Defense? What defense!!!

[Tom + Bill]

ban this guy that says bad about pats.

 

[sbpatfan]

I think people need to change their definition of good defenses. Look at the scores in the nFL now.

 

[Deus Irae]

I think people need to change their definition of good defenses. Look at the scores in the nFL now.

Chad Henne threw for fewer than 200 yards today.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

The league has changed and BB has recognized it and has changed his defense, lets give it a few weeks before we write them off as one and done in the playoffs.
Ive never seen so many pessimistic people in my life as on this board. We just beat one of the better teams in the NFL to go 2-0 and you guys want to throw the towel in, I bet the defense you see today will not be the defense you see in game 16.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I say it is time to thank them for the (4) takeaways.
They are a work in progress.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I say it is time to thank them for the (4) takeaways.
They are a work in progress.

Say thank you to Tolbert for running backwards instead of forwards,that was the biggest turnover of the game

 

[Deus Irae]

The league has changed and BB has recognized it and has changed his defense, lets give it a few weeks before we write them off as one and done in the playoffs.
Ive never seen so many pessimistic people in my life as on this board. We just beat one of the better teams in the NFL to go 2-0 and you guys want to throw the towel in, I bet the defense you see today will not be the defense you see in game 16.

We're discussing today's defense. After game 16, we'll be talking about game 16's defense.

The Patriots are currently 31st in passing yards allowed, are 21st in opponent QB rating and are 26th in passing average allowed. It seems reasonable, to me, for people to think that's not very good.

 

[Tom + Bill]

We're discussing today's defense. After game 16, we'll be talking about game 16's defense.

The Patriots are currently 31st in passing yards allowed, are 21st in opponent QB rating and are 26th in passing average allowed. It seems reasonable, to me, for people to think that's not very good.

don't b a hater

 

[cmasspatsfan]

We're discussing today's defense. After game 16, we'll be talking about game 16's defense.

The Patriots are currently 31st in passing yards allowed, are 21st in opponent QB rating and are 26th in passing average allowed. It seems reasonable, to me, for people to think that's not very good.

You discuss what you want, Im responding to the OP's statement that we cant be an elite team, I think we can over time.

 

[Ron Sellers]

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 Jets played the Jaguars.

The Steelers played the Seahawks.

The Pats played the Chargers.





Unless you believe SD is on par with Jax and Seattle your comparison is irrelevant, the proverbial apples and oranges.

 

[Lowercaseg]

The Eagles had a great pass rush tonight against Matt Ryan and they still lost the game. Matty Ice was getting crushed time and time again, yet he threw 4 TDs. Ryan did that even though the Eagles have Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromarti, and Asante Samuel at CB. Based on what I saw for the Eagles D tonight, I cannot say that their D is not good. They did a lot good on D yet they still had 35 scored on them. With that in mind, give the Pats D some time to improve. Maybe they will get better.

 

[Triple-T]

The objective is to give up fewer points than you score. Through 3 quarters the chargers scored 7 points. They ended up with 21. So the Pats held the 2nd leading offense in the NFL last year to 6 points below their average. Who really gives a rat's ***** about the yards when 4 forced turnovers stops the drives?

 

[Fahrenhype]

I am a pessimist about the defense but even I would say they improved over last week. They did a better job against a better offense and a much better Quarterback.

The question that remains for me is can they hold up their end of the bargain when Brady has a merely "very good" game. When are they going to hold a team to fewer than 20 points? I knew all of last year that the first time the defense didn't have a favorable turnover differential there were going to problems. As luck would have it, that occurred in January. Brady played a better game against the Jets than Big Ben did but the results were different thanks to the other side of the ball.

They need to take the field with the mindset that somebody like Sanchez is their QB, and not Brady.

 

[larek]

Where is a pass rush???
Looks worse than it did last season
and the tackling was sloppy again
if the problems don't get worked out
I see another quick playoff exit-
fans can sugercoat and delude themselves
all they want but this Defense up to now
has been pretty poor!!!!!

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Where is a pass rush???
Looks worse than it did last season
and the tackling was sloppy again
if the problems don't get worked out
I see another quick playoff exit-
fans can sugercoat and delude themselves
all they want but this Defense up to now
has been pretty poor!!!!!

We will see what the defense does when Tom doesnt throw for 400+ yards and 4 TDs.....these games which are certain to come and very soon will indicate if this defense is capable of being a SB defense

There will be games where Tom and the boys go 3 and out more than just a few series....the defense will have to play hard and stay fresh

 

[BradyFTW!]

We gave up 21 points to the Chargers, aka one of the most potent offenses in the league. WTF are you even talking about?

I don't even think the Pats' D is all that great. I also don't think it necessarily has to be to win the SB, and also I think (hope) it will get better as the season goes on.

 

[NSPF]

We will see what the defense does when Tom doesnt throw for 400+ yards and 4 TDs.....these games which are certain to come and very soon will indicate if this defense is capable of being a SB defense

There will be games where Tom and the boys go 3 and out more than just a few series....the defense will have to play hard and stay fresh

Look, I don't understand this. If the offense goes three and out repeatedly, why would you blame the defense for the loss?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Look, I don't understand this. If the offense goes three and out repeatedly, why would you blame the defense for the loss?

I think the line of reasoning is that defenses will improve around the league as a factor of experience, game tape, and/or weather conditions. Like you, I have a couple of issues with this sentiment:

1) Offense requires more timing and precision than defense. In a league where preparation lacking, defenses *should* dominate. That was the overwhelming narrative leading into the season, but it's been swept aside in record time, because what's happened in the last two weeks defies it. In reality, I think we're just seeing an NFL that's both neutered and where about half of the starting QBs can effectively throw to the outside shoulder of edge receivers (a throw that's basically undefendable under the current rules).

2) It relies on the notion that other defenses around the league will improve as the year goes on... then questions whether the Patriots will. Look, if any team has the underlying characteristics that suggest future improvement--young players, new players, superior coaching--it's the Pats. How good will they be? I dunno; how good was the Saints' defense in '09? As I recall, it was pretty good, and I do think that the Pats' defense is capable of stepping it up to "pretty good" status. Contrary to what some people here seem to think, I don't see giving up 21 points to the Chargers as a bad thing. Covering TEs over the middle has been an Achilles heel for years, so after seeing what they did with Gates today, I'm actually more excited.

 

[supafly]

We gave up 21 points to the Chargers, aka one of the most potent offenses in the league. WTF are you even talking about?

I don't even think the Pats' D is all that great. I also don't think it necessarily has to be to win the SB, and also I think (hope) it will get better as the season goes on.

I agree with many of your points. The D does not have to be great to make a SB run, and I also agree that they should improve.

However, I can also see the other viewpoint. The one where we look the exact same as last yr. It's only a matter of time before Brady actually throws for 'only' 300 yds and 2 TD's, having right around his career QB rating (see the NYJ playoff loss). Then everyone will suddenly blame him again for only having an average-to-good game (by all other QB's standards).

But also, and not to be argumentative--we all know that the 21 pts given up was another nicely wrapped package of turnovers from SD. They moved the ball at will, up and down the field. Up and down, over and over. Wasn't there one point where they had it inside the NE 30 yd line 5 times in a row? LOL. That's not good defense. They looked like a sieve out there today, 21 pts or not.

Vince Wilfork actually saved this game with his unlikely pick. I am not expecting that to happen too often.

While this team is incredibly potent on offense and will allow us to compete, they certainly seem like the same defense to me. And eventually that will catch up to them..or at least that's what we're all afraid of anyway.

 

[maxhagen]

People need to realize the approach of our defense.. Still bend but not break, more prone to provoke turnovers than worried of allowing yards. Allowing yards are meaningless if you constantly win the turnover battle. The idea here is not to allow the opponent to score more points than your offense do.... That they have done just fine.