Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

I am reading some of the posts about the Patriots defense and I think I am reading about a reincarnation the 1985 Bears. Felger is getting slammed for being critical about their play and people are comparing McCourty and Chung to Law and Milloy.

Based on what I have seen this season, the Patriots D is definitely a liability. Teams are able to move the ball and score points against them fairly easily. However, I have seen some positive signs in terms of the number of turnovers and the ability to stop the run in critical situations.

Some observations:

The Pats have been unable to close out games in the second half when teams move primarily to the pass. The Patriots have played from ahead in seven of the nine games they have won this season. In almost every case, the opponents were trying to balance the run and the pass which failed to work in the first half. The Colts even tried to run the ball in the first half despite their lack of success. The Pats were able to take leads during these games. Once these teams were forced into primarily a passing offense, almost every single one of these teams was able to move the ball at will making several of these games close. As a result, the Pats let several of these teams back in the game despite having healthy leads. The Buffalo, SD, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Indy games are prime examples. I wonder why opposing teams have insisted running the ball against the Pats in the first half despite these trends.

In their two come from behind winning efforts (Baltimore and Detroit), the trend of giving up significant passing yards was still present. The Ravens continued to run the ball despite their lack of success and their success passing the ball. The Ravens ran the ball 34 times for 99 yards and the Ravens were 27 / 34 for 278 in the air. I truly believe the Pats would have lost this game if the Ravens game plan called for more passing.

The current defense has shown the ability to create timely turnovers which is a signature line of any great defense. The Detroit comeback was possible based on the defense’s ability to create turnovers. Like other teams, the Lions were able to move the ball at will on the Patriots pass defense. The timely turnovers stopped critical drives. The D has been able to create critical turnovers all season which has propelled the success of the defense all season. Key turnovers played a role in their wins over Cincinnati, Buffalo, Miami, San Diego, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Indy, and Detroit. I think this trend is a credit to their defensive schemes and the athleticism of their players.

The Pats rushing defense has been very good to excellent all season. The D has only allowed one 100 yard rusher. In addition, the defensive stats show the Pats two worst days against the run are also their only two losses of the season. Although rushing against stats are often an indicator of a loss, the Pats poor pass defense was the true cause of the loss against the Jets. The Pats were leading the Jets game up until halftime. The Jets then decided to open up their offense and pass the ball in the direction of Darius Butler. The run opened up when the Pats over compensated to stop the pass. The Pats got man handled against Cleveland and the defense had a complete meltdown that day. However, the run D has been a strength all season.

Based on this information, I have the following questions comments.

What is going to happen if an opposing team game plans an offense completely based on the pass against the Pats?

If Chung, McCourty, and Merriweather are all average to above average players, how do we explain the success teams are having with the pass against the pass? Are these players making individual great individual plays while playing below average the rest of the game? Are Butler / Arrington that bad?

I am interested in comments.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

I have often wondered why teams don't go into a 5-WR offense against them, and I'm not sure why not. In terms of that quote above, it's another interesting question you've raised. The Pats have one of the league's worst pass rushes. In fairness, they rarely even try to blitz (unless you count Banta-Cain), but I think they should mix it up more. Their "safe" pass defense does not work and teams score at will. In my opinion, they just lack the talent to generate a pass rush without sending an extra guy or two. While some of the new guys have shut down the run, they lack the ability to get to the passer or demand extra blockers. Beyond that, Banta-Cain has one terrible spin move and nothing else. Cunningham is improving, but I'm not sure he is the ace they need in the mold of Harrison, Ware, Wake, etc. The 3-4 really needs a stud pass rusher to force errant passes.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

McCourty is the only above average d-back, and he's only a rookie.

Chung and Meriweather make an occasional big hit, but their coverage skills are mediocre to poor.


Arrington, Wilhite and Brown need all the help they can get, which is why they drop linebackers into coverage all the time.

It's hard to blitz without linebackers, but when they do, as in the Steelers game, they've been effective.

BB has to make the hard choice of rushing the passer with three or four guys, or helping out his inexperienced backs. So far helping out the backs seems to work.

With a 9-2 record they must be doing something right.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

So.....

If teams can move the ball and score "at will".....

How can a team ever be 9-2? Shouldn't they be be 0-11?

Why is this so hard to grasp? You play to win the game.

Stop fixating at specific points of games.

The defense shut Pittsburgh down for over 3 quarters then got sloppy.

The defense shut Indy down for 50 minutes then allowed a "comeback". Look at Indy's other 3 losses. In those games, Indy also mounted a "comeback" with tons of yards, some points, and a loss.

In the second half at Detroit, the Lions had 5 meaningful drives

7 points/ 2 picks/ 135 yards of offense.

Translates to 14 point/ 4 picks/ 270 yards of offense.

Mediots have a problem because they have a standard view of football that is obsolete.

We ran over Pittsburgh but after shutting down a dreg team they are officially "back". Why because they pad stats against inferior opponents.


Also, what about the Jets defense? Don't they suck? if you ding our defense, what about the Jets defense allowing a dreg Houston team back in the game? They gave up 20 points in Detroit?

Football is 60 minutes

Games are won by situational football

Current stats don't tell the story.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

Cunningham based on being a rookie gets a pass and should be much better next year. As for Banta-Cain he only looks like a world beater against mediocre Left Tackles but anybody half decent he invisible. What a pathetic spin move Tully has.:rolleyes: My grandmother could anticipate that. We have alot of picks we should be able to get a Good Edge Rusher. That solves the problems on Defense.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

Yeah, I wish posters would be more careful w/the language too. The defense is a work in progress, but saying teams "score at will" is like Felgers' "they can't stop anybody." It's just sloppy.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

@patsfaninpittsburgh - go back and re read my post. I stated the Pats D plays well in general in the first half, the Pats D is good against the run, and the Pats D creates turnovers. In addition, the post lacks any mention of the offense or of the special teams which are part of the game.

I agree stats can be deceiving. However, my eyes back up the stats that I quote. The fact is the Pats defense has failed to put the foot to the throat of any team when that team reverts to a pass only offense. The offense has provided several opportunities where this could have happened.

The Pats deserve to be a 9 - 2 team. As Bill Parcells stated, "You are what you are." However, the previous games cause reason for concern based on the inability to stop the pass

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

analyzing our defense is very simple and even i can do it: no pass rush. our dbs are getting worked because we can't seem to get enough pressure on the QB. that's why we've had all these fourth quarter near collapses. every time i see the pats blitz i cringe because i know that will leave their receivers one on one with our DBs. i think we are 1 or 2 pass rushers away from becoming like our 03/04 team. :rocker:

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

Play well at times, poorly at times. I still think if this team is going to go deep into the playofffs or even the SB, the D is going to have to be more consistent. Have to find ways to get more pressure to help out the young secondary. I still think it can be done, but would like to see the D play a 60 minute game very soon.

Re: Honest evaluation of the Pats D
 

The Lions and Colts are a close 1-2 for the teams most likely to pass the ball this year, both in total number of dropbacks or passes as well as highest pass to run ratio.

If any opposing team was going to exploit the Pats defense with an offensive game plan completely based on the pass against the Pats, it would have been one of those two teams.

Lions: 48 passing plays, 27 running plays
Result: 2 interceptions; lost 45-24

Colts: 52 passing plays, 20 running plays
Result: 3 interceptions; lost 31-28