Sorry. My bad. I used the ignore feature and that seems like a better way to go.
So ok. I'm a Ravens fan. What should I look for that I haven't seen in years past out of the Patriots?
No problem, just trying to get a good discourse back on track.
The first obvious thing are the two tight ends. Between Welker, Gronkowski and Hernandez teams - depending on their personnel - may be able to neutralize one or perhaps two, but stopping all three is extremely difficult.
Pittsburgh effectively got right up on the line, bumping the receivers with a press coverage. It's not as simple as calling for the same style of defense; other have tried to do the same thing and been burnt by any one of those three racing past everyone for a long gain or TD.
The Pats have also used the hurry up to their benefit quite a bit. The biggest advantage is that it keeps opposing defenses from inserting sub-packages, and also keep defenses from giving lineman a breather. Sometimes Brady will go with a quick snap; other times he'll let the clock wind down - either results in more unpredictability which makes it difficult to defend.
The much maligned defense is not great, but they're not anywhere as bad as the oft-repeated 'worst defense' or '31st ranked defense' that some in the media imply. As the season has progressed they have become more aggressive and more confident. Yes, they give up a lot of yards but a decent amount was either early in the year or in garbage time. For example statistically the Patriots appeared to have a bad game against the Eagles, but watching the game they actually appeared to play pretty well.
The return of LB Brandon Spikes, LB Dane Fletcher and S Patrick Chung from lengthy injuries is huge boost to the defense. They're still vulnerable in the middle and coverage by the secondary is still not what it should be, but they're very opportunistic. If I recall correctly the Pats defense led the AFC in turnovers. CB Kyle Arrington and LB Rob Ninkovich have the type of football smarts that puts them in the right place at the right time for those takeaway opportunities.
The pass rush still has a ways to go but it's much better than it was last year or the year before. The loss of Andre Carter hurts, but Mark Anderson and Ninkovich do a decent job of applying pressure on the QB. Overall I think the Pats ended up slightly above average in sacks this year.
