thing about the last couple of weeks is seeing the improvements in man coverage.

 

[Patjew]

Chung needs to get in there and knock the rust off.

I'll take a little Spikes too, thank you.

 

[PatsGirl2011]

The only quality QB the Pats will potentially face is Big Ben, but the offense will need to produce and not go cold like they did in the first half. That has been the difference in the playoffs since 2007 not the defense. This team isn't built currently to win a 21-14 game. They are built to get a lead and make other teams chase them. If you tell me the defense will only give up 20 points per game in the playoffs, I will say the Pats are going to win the Superbowl.

 

[Rob0729]

I know people were killing the defense in the first half on the game day thread, but I didn't think they played all that bad considering the offense kept them on the field. They did force the Dolphins to punt like 4 times in the first half.

Both the offense and defense have both been playing well in the third quarter. I think the defense have only given up 7 points in the third quarter during this current winning streak while the offense has scored close to 100 points in the third quarter during the same time period.

This defense will never be considered a top defense this year, but it is good enough to win a Super Bowl as long as the offense doesn't play like it did in the first half today.

 

[RIpats88]

to be honest, what this Pats defense does good is that they tighten up in the endzone and they create turnovers. If you give brady a couple extra posessions, you give him a chance to put points on the board.

I think this team is different than the team we had in 2009 or 2010....while yardage wise their defense may be worse I think this team is alot stronger mentally....to be down 17-0 most on here were saying it was over, and the team should just put in hoyer and call it a day. but they came out in the 2nd half looking like a totally different team, tightened up on defense/offense and clawed their way back to the win...that takes alot of mental toughness to not give up when down 17points.

and this isnt the only time the team has done that this year, they did it against the Cowboys, against tebow, against the eagles...while as a fan we want to see the team blow out all competition. I cant help but think that these sort of games make us a much better team going into the playoffs than the ones who could hang after the ravens got a big lead, or the Jets