Great Reiss' article on resurgent Pats D

[Uptown]

 

[RIpats88]

I realise the patriots havent faced the best teams the last 3 weeks But, wasnt the argument against this defense thta bad teams were passing all over us, we couldnt get pressure with 4 and had broken coverages everywhere?

well, the last 3 games we have been getting pressure with 4, defenders are where they are supposed to be and coverage has been better and the pats defense has been creating turnovers, defenders are around the ball, great tackling, improved 3rd down defense getting teams into 3rd and long and tackling short of the sticks. that is improvement whomever they face. which is why I think BB praised the defense this past week. its not about who they are playing, but how the team is performing.

this week will be a good test. and if they can do it against the ravens, then we still even without gronk have a great chance to go to the superbowl.

 

[Jackson 2]

Stop it. Statistics don't mean sh## around here - unless they place the Patriot defense in a negative light. Come back with something when it meets that requirement.

 

[Nunchucks]

It was a one score game that ended on a play from the 1 yard line. Hardly a "drubbing."

The defense gave up 31 points.

 

[FourierSeries]

The defense gave up 31 points.

No ****. It still wasn't a "drubbing." A drubbing is a resounding defeat of a team by their opponent. That was not a drubbing.

It was a subpar performance all around and it was still only a 7 point loss.

 

[ALP]

The Rams were absolutely made to freaking order for the Pats this week. The game was almost like a scrimmage as it gave the team the opportunity to work on some things with the knowledge that they'd get the win pretty much no matter what they did. Good for confidence too.

I'd expect a great defensive showing against the Ravens, while it wouldn't surprise me if the offense sputters a bit as they get guys healthy and continue to figure things out post-Gronk. Might be an unusually low-scoring game.

Damn it man...

Now I see a shootout happening

 

[aluminum seats]

Damn it man...

Now I see a shootout happening

Gee, I'm wrong sometimes but I think that's insulting...

 

[Ring 6]

Expanding upon this
They are also (defensively)
8th in passer rating
6th in sacks
24th in passing yards
8th in completion %
9th in ints
12th in rushing yards
11th in ypc
19th in total yards
6th in takeaways

It does illustrate a pretty clear philosophy. Fight the battle, but win the war.

 

[AvocadoIceCream]

FWIW the Patriots have only faced ONE team ranked top 10 offensively this season. buffalo.

 

[stinkypete]

The Patriots D is taking all kinds of media heat because it is the Patriots D. Is anybody talking about the deficiencies on the Cowboys or Raiders defenses?

I agree that the Patriots are not actually the 2nd best defensive unit in the NFL. IMO, only Seattle, Denver, KC, and maybe Baltimore and the Giants have better defenses among serious playoff contenders.

 

[Ring 6]

The Patriots D is taking all kinds of media heat because it is the Patriots D. Is anybody talking about the deficiencies on the Cowboys or Raiders defenses?

I agree that the Patriots are not actually the 2nd best defensive unit in the NFL. IMO, only Seattle, Denver, KC, and maybe Baltimore and the Giants have better defenses among serious playoff contenders.

KC? The giants? How do you figure that?

 

[Ring 6]

FWIW the Patriots have only faced ONE team ranked top 10 offensively this season. buffalo.

Perhaps if those teams didn't have to face he patriots they might be ranked in the top 10.
However you can only play who is on your schedule.
What do you expect 12 shutouts?

 

[RobertWeathers]

FWIW the Patriots have only faced ONE team ranked top 10 offensively this season. buffalo.

Big friggan deal.

BAL has the #1 defense and vs 29ppg OAK allowed 28 and vs 28ppg DAL allowed 27.

BUF averages 25ppg and Pats held them to 16 and 25 (which should have been 17 but whatever) for an ave of 20ppg.

The Pats keep the teams they should keep in check in check.

Its when you allow 28 to ****ty teams you need to be concerned.

 

[AvocadoIceCream]

Perhaps if those teams didn't have to face he patriots they might be ranked in the top 10.
However you can only play who is on your schedule.
What do you expect 12 shutouts?

I don't expect 12 shutouts

I do however watch the games. They look good against really bad teams sometimes

They look really mediocre against capable teams most of the time.

I don't know why some are so offended by the observations... when you have ZERO pass rush, you're going to have problems. We have zero pass rush.

Points allowed is important, but again, you have to consider the competition. There aren't many teams that will give our defense problems, however in the playoffs is when we have to face those teams, which is what I'm measuring the defense for... not for week 12 games against awful teams

 

[RobertWeathers]

I don't expect 12 shutouts

I do however watch the games. They look good against really bad teams sometimes

They look really mediocre against capable teams most of the time.

So its a perception thing with you.

I don't know why some are so offended by the observations... when you have ZERO pass rush, you're going to have problems. We have zero pass rush.

Its not that people are offended. For me its the frustration that I think some fans have a perception that is unrealsitic or askew. For example, the Pats are #12th in pressuring the QB. That means they are in the top 1/3 of the league in pressuring the QB. By definition, that is not zero pass rush.

Points allowed is important, but again, you have to consider the competition. There aren't many teams that will give our defense problems, however in the playoffs is when we have to face those teams, which is what I'm measuring the defense for... not for week 12 games against awful teams

So if BAL allows 28 to OAK and 27 to DAL, do you think the Pats allow less, more or the same as BAL as they right now have the #1 defense.

You can argue that SEA is #1 but has allowed 25 to NO (29ppg) 25 to BUF (26ppg), 24 to us (26ppg) and 24 to ATL (32ppg). We allowed less vs BUF so what does that mean.

IMO, its all about matchups.

I think either your expectations are unreasonable or have a predisposed negative perception of the defense and can't look at their performance objectively over the course of a season compared to the rest of the league

 

[mgcolby]

Big friggan deal.

BAL has the #1 defense and vs 29ppg OAK allowed 28 and vs 28ppg DAL allowed 27.

BUF averages 25ppg and Pats held them to 16 and 25 (which should have been 17 but whatever) for an ave of 20ppg.

The Pats keep the teams they should keep in check in check.

Its when you allow 28 to ****ty teams you need to be concerned.

NE has allowed two teams to score above their season average:

Miami average 22.2, we gave up 24, -2.8
Seattle average 22, we gave up 31, -9

Baltimore has allowed three teams to score above their season average:

Cleveland average 16.4 Bal gave up 20, -3.6
NYG average 20.4 , Bal gave up 27, -6.6
NYJ average 17.2, Bal gave up 24, -6.8

That is the 31st, 23rd and 29th ranked offenses that scored above their season average against Baltimore. We allowed the 20th and 22nd ranked offenses to score above their season average.

People really need to look deeper before making assumptions and using the "eye test" because even the "best" defense in the league doesn't always pass the "eye test".

 

[long distance]

KC? The giants? How do you figure that?

Not a stat man but still ..

 

[Ring 6]

Not a stat man but still ..

That's not even correct. They have 21 offensive TDs and 6 by defense and sts

 

[Ring 6]

Not a stat man but still ..

lol at this.
Kc has scored 281 points. D and sts have scored 6 TDs.
He is calling all FGS and PATS points scored by defense and special teams.

So last week 14 of the patriots 26 points were scored by defense and special teams and 40% of the rams points were scored by defense and special teams.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Great article by Reiss

Here's an article that has a different take.

Lazar: Patriots have made opposing QBs shine this season

I agree witb Lazar that our defense has struggled at times against relatively mediocre offenses. But overall, I think our defense is moving in a better direction.