How Much Optimism Do You Have Over This Defense?

[Christiancat]

Ironic
Was the misspelling by accident or on purpose ??

It was by accident, I corrected it by editing that post. Deus is awesome!

 

[loosebearing]

I thought it was humorous given the conversation.
Have a nice evening

 

[Deus Irae]

I realize I'm now way more OT, I don't deny that. As for taking issue with the post, again, ChristianCat is free to believe whatever he wants. But if I were to make a post in all sincerity suggesting that Brady's 2014 performance will depend on what color hoodie Belichick wears on the sideline, I'm pretty sure you, and others here, would point out how irrelevant that suggestion is. All Ausbacker did was point out that ChristianCat's comments were meaningless to the conversation, and no harm should come from that. If that's too much for you to handle, "I suggest you stop posting altogether"...

Equating God with a hoodie choice is incredibly stupid. I assume you know that, so you must be trolling.

And Ausbacker was doing more than that, as you well know. Quit clowning yourself.

 

[Danger Zone]

Equating God with a hoodie choice is incredibly stupid. I assume you know that, so you must be trolling.

And Ausbacker was doing more than that, as you well know. Quit clowning yourself.

So.. I think we can now all agree: religion and God are NOT hot topic issues.

 

[Joker]

So.. I think we can now all agree: religion and God are NOT hot topic issues.

unless you are on your death bed....

 

[Danger Zone]

unless you are on your death bed....

Yes and when that time comes I hope I will be able to say "I had a good life... and I still can't believe Brady Jr doubled his father's rings with 10."

 

[AzPatsFan]

People actually took issue with this post?

The oh so tolerant, PC, bigots are merely expressing their 'tolerance'.

 

[Kontradiction]

IT was probably the one after that if I had to guess. But God only knows what goes though the minds of some here. I mean My God, Christian Cat is a Tebow lover like I have never seen. I pray to God it will someday stop.

No, the one I quoted is where this thread went off the rails. Who cares if she believes that player health depends a multitude of factors including, but not limited to, God's will? You know Christiancat's posting style. If you don't like it, then why in the hell haven't you guys ignored her yet? The feature is a very easy one to use and it makes it look like the user you ignored doesn't even exist on this forum anymore. That way, the **** won't hit the fan any time she says "God" and you guys can refrain from doing more than enough to de-rail the thread yourselves over something as simple as this...

Once all the players are in place the defensive coordinator and coach need to set up some good play calls. After that it is in God's hands to make sure all the players are in good enough health to perform at their best.

If ausbacker had simply chosen to ignore that post (a post that he clearly didn't agree with), the thread would still be on topic right now.

 

[patfanken]

This thread has sadly veered off on to a topic I have VERY strong opinions on. Opinions that I would VERY much like to express to one and all. Inf fact its taking all my will power NOT to do so. HOWEVER....this thread really needs to get back on track. So with that in mind I would like add the following thoughts:

All our excitement about the potential success of the defense should be tempered. Right now across the league fan bases are all going through the same kind of wishful thinking about their own defenses. For example if you were a fan of the Rams, I think you'd be very excited about your defense's potential.

Sadly we are not the only team who will be featuring highly skilled, freakishly gifted, athletes on their defense. EVERY team in the league will have several. Plus the guys who aren't freakishly gifted are all very good. Think about it. The WORST guy who makes a 53 man roster will be the best football player most of us will ever meet.

I don't know which, but there will be some team this year who will wind up 2-14. Yet THAT team will contain some of the best athletes on the planet, The margin of error in the NFL is really THAT small. Just look at what happened to the Texans and Falcons. Just look at what happened to the 2001 Patriots, a team that just a few month earlier had been selected as the the team LEAST likely to get to a superbowl in the next 5 years.

The lesson here is that EVERYONE has talented guys. Its all about how those "talented guys" manage to play together and make the big plays at critical times. Just look at the 2011 Pats D. The talent wasn't nearly as good as what we have now, but it was good enough to get to a superbowl, wasn't it? It was a team that gave up a historical number of yards, yet led the league in TO's.

I LOVE the talent level we have have on the defensive side of the ball. Its not only good, its deeper than anything I've seen in all the years I've been following the team. BUT.....that being said, talent alone will not determine future success for the simple reason that EVERY teams is filled with equally talented players. Its what makes following the NFL so compelling. "On any given Sunday..... isn't just a cute adage. It's a FACT of life.

God, I can't wait for the season to start..... assuming its alright to say "God", or "God" doesn't strike me down for using his/her name in vain.....or someone doesn't decide to hate me because I don't follow "the correct God".....etc, etc .......

 

[JMC00]

 

[mayoclinic]

All our excitement about the potential success of the defense should be tempered. Right now across the league fan bases are all going through the same kind of wishful thinking about their own defenses. For example if you were a fan of the Rams, I think you'd be very excited about your defense's potential.

Sadly we are not the only team who will be featuring highly skilled, freakishly gifted, athletes on their defense. EVERY team in the league will have several. Plus the guys who aren't freakishly gifted are all very good. Think about it. The WORST guy who makes a 53 man roster will be the best football player most of us will ever meet.

I don't know which, but there will be some team this year who will wind up 2-14. Yet THAT team will contain some of the best athletes on the planet, The margin of error in the NFL is really THAT small. Just look at what happened to the Texans and Falcons. Just look at what happened to the 2001 Patriots, a team that just a few month earlier had been selected as the the team LEAST likely to get to a superbowl in the next 5 years.

The lesson here is that EVERYONE has talented guys. Its all about how those "talented guys" manage to play together and make the big plays at critical times. Just look at the 2011 Pats D. The talent wasn't nearly as good as what we have now, but it was good enough to get to a superbowl, wasn't it? It was a team that gave up a historical number of yards, yet led the league in TO's.

I LOVE the talent level we have have on the defensive side of the ball. Its not only good, its deeper than anything I've seen in all the years I've been following the team. BUT.....that being said, talent alone will not determine future success for the simple reason that EVERY teams is filled with equally talented players. Its what makes following the NFL so compelling. "On any given Sunday..... isn't just a cute adage. It's a FACT of life.

Well said, Ken. I agree with much of this. The talent difference in the NFL is probably no more than 5% between most teams. What makes the difference is:

1. How badly players want to succeed, and how hard they are willing to work and push themselves.
2. How well players play together as a team.
3. How well players execute, especially situationally.
4. Injuries, and how well teams are able to compensate for them and adapt.

What's exciting is that BB tends to be masterful at dealing with those 4 issues. As you say, we went to a SB with a defensive backfield including Sterling Moore, Julian Edelman, Sergio Brown and James Ihedigbo. It's hard not to get excited about what BB will be able to achieve with the current collection of talent, but until he gets those guys to "climb the mountain" it's all just talk and hype.

 

[Kontradiction]

This thread has sadly veered off on to a topic I have VERY strong opinions on. Opinions that I would VERY much like to express to one and all. Inf fact its taking all my will power NOT to do so. HOWEVER....this thread really needs to get back on track. So with that in mind I would like add the following thoughts:

All our excitement about the potential success of the defense should be tempered. Right now across the league fan bases are all going through the same kind of wishful thinking about their own defenses. For example if you were a fan of the Rams, I think you'd be very excited about your defense's potential.

Sadly we are not the only team who will be featuring highly skilled, freakishly gifted, athletes on their defense. EVERY team in the league will have several. Plus the guys who aren't freakishly gifted are all very good. Think about it. The WORST guy who makes a 53 man roster will be the best football player most of us will ever meet.

I don't know which, but there will be some team this year who will wind up 2-14. Yet THAT team will contain some of the best athletes on the planet, The margin of error in the NFL is really THAT small. Just look at what happened to the Texans and Falcons. Just look at what happened to the 2001 Patriots, a team that just a few month earlier had been selected as the the team LEAST likely to get to a superbowl in the next 5 years.

The lesson here is that EVERYONE has talented guys. Its all about how those "talented guys" manage to play together and make the big plays at critical times. Just look at the 2011 Pats D. The talent wasn't nearly as good as what we have now, but it was good enough to get to a superbowl, wasn't it? It was a team that gave up a historical number of yards, yet led the league in TO's.

I LOVE the talent level we have have on the defensive side of the ball. Its not only good, its deeper than anything I've seen in all the years I've been following the team. BUT.....that being said, talent alone will not determine future success for the simple reason that EVERY teams is filled with equally talented players. Its what makes following the NFL so compelling. "On any given Sunday..... isn't just a cute adage. It's a FACT of life.

God, I can't wait for the season to start..... assuming its alright to say "God", or "God" doesn't strike me down for using his/her name in vain.....or someone doesn't decide to hate me because I don't follow "the correct God".....etc, etc .......

Thank you for getting this thread back on topic. There have been more politically fueled posts in this forum that any other offseason that I can remember here.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I'm intrigued and excited because, if everything goes well, there is so much potential there. But nervous too because there are so many unanswered questions. Questions about new players (how will they use Browner?), questions about injured players (how well will Wilfork come back?), questions about new injured players (Easley), and so on.

Can BB-Patricia turn all of that into a top defense? Why not?

So am I optimistic? Of course!

 

[patfanken]

Well said, Ken.we went to a SB with a defensive backfield including Sterling Moore, Julian Edelman, Sergio Brown and James Ihedigbo. It's hard not to get excited about what BB will be able to achieve with the current collection of talent, but until he gets those guys to "climb the mountain" it's all just talk and hype.

WOW, that's hard to believe. Think about it. A superbowl secondary featuring Sterling Moore, who I think is out of the league starting at CB. James Ihedibo and Pat Chung your starting safeties. Chung ended up being our best DB by the end of the year and Ihedigbo is now with his 4th team. Plus McCourty coming off his worst year as a pro at the other CB. And the back ups were even worse. WHAT a secondary that was.

It's really telling that Chung has gone from the best DB on that team, to being a long shot fighting for an end of the roster spot, and McCourty going from a much maligned CB to an all pro S. Yet still that secondary helped the Pats lead the league in TO's and forced 4 fumbles in the superbowl (unluckily the Pats didn't recover any of them)

 

[Kontradiction]

McCourty was lining up at safety during the AFCCG and Super Bowl that season.

 

[mayoclinic]

This is the time of year of hype and optimism. Some examples:

- Julius Peppers says he's never played with an outside threat like Clay Matthews. There are numerous predictions that Green Bay's defense will rise form the ashes to become dominant.
- Cortland Finnegan says he's never seen an offense as fast as Miami's new offense under Bill Lazor. Mike Wallace says that teams won't be able to focus on stopping him.
- Reggie Bush says that Matt Stafford is a perfect fit for Detroit's offense. With Calvin Johnson, Eric Ebron, Golden Tate and Bush the Lions seem to have too much talent to cover.
- Matt Forte says there is no ceiling to how good the Chicago Bears' offense can be. With Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett and Forte, the Bears seem to have too much talent to cover.
- Brandon Spikes says that the Buffalo Bills will "shock the world".

Apparently almost every team is unstoppable on paper.

Talent counts. The Pats have upgraded their talent, especially on defense. But soon it will be time to starting climbing the mountain. It's a long haul, and injuries and attrition sap the will of all but the strongest, or most fortunate. The climb will doubtless be different from what we expect, but given BB's track record, I like our chances of getting near the summit.

 

[mgteich]

Who is your #3 and #4 and #5 safety now? I a,m setting aside the possibility of a corner moving, since that has not happened, and we need our 4 corners for the first 4 games.

Are Chung and WIlson all that much better than what we had in the past? Or are you counting on Ebner in case of and injury to one of the starters. I would take he Ihedigbo of old (or even now) as a STer and emergency backup safety.

One of the reasons that the safeties were so weak in the past was injuries. We are not much better prepared for injuries at safety this year, other than the POSSIBILITY of moving a corner as we did in the past.

 

[AzPatsFan]

People who are uncertain how good this Defense will be, just need to understand that last year's injured Defense produced more sacks than any Patriot team since Ray Berry was coaching.

The number of 3-and-outs climbed into respectable territory, and the opposition passing completion rate ended up below 60%. Those are all good numbers and indicators. This year's edition gains the walking wounded, and other new talent too like two Probowl CBs and an exciting DL rookie.

I know where you were drafted means not a whole lot, but on this Defense, 8 were First Rounders and 3 more were Second rounders. To which we can add 4 who were not either First or Second rounders, who were invited to a Probowl. That makes 15 players who were judged to have superior talents at one time or another.

This Defense is loaded, and ready to breakout.

 

[Marqui]

People who are uncertain how good this Defense will be, just need to understand that last year's injured Defense produced more sacks than any Patriot team since Ray Berry was coaching.

The number of 3-and-outs climbed into respectable territory, and the opposition passing completion rate ended up below 60%. Those are all good numbers and indicators. This year's edition gains the walking wounded, and other new talent too like two Probowl CBs and an exciting DL rookie.

I know where you were drafted means not a whole lot, but on this Defense, 8 were First Rounders and 3 more were Second rounders. To which we can add 4 who were not either First or Second rounders, who were invited to a Probowl. That makes 15 players who were judged to have superior talents at one time or another.

This Defense is loaded, and ready to breakout.

It's possible the pass rush isn't good enough for the defense to be quite elite, honestly. They're returning mostly the same edge rushing group didn't get anywhere near Manning in the AFCCG.

 

[Kontradiction]

It's possible the pass rush isn't good enough for the defense to be quite elite, honestly. They're returning mostly the same edge rushing group didn't get anywhere near Manning in the AFCCG.

People are hoping for either Buchanan to improve or for Will Smith to have a career resurrection. I'm hoping both will happen, but am only banking on one actually happening.