Prediction: We will finish the season with the #1 scoring defense.

[JJDChE]

Book it.

The difference will be week 14 against the Steelers. We will knock them out of the top spot and keep it for the rest of the season.

In the first 9 games we have played the #2, #3, #4, #9 and #10 scoring offenses, three of those five games were on the road AND we were without Harrison and/or Seymour for the majority of the time. We still managed to allow only 16.3 PPG.


In the remaining 7 games we only face the #5 (PIT), #8 (NYG) and #14 (PHI) scoring offenses, two out of three of those games are at home and, knock on wood, we'll have a healthy Harrison and Seymour.

This defense is going to put together a great second half.

The offense will struggle a bit since we are facing tougher defenses, 6 out of 9 teams we've faced are in the bottom half in scoring D, only 3 out of our remaining 7 are in the bottom half. Either way, the defense will pick up the slack.

 

[cavtroop]

oooh, good observation. Any way you slice it, this last half of the season is going to be FUN to watch!

 

[JJDChE]

Note: Even though Philly is the #14 scoring offense, they got a huge chunk of their points in their 56-21 win over Detroit. Outside that game they've only cracked 17 points twice and are averaging 16.6 PPG, which is equivalent to about the #26 scoring offense.

Realistically, Pittsburgh and the Giants are the only two competent offenses we play the rest of the season.

 

[SeauOUCH]

I think its funny how the national media "experts" think our defense is our weakness. I swear these people dont watch the games, we play nicklel against the colts for the entire game ( obviously giving up the run to stop the pass ) and they mediots say, "Colts ran ALL OVER Pats old D, Colts will have the advatage in Foxboro in the cold!"

Dont forget the Pats D usually gets much better as the year goes on, I think we may get a few shut outs in the last few games.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

I want us to shut down the Steelers purely to give Mr. Ward a solid response for his stupid comments against us.

But getting ahead of myself....the Bills are next and Losman (and others) might be wanting to get back at Wilfork. Glad that we had the bye week in between the nice W over the Colts and the next game.

 

[psychoPat]

I think its funny how the national media "experts" think our defense is our weakness. I swear these people dont watch the games, ....

.... how absurd .... when what we can't do is run the ball.

 

[Ring 6]

Book it.

The difference will be week 14 against the Steelers. We will knock them out of the top spot and keep it for the rest of the season.

In the first 9 games we have played the #2, #3, #4, #9 and #10 scoring offenses, three of those five games were on the road AND we were without Harrison and/or Seymour for the majority of the time. We still managed to allow only 16.3 PPG.


In the remaining 7 games we only face the #5 (PIT), #8 (NYG) and #14 (PHI) scoring offenses, two out of three of those games are at home and, knock on wood, we'll have a healthy Harrison and Seymour.

This defense is going to put together a great second half.

The offense will struggle a bit since we are facing tougher defenses, 6 out of 9 teams we've faced are in the bottom half in scoring D, only 3 out of our remaining 7 are in the bottom half. Either way, the defense will pick up the slack.

I said, on this board, if someone wants to look it up, before the season started that while all the talk was about our prolific offense, I would not be surprised at all if we set a franchise record for scoring defense. We are not far off track. In fact a shutout on Sunday would have our avg per game below the franchise record. I think given the schedule left (Buff, Ravens, Jets, Miami) that there should be a shutout in there somewhere.

 

[ALP]

and all that will be done while we play like 7 top 14 offenses in the league....and let ppl score on us late in games b/c we are so far ahead...

this is a scary good offense...

and an assassin type defense

 

[cstjohn17]

The tenor of the games will really start to change based on the weather and the styles of defenses the Pats face. I expect them to pass more than they run but we should see a real physical edge emerge as the team shapes into playoff form. Playing the Steelers and the Ravens back to back will put the onus on the run defense. By the time the playoffs start the Patriots roster depth will put them even further ahead of the field. Time for the team to crank it up even more.

At first I scoffed at the idea of the team having the #1 scoring defense but looking at the schedule the Patriots have a good chance of keeping teams like Buffalo, Baltimore, Jets and Miami way under 10 points. Then again if they get a big lead then you may see some 'soft' second half points that impact the stats.

Sun 11/18 at Buffalo 8:15 pm
Sun 11/25 Philadelphia 8:15 pm
Mon 12/3 at Baltimore 8:30 pm <-- they still have a very good defense, Monday at home they will be pumped but when they score 10 points (7 from the defense) it won't matter, watch the kid Ngata he is a beast
Sun 12/9 Pittsburgh 4:15 pm <-- enough said, Big Ben gets clocked
Sun 12/16 NY Jets 1:00 pm
Sun 12/23 Miami 1:00 pm
Sat 12/29 at NY Giants 8:15 pm

 

[Dagg]

Your not taking into account Pitts cake walk schedule.

 

[hambone1818]

The offense will struggle a bit since we are facing tougher defenses, 6 out of 9 teams we've faced are in the bottom half in scoring D, only 3 out of our remaining 7 are in the bottom half. Either way, the defense will pick up the slack.

I agree completely that the defense has been overlooked, especially when strength of the opposition is taken into account. However, I'm not sure I agree with the above statement...don't forget, even if they're held to a low output against Pittsburg, Baltimore, and/or NYG, they're gonna throw 84 on the board against the Jets. The offense will set records this season, make no mistake about that.

 

[JJDChE]

Your not taking into account Pitts cake walk schedule.

The sad thing is that as bad as their remaining schedule is, the teams they've played so far are even worse. They'll dropoff in the second half. Not by much, but they will dropoff slightly. I'd predict a final scoring defense around 15.5 PPG.

The toughest games Pitt has played are Cleveland and Seattle.

Cleveland is a nice story, but they're a .500 team, at best. They've allowed more points than any team in the NFL.

That was a good win at Seattle at home, but Seattle is 1-3 on the road with their only win against San Fran. They're a bad road team.

Looking at their schedule, New England and Seattle might end up being their only two opponents over .500. They play Jacksonville, too, but looking at their schedule, they might finish under .500. They could go either way at this point.

 

[JJDChE]

I agree completely that the defense has been overlooked, especially when strength of the opposition is taken into account. However, I'm not sure I agree with the above statement...don't forget, even if they're held to a low output against Pittsburg, Baltimore, and/or NYG, they're gonna throw 84 on the board against the Jets. The offense will set records this season, make no mistake about that.

I didn't mean to say they'll struggle to score, just compared to earlier in the season. They may score 33 ppg in the second half as opposed to the 41 ppg they scored in the first half. They only need to score 29 ppg from here on out to break the scoring record. I still think they'll do that.

 

[JJDChE]

I said, on this board, if someone wants to look it up, before the season started that while all the talk was about our prolific offense, I would not be surprised at all if we set a franchise record for scoring defense. We are not far off track. In fact a shutout on Sunday would have our avg per game below the franchise record. I think given the schedule left (Buff, Ravens, Jets, Miami) that there should be a shutout in there somewhere.

Going into the season, it really wasn't that much of a stretch to predict this would be our best scoring defense. After all, this is the most talented defense we've had yet. I just think it's funny that there is an undercurrent in the media that our defense is out "weakness". It's laughable.

Between BUF, BAL, NYJ and MIA there could be multiple shutouts. There probably won't be, but I'd be surprised if those 4 teams scored more than 40 points on us, combined. Heck, throw Philly in there. They've been pretty inconsistent. If the come out flat, we could hold them under 10.

 

[JJDChE]

Points Allowed - Week 10

1. Pittsburgh - 145
2. Tampa - 151
3. New England - 157
4t. Indiapolis - 159
4t. Green Bay - 159


Points Scored

1. New England - 411
2. Dallas - 324
3. Cleveland - 288
4. Indianapolis - 278
5. Pittsburgh - 269


Point Differential

1. New England - +254
2. Pittsburgh - +124
3. Indianapolis - +119
4. Dallas - +106
5. Green Bay - +100