Patriots Rank #1 in pass defense

Oh Danny Boy,
the balls, the balls are calling,
from field to field,
across the country side.

I expected our Pass D to be better, only a small sample, but very encouraging.. remember the adage early on that Revis would make our entire D better...

supafly said:

I don't believe that Browner would qualify for an early return like some of the other suspended players.

His suspension is for the first 4 games of the 2014 season, so he'd be back for game #5.

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Wasn't Browner's issue is that he refused a drug test??

Brady_to_Moss said:

too small sample size...but i think it will continue...revis...ryan...dennard..mccourty ect


Don't forget Browner back in 2 weeks

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I think Browner will help more in run defense.

DarrylS said:

Wasn't Browner's issue is that he refused a drug test??

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Here's an interesting story about it: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...e-curious-case-of-brandon-browners-suspension

Woah, I just went to edit this post and found this cool new edit console. Great work Ian and others

To the people a couple of years ago that were screaming "points!!!!!" in thread after thread when discussing the defense: This is what a good pass defense looks like.

KontradictioN said:

To the people a couple of years ago that were screaming "points!!!!!" in thread after thread when discussing the defense: This is what a good pass defense looks like.

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Heh, I remember saying in the past that the "points" were what mattered when the offense was capable of putting up 30+ points a game on a weekly basis. I would hope that no one would cite points a couple years ago and say it was a good defense, but it was enough to win a lot of football games when we had an offense like we did. I remember saying that if the Pats could throw up 30+ points in less than three quarters, then you could theoretically get away with a mediocre to sub-par defense by design and force the other team to race against the clock to try and play catch up.

Of course, when the offense sputtered, the house of cards fell, as we all know too well. It's worth keeping in mind that, in my view, 2009-2013 were rebuilding years really. It's been a hell of a ride.

If the defense holds true to form (and I think it will be even better as the season progresses), the offense won't have to carry so much of the load. In short, we're a more balanced team now. The offense may not be as explosive, but it doesn't have to be anymore for the Pats to win games as long as the defense is playing like it has been. It bodes well for the playoffs and is a far better situation than we've had in ten years.

Of course, the Pats are also 27th in total offense.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categoryst...onType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go

oldrover said:

Of course, the Pats are also 27th in total offense.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categoryst...onType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go

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What stands out to me there is that the Pats are by far the league leaders in yards lost to penalties. I joked in the chat room on Sunday that the Pats were becoming the Raiders with all these penalties..but it's definitely a major source of concern. That has to get cleaned up.

oldrover said:

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=TM&offensiveStatisticCategory=TOTAL_YARDS&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&season=2014&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go

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Couldn't you have let them take a couple of bites of their Cornflakes first?

Other defensive numbers so far:

#4 in total yards per game at 288.5
#4 in passing yardage at 166.0
#4 in sacks with 7
#1 in interceptions with 5
#21 against the run at 122.5

Just a note that Oakland are the worst team in the league against the run - already given up 400 yards at 5.0 YPC. But are #2 in passing with 329 yards given up.

I'm as encouraged as anyone, but it is WAY too early for this thread.

Nikolai said:

Heh, I remember saying in the past that the "points" were what mattered when the offense was capable of putting up 30+ points a game on a weekly basis. I would hope that no one would cite points a couple years ago and say it was a good defense, but it was enough to win a lot of football games when we had an offense like we did. I remember saying that if the Pats could throw up 30+ points in less than three quarters, then you could theoretically get away with a mediocre to sub-par defense by design and force the other team to race against the clock to try and play catch up.

Of course, when the offense sputtered, the house of cards fell, as we all know too well. It's worth keeping in mind that, in my view, 2009-2013 were rebuilding years really. It's been a hell of a ride.

If the defense holds true to form (and I think it will be even better as the season progresses), the offense won't have to carry so much of the load. In short, we're a more balanced team now. The offense may not be as explosive, but it doesn't have to be anymore for the Pats to win games as long as the defense is playing like it has been. It bodes well for the playoffs and is a far better situation than we've had in ten years.

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I just think trying to use points alone as the be-all, end-all way of measuring a defense is a flawed concept. Further, a good offense will always get shut down or slowed down significantly at some point in the season. It usually happens with more frequency in January when the teams with the very good defenses are still roaming around in the playoffs. When (not if) that happens, you need a very good defense to get off the field quickly and keep you in the game. The Pats of those years were basically a carbon copy of the Colts in the early-2000's. They had a soft defense, largely devoid of elite talent in key areas (specifically the back end), that would fold like a deck of cards if the offense couldn't put the tires to the other team. This pass defense looks different. In 2011, they would have allowed Cassel, even sans Peterson, to probably go for 250-300 yards and 2-3 TD's with maybe 1 INT. Not this one. This one specializes in tough, man to man coverage. They have elite players at every level of the defense and actually have had a consistent pass rush thus far to go along with the superb coverage abilities in the secondary.

As I can tell, there are only two stopping this from being a top 3 unit in the NFL. Those two things are injury and run defense. The first would be a product of good or bad fortune largely. The second is still a toss up since they didn't exactly get tested in Week 2 but failed miserably in Week 1. Either way, the pass defense is looking excellent thus far. Hopefully we can continue to see them improve as the competition gets more stiff.

After two games, that really doesn't mean much especially since they totally destroyed Cassel.

Big-T said:

Just a note that Oakland are the worst team in the league against the run - already given up 400 yards at 5.0 YPC. But are #2 in passing with 329 yards given up.

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They're bad in passer rating against, though. Few yards because no-one needs to throw against them.

Nikolai said:

What stands out to me there is that the Pats are by far the league leaders in yards lost to penalties. I joked in the chat room on Sunday that the Pats were becoming the Raiders with all these penalties..but it's definitely a major source of concern. That has to get cleaned up.

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Look at the last 4 SB participants each one was top 3 in penalties that respective year

KontradictioN said:

I just think trying to use points alone as the be-all, end-all way of measuring a defense is a flawed concept.

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I agree with this (and the rest of your post really), but my only point was that when the defense was not so good at stopping offenses from marching down the field, even if the point totals weren't high, you could forgive it because the offense was THAT good that it could cover the mistakes. Of course, as you point out, the wheels came off the whole wagon in January when the offense ran into good defenses.

Brady_to_Moss said:

too small sample size...but i think it will continue...revis...ryan...dennard..mccourty ect


Don't forget Browner back in 2 weeks

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i agree two weeks is to small of a sample size, but
i think it will get better as the defense solidifies. We find out what are the best d-line and defensive backfield combinations are. Barring injuries the D should be better in week six (for example) than it is now.

JMC00 said:

Look at the last 4 SB participants each one was top 3 in penalties that respective year

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The team has finally figured out the missing ingredient!!!

Wooo-hoo!
Oh yeah!
That's what I'm talking about!

Oh, wait, there are only two games.
And in the first game Miami ran for almost 200 yards and controlled the clock in the second half, and didn't have to try to pass the ball.

They definitely look better in the secondary. Against Miami and the first drive against Minnesota they definitely struggled in the middle of the field - crossing patterns, tight ends, running backs. If Kyle Rudolph could hang onto half the balls that hit him in the hands, those numbers would be a little worse. On the edges and deep they definitely look better. Through two games the number of turnovers they are forcing has to have opposing offenses concerned.

Their front seven looks better against the pass when they play more of a 4-3 look. In the Minnesota game, they played Chandler Jones & Rob Ninkovich on every snap (68 of 68 each) off the edge, playing them outside a lot more than the Miami game, and they were more effective. If you add in all the penalized hits, the Pats are disrupting the QB more than in the past.

If they can improve the middle of the field with safeties and coverage linebackers, they will continue to show a vastly improved pass defense.

Never thought I would be saying this a few years ago but the Pass defense doesnt worry me and might be the strongest unit on the team.

Its our own passing game that really worries me.