Another troll meat article: Steve Belichick best DC?

[ctpatsfan77]

Thing is that we'll never know how good a DC Steve is until he can show it out from under Bill. Interesting that he's never interviewed for a coordinator position on another team.

He's said he has no plans to coach anywhere else until after Bill retires.

 

[borg]

To anyone who thinks Stevie B and not Daddy B runs the NE D........

 

[Triumph]

Talk about a conversation starter. Looking forward to seeing where this thread goes.

The OP is remincent of the arsonist who also works for the Fire Department. Create a 5 alarm blaze where he can be first on the scene to save the day. Rising up through the ranks as a hero.

 

[tasmlab]

the interesting thing here is whether or not Steve even IS the DC. I know he calls the defensive signals, but that is a LOT different than coordinating the actual defense. I SUSPECT that Mayo does the coordination along with Steve and the other defensive coaches while Steve calls the signals.

Seriously!

I feel the same about Mayo. He's brought up as a potential head coach candidate for the past couple years, but I don't know how people assess what his contribution really is given the lack of clarity of roles/title/responsibility. For all we know, it could all be Bill.

 

[Kasmir]

The OP is remincent of the arsonist who also works for the Fire Department. Create a 5 alarm blaze where he can be first on the scene to save the day. Rising up through the ranks as a hero.

Quite the compliment coming from a champion sh*t-stirrer like you.

 

[Ivan]

Some in the media and former Pats players have said the defense needs to play better against competent QB and offenses, but the Offense needs to show up as well.

Going by many posters metric to define a defense, the 49ers had the best defense allowing the least amount of points per game. To back that up, they also gave up the least amount of total yards, 2nd in rushing yards by less than a yard and have a ferocious pass rush. However, they had a meltdown in the NFCCG after Purdy got injured.

Philadelphia had the league's best pass defense, yet got torched by KC with only Kelce to worry about.

Buffalo Bills have had "high ranked" defenses for the last couple years, but can't stop a team in the playoffs.

Especially in today's game, you can't expect any defense to shutdown or slowdown offenses in today's game on a weekly basis. Even prior to the rule changes, there were games during the early Bill years where the defense couldn't stop the offense and needed the offense to step up. Only difference now is that it's seems relentless in facing teams that can hang 30+ on their opponent.

Moral of the story, if your offense can't score, the defense will eventually implode.

Right on the money.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I wonder if Steve is the reason that Jack Jones is still a Patriot. And maybe Steve was a factor when the Patriots went so heavily toward defense during the 2023 draft, at least in the early rounds.

The Patriots defense could be truly dominating this year,...if they can stop the run. Run defense might be their weakness....if there is any weakness.

 

[Ian]

That's an interesting statement... considering it's completely false. As I mentioned, in the last 6 matchups, Allen has 18 TDs and 1 INTs (and a 5-1 record). Diggs in those 6 games averages 6-90-1 (and that's including the wind storm game and doing relatively nothing in the 47-17 playoff blowout). Buffalo's offense ranked 2nd, 3rd and 2nd respectively since 2020... so "shutting down even..." oh wait forget that.

Here are the quarterbacks who the Belichicks have beaten since 2020:

Ryan Fitzpatrick
Derek Carr
Joe Flacco
Lamar Jackson
Kyler Murray
Justin Herbert
Sam Darnold

Zach Wilson
Davis Mills
Zach Wilson/Mike White
Justin Herbert
Sam Darnold
Baker Mayfield/Case Keenum
Matt Ryan/Josh Rosen
Ryan Tannehill
Josh Allen (wind storm)
Trevor Lawrence (R)

Mitchell Trubisky
Jared Goff
Jacoby Brissett
Zach Wilson
Sam Ehlinger
Zach Wilson
Colt McCoy
Skylar Thompson/Teddy Bridgewater

It only gets worse the further down you go. In total 25 wins, and of the 25 starting quarterbacks (with some duplication), only 7 will be starters in 2023. And 24% of those 25 wins came against Zach Wilson and Sam Darnold.

Honestly I don't think there's a single example of shutting down one of the most high-powered offenses in the NFL. The wind storm game doesn't count. Lawrence looks legit now but when they beat him in 2021 he was in the midst of a dreadful rookie season (and the Jaguars had the 32nd ranked offense). They shutout Herbert in his rookie season but that was a mediocre Chargers offense in 2020. They did beat a more legit Chargers offense in 2021 but it was hardly a "shutdown." 75% of the forum thinks Lamar is a horrible quarterback, but I think he's legit (as we saw last season at Gillette), but we didn't shut him down either in that 2020 win.

I mean just look at that list of rubbish, last season especially. You've really got to be pushing a narrative hard to consider this list and make a statement like "shutting down even the most high-powered offenses."

There are some pretty good names on that list. And you also miss the point that there aren’t a lot of “elite” quarterbacks in this league currently. You can count them on just over one hand.

They lost a handful of other close games against several elite quarterbacks, who they managed to hold relatively in check in a few of those matchups before coming up just short.

And you keep bringing up Allen like he’s the next Brady…it’s a little crazy. I think he’s going to have a rough year and Bills fans are already turning on him. If New England gets in gear and can keep the defense off the field long enough where they don’t end up gassed, it should be a lot more competitive, which it was late in the year against Buffalo before they pulled away.

But with Rodgers, if the Jets give Allen trouble, they could very well be battling by December and that story could turn into a pretty surprising one. Definitely going to be interesting.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I wonder if Steve is the reason that Jack Jones is still a Patriot.

Maybe, but I don’t see any reason why he should be released unless he ends up in jail.

And maybe Steve was a factor when the Patriots went so heavily toward defense during the 2023 draft, at least in the early rounds.

Bill has always favored defense early, so this isn’t something out of left field.

The Patriots defense could be truly dominating this year,...if they can stop the run. Run defense might be their weakness....if there is any weakness.

Only 3 teams in the NFL allowed less than 100 yards rushing per game and the Pats were 6th in that category at 105. However, the Pats do have a hard time tracking down running QB’s like Jackson, Allen and Fields gashing them on the ground. The Pats biggest weakness are in the middle of the field when QB’s break loose/LB’s have to move East/West and on the outside CB which is why they drafted Gonzalez and Mapu.

 

[Triumph]

Quite the compliment coming from a champion sh*t-stirrer like you.

Be careful with fireworks Fire Marshall Bill.

 

[Triumph]

The Patriots defense could be truly dominating this year,...if they can stop the run. Run defense might be their weakness....if there is any weakness.

The offense has to show up and cant always rely on the defense to win the game. Too many times the Pats defense is placed in compromising positions. The Pats Run D was very good last year. It was the Pass D that was a liability.

2022 New England Patriots Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports | Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Stats and Rankings | Pro-Football-Reference.com

pfref.com

 

[Kasmir]

Be careful with fireworks Fire Marshall Bill.

You're right. Ian, please delete this thread, it has upset the trolls.

 

[Tunescribe]

There are some pretty good names on that list. And you also miss the point that there aren’t a lot of “elite” quarterbacks in this league currently. You can count them on just over one hand.

They lost a handful of other close games against several elite quarterbacks, who they managed to hold relatively in check in a few of those matchups before coming up just short.

And you keep bringing up Allen like he’s the next Brady…it’s a little crazy. I think he’s going to have a rough year and Bills fans are already turning on him. If New England gets in gear and can keep the defense off the field long enough where they don’t end up gassed, it should be a lot more competitive, which it was late in the year against Buffalo before they pulled away.

But with Rodgers, if the Jets give Allen trouble, they could very well be battling by December and that story could turn into a pretty surprising one. Definitely going to be interesting.

But ... But, the CrapSpammer has spoken.

 

[Triumph]

You're right. Ian, please delete this thread, it has upset the trolls.

Happy 4th Bill.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Its tough to have an elite pass defense in todays game. Rule changes definitely favor the offense. Now it’s about specific pre game designs and in game adjustments. Bill has shown in the past they he can still cook things up from time to time. The quarters with 6-1 front come to mind back in the last superbowl. But like many have mentioned, if your offense isn’t doing it’s job than it’s pretty much all for naught. I do think we will be pleasantly surprised with an improved offense and some more tweaks to an already good defense. Bill still has a few masterpieces left in him.

 

[PScottman]

if your offense isn’t doing it’s job than it’s pretty much all for naught.

The variables are legion. Is the offense allowing the defense to recover through T.O.P? Do they score, allowing a more pressure based scheme or the reverse the "trade yards for time off the clock"? Do they turn the ball over or conversely capitalize when their own defense does the same to the opposition? Does special teams pin the opposing offense? Hit long field goals to maintain field position?

It is indeed all three phases. I understand that today's NFL winners tend to be more "offense heavy" due to the rules, but even in those cases, with the exception of the teams with the elite QBs (which is maybe what 3-4?) unbalanced teams still struggle long term.

I've said it before, the only reason the Patriots won as many games as they did last year was their defense - which should be "as" good this year barring injuries, but if the offense and special teams haven't improved, and because the opposition has especially in division, they will struggle in this upcoming campaign because the NFL doesn't "do" smothering defenses anymore as a stand alone aspect of any team.

It's balance, great offense or an elite QB.

 

[Triumph]

Opposing offenses knew that the Pats offense struggled to pass the ball in 2022 so the opposing team threw the ball.

The opponent would try to go up a couple of scores and take the Pats away from the run game which is a strength and force the Pats to throw which was a weakness.

NFL Football Stats - NFL Team Passing Yards per Game | TeamRankings.com

NFL Football passing yards per game, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

 

[Kasmir]

Happy 4th Bill.

Just want to say really respect your work, Leni

 

[crawhammer]

There are some pretty good names on that list. And you also miss the point that there aren’t a lot of “elite” quarterbacks in this league currently.

Perhaps you missed the point of the article? The author said: "Steve has been in his current position since 2020 and calls the defensive plays for New England. Shutting down even the most high-powered offenses, and neutralizing every team's best weapon, apparently runs in the genes."

It's an entirely false statement. Period. I gave you the list of quarterbacks... only 7 of the 25 will be starters in 2023. So from 2020-2022 the Patriots beat 18 quarterbacks who aren't even starting in 2023. And a quarter of the overall wins came against Zach Wilson and Sam Darnold alone.

Seriously, who are the "pretty good" names on the list? Which by the way is significantly lowering the bar from "most high-powered" to "pretty good."

The thing is we can verify this stuff pretty easily. So what constitutes "most high-powered"?... top 5 in scoring?

Here are the season-ending offensive rankings for their beaten opponents 2020-2022:

15th
10th
32nd
7th
13th
18th
32nd

28th
30th
28th
5th (Chargers)
29th
20th
26th
15th
3rd (Bills... wind storm game)
32nd

26th
5th (Lions)
18th
29th
30th
29th
21st
11th

So there's only three top 5 offenses in there but even breaking down that puny number...

Beat the 5th ranked Chargers offense in 2021 while giving up 369 yards (including 163 rushing) and 24 points... that's not a "shutdown."
Beat the 5th ranked Lions offense in 2022 in the midst of Detroit's 1-6 start to the season... that's not impressive.
Beat the 3rd ranked Bills offense in 2021 in a wind storm... that doesn't even count as it relates to this exercise.

So forget the "most high-powered" offenses, the reality is the Patriots are almost exclusively beating the low-powered offenses. 14 of 25 wins against offenses ranking 20th or worse. 11 of 25 wins against offenses ranking 26th or worse. The author of this article needs to put down the crack pipe.

 

[Ian]

Perhaps you missed the point of the article? The author said: "Steve has been in his current position since 2020 and calls the defensive plays for New England. Shutting down even the most high-powered offenses, and neutralizing every team's best weapon, apparently runs in the genes."

It's an entirely false statement. Period. I gave you the list of quarterbacks... only 7 of the 25 will be starters in 2023. So from 2020-2022 the Patriots beat 18 quarterbacks who aren't even starting in 2023. And a quarter of the overall wins came against Zach Wilson and Sam Darnold alone.

Seriously, who are the "pretty good" names on the list? Which by the way is significantly lowering the bar from "most high-powered" to "pretty good."

The thing is we can verify this stuff pretty easily. So what constitutes "most high-powered"?... top 5 in scoring?

Here are the season-ending offensive rankings for their beaten opponents 2020-2022:

15th
10th
32nd
7th
13th
18th
32nd

28th
30th
28th
5th (Chargers)
29th
20th
26th
15th
3rd (Bills... wind storm game)
32nd

26th
5th (Lions)
18th
29th
30th
29th
21st
11th

So there's only three top 5 offenses in there but even breaking down that puny number...

Beat the 5th ranked Chargers offense in 2021 while giving up 369 yards (including 163 rushing) and 24 points... that's not a "shutdown."
Beat the 5th ranked Lions offense in 2022 in the midst of Detroit's 1-6 start to the season... that's not impressive.
Beat the 3rd ranked Bills offense in 2021 in a wind storm... that doesn't even count as it relates to this exercise.

So forget the "most high-powered" offenses, the reality is the Patriots are almost exclusively beating the low-powered offenses. 14 of 25 wins against offenses ranking 20th or worse. 11 of 25 wins against offenses ranking 26th or worse. The author of this article needs to put down the crack pipe.

I know what the author said. My comments were in response to your post.