New England 24th in NFL in sacks through week 7

[BTTA]

Just stop with the rational deconstruction of the possible meaning behind the numbers. The point of this thread is to clarify that the 6-1 record is a mirage, that the rest of the season will be filled with losses and more embarrassing, sack-less misery.

Before this thread degenerates too far into the "Chandler!"/"Not Chandler!" discussion, I'd like to ask a few questions, just to sort of get things rolling in a more thoughtful direction:

1. What good passers have the Patriots faced?
2. What unknowns/stiffs/running QBs have the Patriots faced?
3. With regards to sacks v. pressure/contain what do the Patriots do when faced with unknowns/stiffs/running QBs?

 

[borg]

And almost any defensive coach will tell you that pressures and hurries are more important than sacks. Sacks are an incredibly overrated stat.

Will the 2015 Denver defensive coach tell us that?

 

[MitchKumstein]

The Patriots defense is ranked 22nd in 3rd down conversions

I'm much more concerned about that than I am about their sack numbers

 

[mosslost]

The defense is better so far than last year's-so it's irrelevant. You cant just cherry-pick a single stat and have it mean anything-unless iit's put into proper context. For example, vs. steelers Pats only rushed 3 most of the game-there is not a single team in the nfl-not denver, not seattle,nobody-who would have produced more sacks or pressures than the Pats did, rushing only 3. It worked. One of the best offenses in the nfl-even w/o ben-was held to 16 pts. I think BB knows what hes doing.

2015 Pats gave up 19.68 points per game.. Were about 6th in AFC
2016 Pats are giving up 15.2 per game, first in AFC.

Bellichick has said on multiple occasions PPG is the most important defensive stat. It would be nice to see turnovers and sacks though. And we still have not faced anyone really good. It does not appear looking at the league that they will either, maybe not even in the Super Bowl.

 

[Tony2046]

Really? They had exactly ZERO sacks and the fewest QB pressures of the season, yet had the their best 3rd down efficiency rating of the season. So exactly how can you make the lack of a pass rush with a poor 3rd down ratio comparison? You see the fact is that it doesn't always work they way. It does SOMETIMES, but not always or even regularly

Yeah it would be nice to see a sack on every down but I think you give up big play opportunities to do so.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

What are the stats for the defense on 3rd down stops? Where do they rank?

 

[Tony2046]

The Patriots defense is ranked 22nd in 3rd down conversions

I'm much more concerned about that than I am about their sack numbers

It has improved pretty much each week.

It was at 50% for the first two weeks, in the 40's the following four weeks and 31% last night.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

2015 Pats gave up 19.68 points per game.. Were about 6th in AFC
2016 Pats are giving up 15.2 per game, first in AFC.

Bellichick has said on multiple occasions PPG is the most important defensive stat. It would be nice to see turnovers and sacks though. And we still have not faced anyone really good. It does not appear looking at the league that they will either, maybe not even in the Super Bowl.

PPG's good but it just put's more pressure on our offense to put up points. They might want to upgrade the offensive line to negate these big time pass rushers on other teams.

 

[FourierSeries]

The Patriots defense is ranked 22nd in 3rd down conversions

I'm much more concerned about that than I am about their sack numbers

In 2014, 3rd down % for the defense was 40% at the end of the season, and much higher through the first 7 games.

This season, it's currently at 42% through the first 7 games, and getting better each week.

 

[mosslost]

PPG's good but it just put's more pressure on our offense to put up points. They might want to upgrade the offensive line to negate these big time pass rushers on other teams.

The score was deceptive. Bolden and Edleman's third drops were pretty bad on drives where we would have held the ball longer and likely scored on both.

 

[ausbacker]

The score was deceptive. Bolden and Edleman's third drops were pretty bad on drives where we would have held the ball longer and likely scored on both.

The Bolden drop was particularly egregious. Also, you can't blame the D for Hogan, Edelman, and Allen's muffed punt giving the Steelers three short fields to play with.

 

[ScottishPatriots]

Ninko isn't the same player without Chandler Jones, people around here loved to act like Jones wasn't any good but he's proven them wrong this year in Arizona.

Jones has been better than both Hightower and Collins this year and he's on the field every week.

 

[FourierSeries]

Ninko isn't the same player without Chandler Jones, people around here loved to act like Jones wasn't any good but he's proven them wrong this year in Arizona.

Jones has been better than both Hightower and Collins this year and he's on the field every week.

In about a month, he'll disappear for the rest of the season as usual.

 

[ScottishPatriots]

In about a month, he'll disappear for the rest of the season as usual.

Probably but one of Collins/Hightower disappear to the sidelines every week.

 

[slash83]

Ninko isn't the same player without Chandler Jones, people around here loved to act like Jones wasn't any good but he's proven them wrong this year in Arizona.

Jones has been better than both Hightower and Collins this year and he's on the field every week.

Neither HT or JC play the same position as CJ. All jones is asked to do is rush the passer, the other two have way more responsibilities and do way more.

 

[Tunescribe]

In 2015 New England finished 2nd in the nfl in sacks.

Why the big drop off? Is this an issue going forward?

It's simple: sacking the quarterback is not a priority for BB.

 

[PScottman]

Jones has been better than both Hightower and Collins this year

Deus and I went back and forth on this topic last night...kind of. I posited Jones was more than just a rusher (he felt differently), but I think the above statement is too far in the other direction.

That said, the stats might say he has had a big impact on the Arizona D. They were 20th in sacks last year, 5th so far this year. Points per game 21 last year, 15 this year. Is that all just Jones???????

In comparison, how exactly do you defend the claim that he's better than High and Collins? Simply sacks? Jones has 23 tackles and five sacks (might be six - dang ESPN crap stats site). Collins has 29 tackles, two INTs and a FF. High - two safeties (only ten tackles). Both Patriots with injury missed time.

I think if you had said all three have had a positive impact on their team's defense, in different ways, it would be pretty defendable, but nothing stands out to say "wow, Jones is better than the two main LBs of the Pat's defense" unless, as many have been saying your end all be all of NFL defense is sacks.

 

[PScottman]

PPG's good but it just put's (sic) more pressure on our offense to put up points.

Bizarro world?

How does a low opponent's PPG (Pats defensive ranking) put more pressure on the Pats offense?????????????

It puts LESS pressure on the offense. Less opponent's points per game means the Pats offense has to score less to win, not more.

 

[TBR]

I'm not sure what to make of this site but last year the team was in the bottom 1/2 in defensive hurries. Obviously their sack numbers were in the upper 1/2.

This year they are in the top 10 in hurries.

Total Team Defensive Hurries: 2015 NFL Season

I don't know if I can trust that website. They've been way off with drops and other raw statistics in the past.

I'm curious to know how many QB pressures the Pats have, per PFF. I trust them a bit more.

 

[Betterthanmost]

What is the statistical variance from the mean till this point? We have 11 sacks, first team has 21 sacks, 10th team is 5 sacks more than 11. Too early in the season. They eye test shows we exert no pressure, but it is still early for me to attribute any causation.