Defense? What defense!!!

[JackBauer]

I don't have the patience to look up stats, but from what I saw of the Jets and Steelers today was good. We are near the bottom of the league at this point.

I'm hopeful we turn it around, but we haven't the last couple seasons so am not overly optimistic this year.

The Steelers beat one of, if not the worst team in the league the week after getting destroyed by an average Ravens offense.

Likewise, the Romo-led Cowboys put up 342 yards against the Jets secondary.

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

There's been a lot of people bashing this defense over the past couple weeks. Although they haven't been superb they haven't been bad either. I think we all just have high expectations for this defense after the acquisitions made on the D line, Bodden returning and a lot of 2nd or 3rd year players who should be improving.

It's early and I think they will continue to get better like they did last year. Keep in mind they were up against Phillip Rivers today and held the Chargers to just 21 points. McCourty has been a little sloppy but he's a very talented player and I think he's just had a rusty start and will get back on track in the upcoming weeks.

 

[condon84]

No defense was slowing Vincent Jackson down today...no one

The only way you stop this WR is to put heavy pressure on Rivers and get in his face....if you don't,Jackson will destroy a secondary like he did today

If he stays healthy, Jackson will have 1,400-1,500 yards receiving this year

If you want to complain about the defense,it's the anemic pass rush which is pretty non existent right now and with the loss of Wright,it hurts even more.

Jackson was held to two catches last week.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Dear OP.....

Look on the bright side. At least you are not posting on the Charger site tonight. Their #1 ranked defense last year looked even worse then ours today, by a lot too.

The NFL has rigged a high-scoring system of entertainment....... Good defenses are a thing of the past. Get used to it.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Patriots caught a break when Tolbert fumbled the ball. It was a close game until that point.

This is not a championship defense. I'm worried about the Bills for god's sake

I love Wilfork but man look what Suh has done for that Lions defense,Suh is a modern day Ray Lewis where everyone plays better because they are on the same defense.

We need a Suh in the secondary...a guy who wants to mutilate his rivals

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I don't have the patience to look up stats, but from what I saw of the Jets and Steelers today was good. We are near the bottom of the league at this point.

I'm hopeful we turn it around, but we haven't the last couple seasons so am not overly optimistic this year.

Yeah

Seattle and San Diego are really equal offensively.

Tavaris Jackson and Rivers are like twins.

 

[Ring 6]

We gave up 21 points to the Phillip Rivers led Chargers. Sure, they drove down the field quite a few times but we made plays when we needed to.

No, no, no. You must give them credit for the plays they didn't make, because they could have. The defense actually allowed 56 points today. Where we you

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Jackson was held to two catches last week.

Like I said,I want a front row seat to see Revis against Jackson in a month from now....that will be the measuring stick to see how good Jackson will be when the year is over....if he has a game like today then MCCourty bashers will be wrong.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

i agree. our defense stinks. HOWEVER, if you look around the league, EVERY defense stinks. its so hard to be a great defense when the rules are so much in favor of the offenses.

i think that the scoring in the NFL thus far thru 2 week indicates that. hopefully we can get better, but i dont see our defense being a shutdown d. but i dont see it for anyone

For the record, the average pass attempt for 2011 is going over 7 yards, more than 10% more than in 2007.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

The Steelers beat one of, if not the worst team in the league the week after getting destroyed by an average Ravens offense.

Likewise, the Romo-led Cowboys put up 342 yards against the Jets secondary.

Jack

It's futile. In today's fantasy football/Madden world it's only yards that matter.

 

[Imperator]

The Pats Defense gave up allot of field today, against a great offense. But is there some universal football rule that says giving up allot of yards seals your fate, or makes you a bad Defense?

Sure it's not ideal to give up big plays for long gains. But I'm pretty certain it's points, and not yards that win football games. I'm also pretty certain that if you looked at the statistics, losing the turnover battle loses you far more games then the oh so important yards battle.

Patriots Total Yards: 470

Chargers Total Yards: 505

Patriots Take-aways: 3

Chargers Take-aways: 0

Final Score: NE 35 SD 21

Football games include many variables. But I think the importance of yardage is overrated.

 

[Deus Irae]

Like I said,I want a front row seat to see Revis against Jackson in a month from now....that will be the measuring stick to see how good Jackson will be when the year is over....if he has a game like today then MCCourty bashers will be wrong.

No, they won't. McCourty has struggled regardless of what happens in two weeks, two months or two minutes.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

No, they won't. McCourty has struggled regardless of what happens in two weeks, two months or two minutes.

Well since McCourty has sucked and is struggling so badly we need some help back there.

What is Duane Starks doing?

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Pats are 2-0...enough with these **** threads

 

[reflexblue]

The practice squad is the perfect cage for you.

Damn bet me to it.

 

[condon84]

Like I said,I want a front row seat to see Revis against Jackson in a month from now....that will be the measuring stick to see how good Jackson will be when the year is over....if he has a game like today then MCCourty bashers will be wrong.

I'm not gonna compare McCourty to Revis because that's just silly. McCourty doesn't have the physicality to play bump and run and he doesn't have Revis's closing speed. That much is obvious. No one really comes close to Revis at the moment in the NFL.

Maybe McCourty's great rookie season set the bar a bit too high. He got beat like a drum in the preseason, and the last two weeks. Teams have been picking on him and for him to be considered "elite", he's gotta play better. If he was Arrington, then all the lame excuses wouldn't sound so lame because Arrington's a JAG, but McCourty's not a JAG, well at least we don't view him as a JAG.

 

[Deus Irae]

Well since McCourty has sucked and is struggling so badly we need some help back there.

What is Duane Starks doing?

Congratulations on making one of the more inane posts of the past month.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I'm not gonna compare McCourty to Revis because that's just silly. McCourty doesn't have the physicality to play bump and run and he doesn't have Revis's closing speed. That much is obvious. No one really comes close to Revis at the moment in the NFL.

Maybe McCourty's great rookie season set the bar a bit too high. He got beat like a drum in the preseason, and the last two weeks. Teams have been picking on him and for him to be considered "elite", he's gotta play better. If he was Arrington, then all the lame excuses wouldn't sound so lame because Arrington's a JAG, but McCourty's not a JAG, well at least we don't view him as a JAG.

There was a thread here that compared the two last season...

Guys like Revis dont come out of the draft often and I didn't think the two were in comparison as others thought last year.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

I can't believe that we can be an elite team with the porous defense that we continue to put out on the field. Historically, we have not had a pass rush or a secondary that puts up a solid effort against decent passing quarterbacks. The lack of a pass rush turns average, and even less than average quarterbacks into Hall of Famers, while our DBs, either through lack of good coaching or NFL quality skills are unable to stifle any kind of passing attack. Today's game is a perfect example of what we can expect to see week after week, except the offense will get shut down and we will end up losing. Do you remember last season? Great season, but unable to win in the playoffs. Get used to it. I love the Pats, but reality is going to kill us.

I can't hardly believe we have such an elite team either.. isn't it awesome? I don't like Rivers, but I wouldn't call him average... An Azz maybe. I am as happy as you that today was a perfect example of what we can expect every week, beating one of the best football teams by 14 points! I too love the Pats.

I do have to disagree with you on one point. Reality is a bit!ch, but it is time that will kill us.

Otherwise, spot on and I love your optimism!

 

[VJCPatriot]

I see why you're still on the practice squad.

First of all Rivers is a top 5 QB in the league. Statistically that's where he's been at over the last 3 years and he showed why in today's game. VJax is a tremendous talent at WR as well. These weren't no name scrubs making passes and hauling them in. The Chargers have a high powered offense that ranked #2 overall only behind the Patriots in 2010.

Now that being said, I understand the concerns about the defense's performance. But sometimes good offenses just make good defenses look bad. To wit, Brady just lit up last year's #1 overall defense in yards allowed in 2010 to the tune of 420+ yards. Under these circumstances I'll take the win with the understanding that yes this team has a lot of improvements and adjustments to make on defense. But it's a young secondary, and a lot of guys were getting banged up left and right - Dowling, Ihidgbo, Arrington, etc. Let's first focus on getting those guys healthy and then I am quite sure the coaches will go over the film and try to help those players correct their main issues and find a fix.

Right now, the kind of reaction you've expressed however seems overblown and premature.

I can't believe that we can be an elite team with the porous defense that we continue to put out on the field. Historically, we have not had a pass rush or a secondary that puts up a solid effort against decent passing quarterbacks. The lack of a pass rush turns average, and even less than average quarterbacks into Hall of Famers, while our DBs, either through lack of good coaching or NFL quality skills are unable to stifle any kind of passing attack. Today's game is a perfect example of what we can expect to see week after week, except the offense will get shut down and we will end up losing. Do you remember last season? Great season, but unable to win in the playoffs. Get used to it. I love the Pats, but reality is going to kill us.

Mayo forced that fumble by knocking it out of his hands. Don't talk about that big defensive play like it was just a gift. It was earned.

BTW Championship defenses are not born overnight. To judge a defense as championship worthy or not in September would be foolish. They are forged over long months of grueling football, wrought and strengthened by tireless coaching and stiff competition, and finally put to the final test in the bitter cold winter months of January and Feburary.

And of course you should worry about the Bills. You think coach BB doesn't? They're a division rival and every divisional game is that much more important.

Patriots caught a break when Tolbert fumbled the ball. It was a close game until that point.

This is not a championship defense. I'm worried about the Bills for god's sake