I am not astonished by the love shown for the offense, coaching, ownership, etc. I am astonished by the love for the Patriots' defense. It's as if this defense is a stone cold lock to stop the AFC playoff contenders in the next round and beyond, but I have not yet ordered a cup of that kool-aid after a shutout of the listless Dolphins and solid defensive performance of the the impotent Jags.
The defense has evolved and it is definitely improved with Talib manning one corner and Dennard the other, with McCourty and Gregory at safety. But Talib's hip, and Dennard's injuries put the Patriots in jeopardy of fielding the same secondary that was torched by the likes of Sanchez, Kaepernick, Russell Wilson and Joe Flacco.
If the Patriots offense does not race out to a huge lead, we saw, just three weeks ago, how fast a competent offense can light up this defense. A couple of good defensive performances against non-playoff caliber teams has not won me over.
People were encouraged by the 28-point comeback. So was I. But I was even more discouraged at how fast this Patriots team dug the hole out of which they could not climb.