The Steelers scored a lot of points...should it be a point of concern?

[goheels22002]

I agree to a point.

In the end, as Bill Parcells often says, "You are what your record says you are." In this case the Pats have scored enough points and given up few enough points to be 7--2, which is "what they are." However, I am concerned that the profile of their D, at this time, is also not that of a team that will go deep into January.

So,I think we are probably both not a lot "concerned" as to whether they will win their Division. However, I am more than a "little concerned" about how the current situation suggests this will end.

My binkie statistic is plus/minus in takeaways. After nine games the Patriots are plus 9 - good enough for 3rd in the NFL.

Top three in the AFC are KC (+15), New England (+9), and Indianapolis (+7). The Broncos are a worrisome -1 through nine weeks.

Yards don't mean a whole lot if the opponent is taking the ball away a lot and working on a short field. You can win the yards allowed battle and lose the war.

As far as the Pittsburgh game is concerned, the points allowed had me worried at 24-24. Big Ben was sharp and had found a mismatch with Arrington unable to cover Cotchery for whatever reason. But then all hell broke loose and Ben was getting beaten up and sacked and just looking a bit out of sorts.

It's probably heresy to write this, but I like the urgency and aggressiveness of the defense without Wilfork and Kelly in there. There's a heightened sense of attack in the defense since Patricia and Belichick realize that the Patriots can't stonewall anybody any more.

The defense misses Mayo and his ability to get to the ball from anywhere. But overall, I think this defense will hold its own with everybody if the secondary is intact. The first two games after the bye require Talib and Gregory to be in their usual spots because either QB - Newton or Manning - can carve up a secondary that's not in its proper zones, or staying glued in man-to-man.

If the Patriots get up two scores and the defense can start attacking, Newton could be a problem to contain, but Manning will be in trouble.

 

[YearbookCurfew]

Yes, it's always a concern when an offense scores 30+ points, but we are loads better from last year.

 

[Bonzo]

If Pats O is going to keep rolling in the 2nd half, that should force teams to need to throw the ball, which will help mask the deficiency up the middle. (Although, except for those couple big plays, they actually looked pretty stout against the run on Sunday.) Assuming Talib gets/stays healthy and Arrington's groin mends up over the bye (which has clearly had a rather severe impact on the secondary), that really plays to what has mostly been a strength of the opportunistic, ball-hawking D.

And I wouldn't over-worry about 31 points -- the game was played at that kind of pace. The important thing is the differential: Pats very nearly doubled that up.

 

[BTTA]

It's probably heresy to write this, but I like the urgency and aggressiveness of the defense without Wilfork and Kelly in there. There's a heightened sense of attack in the defense since Patricia and Belichick realize that the Patriots can't stonewall anybody any more.

This is a provocative statement; I like it.

 

[ATippett56]

It's probably heresy to write this, but I like the urgency and aggressiveness of the defense without Wilfork and Kelly in there. There's a heightened sense of attack in the defense since Patricia and Belichick realize that the Patriots can't stonewall anybody any more.

What a complete and utter joke. The New England Patriots defense faced two of the worst offensive lines in the NFL during the last two weeks.

 

[pats4life12]

If were giving up this many points and still winning whats there to be concerned about??

 

[Kontradiction]

If were giving up this many points and still winning whats there to be concerned about??

Because it entails that we're scoring that many points plus at least one more to get the win. That being said, there's more than likely going to be a game in the playoffs when the offense doesn't put up a point total in the high 20's/low 30's and beyond. If the defense plays like that, season over. But I put the blame on that more or less on injuries. Because of the injury to Talib, the defense has been playing way too much zone (for whatever reason) which is easier to pick apart than tight press coverage with the horses to run that scheme. The pass defense should be fine when Talib comes back. The run defense is the bigger concern.

 

[pats4life12]

Because it entails that we're scoring that many points plus at least one more to get the win. That being said, there's more than likely going to be a game in the playoffs when the offense doesn't put up a point total in the high 20's/low 30's and beyond. If the defense plays like that, season over. But I put the blame on that more or less on injuries. Because of the injury to Talib, the defense has been playing way too much zone (for whatever reason) which is easier to pick apart than tight press coverage with the horses to run that scheme. The pass defense should be fine when Talib comes back. The run defense is the bigger concern.

That is true we are very injured. once Talib is back you will be seeing those other team scores going down. The run Defense still needs allot of work but i still think our pass rush is terrible, were giving QB's way to much time, You can really see it on 3rd and long. We definitely are playing way to much zone defense. We need to start Blitzing more we need to put more more pressure on QB's.

 

[BTTA]

One thing to keep in mind is that the defense faced two of the worst offensive lines in the NFL during the last two weeks. Your premise will be better tested when they face a better line or two.

Fixed it for you.

 

[ATippett56]

Fixed it for you.

Not exactly.

To compare Joe Vellano to Vince Wilfork is a complete and utter joke.

 

[BTTA]

Not exactly. To compare Joe Vellano to Vince Wilfork is a complete and utter joke.

To compare two players isn't to equate them.