Is this defense a top 10 defense (hint: YES)

[resdubwhite]

I don't care. I can't stand it.

 

[Kontradiction]

The DL is so deep, it's ridiculous. The Patriots can collapse the pocket and put heat on the quarterback from anywhere. They can get it done at both the 3 and 5 tech and their blitz packages have gotten more and more exotic as the season has gone on. Jamie Collins blitzing the A and B gaps has been lethal. Combine that with the fact that the secondary is holding their own and the defense is actually playing better than a lot of us thought they would in preseason. If the team gets some horses back healthy on both sides of the ball in the coming weeks, the Pats should be able to roll through the AFC.

 

[Nikolai]

#8 in points allowed? I'm surprised by that. They were only responsible for 14 against the Eagles, so it shouldn't be the Eagles game that did it (unless the metrics stupidly apply ST and pick sixes against the defense). I'm guessing it was the Donks game. They were #1 or #2 just before the Denver game if I recall.

The offense is great, don't get me wrong, but I'm back to how I was in 2003-2004; more excited to see the D take the field than the O. Nothing against the O, but seeing this group come together has been a treat. With Hightower coming back at some point and eventually McCourty, this D is going to be lethal in the playoffs. Everyone fears Pittsburgh, but I like our D's chances against them.

By the way, two things stand out about this D by my untrained eyes: open field tackling. Even if it's just a shoestring tackle sometimes, it seems pretty rare for an opposing player to beat one of our defenders in the open field. The other thing is how our ends are setting the edge. Outside runs are almost a no go now.

The QB pressures are ridiculous too and are helping our sceondary as well.

Butler's closing speed...

Ryan's awareness....

Sheard!!

Ok, need to go get a towel...

 

[ausbacker]

#8 in points allowed? I'm surprised by that. They were only responsible for 14 against the Eagles, so it shouldn't be the Eagles game that did it (unless the metrics stupidly apply ST and pick sixes against the defense). I'm guessing it was the Donks game. They were #1 or #2 just before the Denver game if I recall.

The offense is great, don't get me wrong, but I'm back to how I was in 2003-2004; more excited to see the D take the field than the O. Nothing against the O, but seeing this group come together has been a treat. With Hightower coming back at some point and eventually McCourty, this D is going to be lethal in the playoffs. Everyone fears Pittsburgh, but I like our D's chances against them.

By the way, two things stand out about this D by my untrained eyes: open field tackling. Even if it's just a shoestring tackle sometimes, it seems pretty rare for an opposing player to beat one of our defenders in the open field. The other thing is how our ends are setting the edge. Outside runs are almost a no go now.

The QB pressures are ridiculous too and are helping our sceondary as well.

Butler's closing speed...

Ryan's awareness....

Sheard!!

Ok, need to go get a towel...

Probably because it feels like the D of the last season or two is back to those glory years. Watching a lot of scoring is great but seeing the defense of the team you support dominating opponents is delightful.

 

[Kontradiction]

Probably because it feels like the D of the last season or two is back to those glory years. Watching a lot of scoring is great but seeing the defense of the team you support dominating opponents is delightful.

Yep. This Texans team last night would have put up 21-24 on the 2010 and 2011 defenses. Especially if they couldn't get their hands on turnovers.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

I would hope that our run defense gets better when hightower comes back.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I would hope that our run defense gets better when hightower comes back.

I'm pretty confident that it will and it will be even better with Mayo's improved mobility and once Collins putting the weight back on.

 

[PScottman]

When McCourty went out I thought, "Oh crap, here we go."

DMac is an All-Pro - and a team will always feel that kind of loss. That said, if any aspect of this team has frankly TOO MUCH depth, it's the safety position.

 

[JMC00]

(unless the metrics stupidly apply ST and pick sixes against the defense)

They do

 

[VrabelJr]

I'm so glad people are including hints for what I should think about their threads lately. I have a hard time thinking for myself and this is really helping me. Thank you!!!

 

[VrabelJr]

The best thing about this defense is that the types of turnovers we get (forced fumbles) are far more attributed to skill than luck (interceptions). Even when our defenses from 2010-2012 had tons of interceptions we still gave up a lot of points and when the playoffs came those interceptions disappeared. We haven't had very many INTs this year and our defense is still whooping ass. If we start snagging some INTs in the playoffs games are going to get ugly.

 

[Froob]

I wonder how they would fair against our offense. Brady would be getting bit a lot. Think Ryan could fair well vs Dola.

 

[Nikolai]

They do

That's dumb. Then it's a worthless stat. We're probably a lot higher than #8.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

Really interested to see how this D performs in the playoffs...

 

[manxman2601]

I wonder how they would fair against our offense. Brady would be getting bit a lot. Think Ryan could fair well vs Dola.

Bite gate!

 

[Off The Grid]

#6 overall defense according to NFL.com this morning

That's only according to Yardage, which only the drooling Idiots on TeleVision and NFL.com ~ and those otherwise brilliant Fans who quote them ~ give a rat's Ass about.

On the other hand: If you back out Special Teams & Defensive TouchDowns ~ which should be automatic, but again: The NFL is heavily populated with Idiots ~ then we're probably about 5th.

You could also make a very strong ~ and winning ~ Argument that no Team Defensive Ranking which fails to account for Average Starting Field Position is complete...But that's another matter.

 

[Off The Grid]

The DL is so deep, it's ridiculous. The Patriots can collapse the pocket and put heat on the quarterback from anywhere. They can get it done at both the 3 and 5 tech and their blitz packages have gotten more and more exotic as the season has gone on. Jamie Collins blitzing the A and B gaps has been lethal. Combine that with the fact that the secondary is holding their own and the defense is actually playing better than a lot of us thought they would in preseason. If the team gets some horses back healthy on both sides of the ball in the coming weeks, the Pats should be able to roll through the AFC.

Yeah, it's a Dream Come True!!

The way the SeaHawks worked something like 7 Guys as a Crew in 2013 ~ rotating'm in and out and keeping everyone fresh and Explosive ~ was how I've always dreamed of doing things.

The Fact that Mad Bill is so intensely focused on Excellence with evidently no regard at all to How He's Been Doing Things ~ to the extent that he can beat a Team in The Greatest Super Bowl Ever Played and yet learn from them...is perhaps the most defining Testimony to his Greatness that there is.

He has to a great extent adopted the Platoon approach to the Defensive Front Line that his estimable SeaHawk Foes had deployed to such extraordinary Advantage in building a Championship Season and annihilating the Donkeys in 2013...and it is indeed a Joy to Behold that The Greatest Student of this Great Game ~ That would be Mad Bill Belichick, for Those Of You Scoring At Home!! ~ has once again improvised, adapted, and overcome, to the tremendous Benefit of his Team...and his devoted Fans!!

My Name is Gunny HighWay...And I Approve of This Message.​

 

[RIpats88]

If our dline and secondary can continue to play like this with our injured guys returning on both offense and defense...it will make us hard to beat in the playoffs and the next 3 games.

Our dline was a menace to hoyer last night. Hopefully that can continue the next 3 weeks

 

[patsfan06]

Seriously, and think about the fact that our two best players (Collins and Hightower) haven't been on the field at the same time since early October.

 

[Ivan]

The DL is so deep, it's ridiculous. The Patriots can collapse the pocket and put heat on the quarterback from anywhere. They can get it done at both the 3 and 5 tech and their blitz packages have gotten more and more exotic as the season has gone on. Jamie Collins blitzing the A and B gaps has been lethal. Combine that with the fact that the secondary is holding their own and the defense is actually playing better than a lot of us thought they would in preseason. If the team gets some horses back healthy on both sides of the ball in the coming weeks, the Pats should be able to roll through the AFC.

Belichick has been building to this for quite a while, using the majority of his high picks on defense. What is striking however is the job he has done backfilling from UDFA's, street, free agents, and trades. Ninkovich, Siliga, Branch, and Butler and now Johnson all picked up off of the street. Sheard, Chung, and Freeney through free agency, and Hicks by trade. He spent next to nothing to get these guys and many are significant contributors. They are young, athletic, smart, and are figuring out the many configurations Belichicks's defense can undergo, and they are all coming back next season with help from the sidelines. The Patriots aren't a finished product yet but they aren't far from it and will be at least this good for the next few seasons, but imo will actually become much better. If the secondary continues to improve this could be a top 3 defense with a top 3 offense and really good special teams. There is a realistic chance that Brady could end up with 6-7 rings, especially if they win this season. This team is on the way up, that's really bad news for the rest of the league.