What About the Defense?

[billdog3484]

I am not unhappy with any of the moves we have made thus far. But I just dont get it. Since when was Offense our problem? We scored a zillion points this year. We would have won the Super Bowl if not for our best player tearing his ankle in the AFC Championship Game, and probably still would have won if Brady hadnt injured his shoulder in the 3rd Quarter of the super bowl.

We havent lost a game in a really long time, in my mind, due to the offense. We lose because our defense cannot get off the field. How have we rectified this.

I have called our defense the "No-Brady" defense, because it is the only thing that stops us from scoring. We cannot get our D off the field and Offense onto the field.

I really hope we have something coming up our sleeve to change this.

 

[IllegalContact]

defense.....BAH

 

[BlueThunder]

Defense was mid of the pack by end of year. It should be improved this season with players healthy and a few of the FA Pats already signed. I have to think Gregory, Fanene, Cole and Scott along with their high draft picks will help make the D better than last year's version. Just call me Mr Opptimistic

Hurts to lose Anderson, but he's only one player.

In BB We Trust :rocker:

 

[DarrylS]

A year of playing together and overall maturity will help the Defensive Backfield....

 

[naF staP]

Nobody can beat the Patriots when putting 50+ points on the board every week!!

 

[Patriots Nation NY]

I am not unhappy with any of the moves we have made thus far. But I just dont get it. Since when was Offense our problem? We scored a zillion points this year. We would have won the Super Bowl if not for our best player tearing his ankle in the AFC Championship Game, and probably still would have won if Brady hadnt injured his shoulder in the 3rd Quarter of the super bowl.

We havent lost a game in a really long time, in my mind, due to the offense. We lose because our defense cannot get off the field. How have we rectified this.

I have called our defense the "No-Brady" defense, because it is the only thing that stops us from scoring. We cannot get our D off the field and Offense onto the field.

I really hope we have something coming up our sleeve to change this.

if i told you the defense last year out performed the offense in the last two most important games of the year would you believe me?

 

[Deus Irae]

I am not unhappy with any of the moves we have made thus far. But I just dont get it. Since when was Offense our problem? We scored a zillion points this year. We would have won the Super Bowl if not for our best player tearing his ankle in the AFC Championship Game, and probably still would have won if Brady hadnt injured his shoulder in the 3rd Quarter of the super bowl.

We havent lost a game in a really long time, in my mind, due to the offense. We lose because our defense cannot get off the field. How have we rectified this.

I have called our defense the "No-Brady" defense, because it is the only thing that stops us from scoring. We cannot get our D off the field and Offense onto the field.

I really hope we have something coming up our sleeve to change this.

1.) Mario Williams aside, what great defenders were missed out on?

2.) What players, on either side of the ball, were overpaid?

3.) The team has brought in 3 players for the defensive secondary and 2 players for the front seven.

4.) The draft is still to come.

5.) Free agency isn't over yet.

6.) There will likely be more veteran cuts to look at in the future.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

I just want to know who our pass rushers will be ...............

 

[BTTA]

1.) Mario Williams aside, what great defenders were missed out on?
2.) What players, on either side of the ball, were overpaid?
3.) The team has brought in 3 players for the defensive secondary and 2 players for the front seven.
4.) The draft is still to come.
5.) Free agency isn't over yet.
6.) There will likely be more veteran cuts to look at in the future.

Exactly. We've brought in more defensive players than offensive ones. The only possible imbalance is that there's no defensive player with the potential upside that Lloyd has - at least that's how it is perceived.

We do seem to be missing an explosive athlete on the edge. That would about complete the work. But other than Williams, who was available?

 

[letekro]

Improvements were needed on both sides of the ball. The offensive players to make that happen were available at reasonable prices. The defensive players were not (although we did add some complementary pieces in Fanene, Gregory, Allen, and Scott). Do you really want Mark Anderson for what Buffalo paid him? Let Scott, Cunningham, Andre Carter (if resigned) and a rookie battle it out for a situational rusher role. There are some good edge rushers available in the draft and Fanene and a healthy Pryor will dramatically improve our interior rush.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I am not unhappy with any of the moves we have made thus far. But I just dont get it. Since when was Offense our problem? We scored a zillion points this year. We would have won the Super Bowl if not for our best player tearing his ankle in the AFC Championship Game, and probably still would have won if Brady hadnt injured his shoulder in the 3rd Quarter of the super bowl.

We havent lost a game in a really long time, in my mind, due to the offense. We lose because our defense cannot get off the field. How have we rectified this.

I have called our defense the "No-Brady" defense, because it is the only thing that stops us from scoring. We cannot get our D off the field and Offense onto the field.

I really hope we have something coming up our sleeve to change this.

Were you hibernating in 2011?

The Patriots lost 4 games. 3 1/2 were due to the offense.

Go back and watch the games and then discuss.

 

[IllegalContact]

A year of playing together and overall maturity will help the Defensive Backfield....

isn't that what was said about the entire defensive unit after the 2010 season?

 

[TyronePoole]

Apparently during the regular season now you aren't allowed to play defense but once the playoffs start there are no longer rules against holding and PI. This allowed our pretty awful defense to look above average last year so call me crazy but I just don't worry too much about the D assuming this trend continues and we improve at least a little.

It may just be a sad truth that defense no longer matters that much. And now they're talking about treating the QB like a kicker and having a no contact rule. I'm not one of these guys going on about the ****ification of this or that but it really is kind of imbalanced.

 

[cavtroop]

And now they're talking about treating the QB like a kicker and having a no contact rule.

[citation needed]

Really? I havent seen this anywhere? I did see a proposed change to call horsecollars on QBs in the pocket, but thats it...

 

[TyronePoole]

[citation needed]

Really? I havent seen this anywhere? I did see a proposed change to call horsecollars on QBs in the pocket, but thats it...

John Madden says more protection of quarterbacks is needed | ProFootballTalk

not saying it will happen but it certainly shows which way the wind is blowing

 

[Blizzzard]

The thing that most people forget is that a bunch of good-to-great 2010 defenses were poor-to-piss poor in 2011, because of the
Lockout. That affected defenses a lot more than offenses because of the need to play as a cohesive group being even greater than that need on offense ( where skill position players can take over a game)

We saw it ourselves, as our defense got MUCH better as the year went on and they had played together for an extended period.

I believe that we will get much better ( closer to what BB envisioned ) just by virtue of having a training camp. Not to mention getting players like Dowling back and adding draft picks and veteran cuts later on in the offseason. :rocker:

 

[ivanvamp]

Were you hibernating in 2011?

The Patriots lost 4 games. 3 1/2 were due to the offense.

Go back and watch the games and then discuss.

I know you're addressing a specific claim in this post, but it got me thinking. In the past two seasons (regular season and postseason) the Pats have scored no fewer than 14 points in any single game. They've scored fewer than 20 points in just 4 of their 36 games. That's amazing.

In the NFL the past two seasons as a whole, teams scored fewer than 20 points 429 times. Teams won 90 of those games, for a winning percentage of .210. Obviously not great, but it's just over 1 in 5. (obviously if a team wins with fewer than 20 points scored, it also means that a team loses with fewer than 20 points scored)

The Patriots have scored fewer than 20 points 4 times, and is 0-4 in those games. If they had scored 19 points against Dallas instead of 20, they'd be 1-5 in such games....right on pace with the rest of the NFL. So we can't exactly "punish" the Patriots for that.

Nevertheless, it is true that the Pats have 7 losses over the past two years, and in 4 of them they've scored fewer than 20 points. Here are their 7 losses:

2010 - at NYJ, 28-14
2010 - at Cle, 34-14
2010 - vs NYJ, 28-21
2011 - at Buf, 34-31
2011 - at Pit, 25-17
2011 - vs NYG, 24-20
2011 - vs NYG, 21-17

So in 6 of their 7 losses, they have scored 21 or fewer points.

Here's kind of the point I'm trying to make. Their offense has been ridiculously good in recent years. Very rarely do they not hold up their end of the bargain. But it's not reasonable to expect them to put up big numbers every game, and when they don't, the D needs to step up and win a game. But the D hasn't done that. The D, when the offense needs to be bailed out, hasn't bailed them out. The offense has, however, bailed out the D numerous times, by winning a bunch of games where the D gave up 27 or more points (4-2 in such situations). Here are those games:

2010 - vs Buf, W, 38-30
2010 - vs Ind, W, 31-28
2010 - vs GB, W, 31-27
2010 - vs NYJ, L, 28-21
2011 - at Buf, L, 34-31
2011 - at Was, W, 34-27

So the O has consistently done a much better job than the D (no surprise) but they've also bailed out the D four out of six times, but the D has never bailed out the O, going 0-for-4 in such games.

 

[eom]

I am not unhappy with any of the moves we have made thus far. But I just dont get it. Since when was Offense our problem? We scored a zillion points this year. We would have won the Super Bowl if not for our best player tearing his ankle in the AFC Championship Game, and probably still would have won if Brady hadnt injured his shoulder in the 3rd Quarter of the super bowl.

We havent lost a game in a really long time, in my mind, due to the offense. We lose because our defense cannot get off the field. How have we rectified this.

I have called our defense the "No-Brady" defense, because it is the only thing that stops us from scoring. We cannot get our D off the field and Offense onto the field.

I really hope we have something coming up our sleeve to change this.

fanene, scott, and gregory all play defense.

also, there's the draft.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I know you're addressing a specific claim in this post, but it got me thinking. In the past two seasons (regular season and postseason) the Pats have scored no fewer than 14 points in any single game. They've scored fewer than 20 points in just 4 of their 36 games. That's amazing.

In the NFL the past two seasons as a whole, teams scored fewer than 20 points 429 times. Teams won 90 of those games, for a winning percentage of .210. Obviously not great, but it's just over 1 in 5. (obviously if a team wins with fewer than 20 points scored, it also means that a team loses with fewer than 20 points scored)

The Patriots have scored fewer than 20 points 4 times, and is 0-4 in those games. If they had scored 19 points against Dallas instead of 20, they'd be 1-5 in such games....right on pace with the rest of the NFL. So we can't exactly "punish" the Patriots for that.

Nevertheless, it is true that the Pats have 7 losses over the past two years, and in 4 of them they've scored fewer than 20 points. Here are their 7 losses:

2010 - at NYJ, 28-14
2010 - at Cle, 34-14
2010 - vs NYJ, 28-21
2011 - at Buf, 34-31
2011 - at Pit, 25-17
2011 - vs NYG, 24-20
2011 - vs NYG, 21-17

So in 6 of their 7 losses, they have scored 21 or fewer points.

Here's kind of the point I'm trying to make. Their offense has been ridiculously good in recent years. Very rarely do they not hold up their end of the bargain. But it's not reasonable to expect them to put up big numbers every game, and when they don't, the D needs to step up and win a game. But the D hasn't done that. The D, when the offense needs to be bailed out, hasn't bailed them out. The offense has, however, bailed out the D numerous times, by winning a bunch of games where the D gave up 27 or more points (4-2 in such situations). Here are those games:

2010 - vs Buf, W, 38-30
2010 - vs Ind, W, 31-28
2010 - vs GB, W, 31-27
2010 - vs NYJ, L, 28-21
2011 - at Buf, L, 34-31
2011 - at Was, W, 34-27

So the O has consistently done a much better job than the D (no surprise) but they've also bailed out the D four out of six times, but the D has never bailed out the O, going 0-for-4 in such games.

Actually, no.

The worst example is thinking the offense bailed the defense out against the Redskins.

Go back and actually watch that game. You might notice:

The defensive TD.
The game not being sealed after great field position because of an end zone INT.
The game getting sealed by a Mayo INT.

 

[ivanvamp]

Actually, no.

The worst example is thinking the offense bailed the defense out against the Redskins.

Go back and actually watch that game. You might notice:

The defensive TD.
The game not being sealed after great field position because of an end zone INT.
The game getting sealed by a Mayo INT.

Well we could play that game the other way too. The Super Bowl, for example. The Pats led 17-15 until the Giants' final drive. The D had given up only 13 of those points. Great job, right? Bailed out the offense, right? Well, that is, until the Giants shredded them in the last 2 minutes to win the game.