No Pressure Whatsoever

[Obnoxio]

I think there is a lot O-Line holding going on this year. You could see a bunch of Patriots getting pulled just as the were breaking free from blocks. Flacco did an excellent job getting rid of the ball just before pressure got there and also rolling out away from the pass rush. I was more dissapointed in the run defense over-all.

 

[SVN]

Esiason: Pats defense should have blitzed Flacco

Esiason on D&C: NFL officiating 'a debacle'

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

re: Esiason: Pats defense should have blitzed Flacco

If you even have ONE legitimate cornerback then Blitzing is a no brainer,but I think Belichick knows he has little talent back there,so why take a chance on an easy touchdown for the opposing team?

The days are over of OLBs like Mcginest being sent on a Blitz because Ty Law was taking care of the backside if they missed the QB and you knew the play would not turn out bad.

Blitzing with this secondary is about as much of a gamble as walking into Mohegan Sun with your rent money at stake.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

re: Esiason: Pats defense should have blitzed Flacco

Esiason on D&C: NFL officiating 'a debacle'

And that would have helped how, exactly?

 

[randomk1]

Re: Esiason: Pats defense shouldve blitzed flacco

If you even have ONE legitimate cornerback then Blitzing is a no brainer,but I think Belichick knows he has little talent back there,so why take a chance on an easy touchdown for the opposing team?

The days are over of OLBs like Mcginest being sent on a Blitz because Ty Law was taking care of the backside if they missed the QB and you knew the play would not turn out bad.

Blitzing with this secondary is about as much of a gamble as walking into Mohegan Sun with your rent money at stake.

I'd honestly see more blitzing and take our shots that way then let the secondary guys cover with no pressure.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Re: Esiason: Pats defense shouldve blitzed flacco

If you even have ONE legitimate cornerback then Blitzing is a no brainer,but I think Belichick knows he has little talent back there,so why take a chance on an easy touchdown for the opposing team?

The days are over of OLBs like Mcginest being sent on a Blitz because Ty Law was taking care of the backside if they missed the QB and you knew the play would not turn out bad.

Blitzing with this secondary is about as much of a gamble as walking into Mohegan Sun with your rent money at stake.

The CBs are more likely to be able to cover for 2-3 seconds rather than 4-6 seconds. At this point I'd rather see them take the risk and blitz than die a slow death every time the game is on the line.

 

[Mack Herron]

Re: Esiason: Pats defense should have blitzed Flacco

If you even have ONE legitimate cornerback then Blitzing is a no brainer,but I think Belichick knows he has little talent back there,so why take a chance on an easy touchdown for the opposing team?

The days are over of OLBs like Mcginest being sent on a Blitz because Ty Law was taking care of the backside if they missed the QB and you knew the play would not turn out bad.

Blitzing with this secondary is about as much of a gamble as walking into Mohegan Sun with your rent money at stake.

Very fair. But by not blitzing the QB completed >70% of his throws for >300 yards and 31 points. In this context, it is not much of a risk to try something else either.

 

[smg93]

Re: Esiason: Pats defense should have blitzed Flacco

I've got a different take. If you give any QB in the NFL 5 or 6 seconds to look for an open receiver, you're giving the advantage to him. There wwere multiple DB's playing a pretty soft type of D and still Flacco was able to throw 20 yards down the field to his WR's. There is no point in my opinion in hanging back and covering with a lot of DB's when the opposing QB is still able to make big plays.

Send a blitz to cut the QB's decision time down to 2.5 to 3.0 seconds. If there's anything we've learned from the last two super bowl losses to the Giants is that cutting down the time of any QB in the NFL to make a play gives great results for the D even against a top QB like Brady.

 

[Ric_Flair]

I think there is a lot O-Line holding going on this year. You could see a bunch of Patriots getting pulled just as the were breaking free from blocks. Flacco did an excellent job getting rid of the ball just before pressure got there and also rolling out away from the pass rush. I was more dissapointed in the run defense over-all.

I'm not too worried about the run defense to be honest. Our guys were getting held ALL night. That's the only way they run like that on us.

 

[Steve1iron]

I know the reffing was horrible and there were a bunch of missed holding penalties (and some they did call), so maybe these numbers aren't really reflective of what the Pats did. The game is a bit of a blurry memory to me so I'll have to rewatch it for sure. But here are the gruesome numbers in terms of QB pressure:

Baltimore pressuring NE:
- 2 sacks
- 7 tackles for loss
- 6 QB hits

NE pressuring Baltimore:
- 0 sacks
- 1 tackle for loss
- 0 QB hits

When you don't ever even touch the quarterback, their QB is going to have a good day. Result: 28-39 (71.8%), 382 yds, 3 td, just 1 int

I know we can be frustrated with the secondary, but when the front 4/7 are getting no pressure whatsoever, it leaves the DBs hanging out to dry.

I couldn't agree more. The new boy wonder Patricia looks like a protege of Dean Pees. This defense is about as creative as a bunch of government bureaucrats. Why don't we blitz once in a while. It's not like Flacco is Michael Vick. The guys closer to a statue. We've been putting up with this lackluster defense since Romeo left. Let's get an adult in there.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Jones was getting double teamed on the outside all game. if they got even 1 sack or two...it could have been a different outcome..oh well...

 

[Marqui]

Well it's hard to have a good pass rush when you have bad pass rushers on the field.

 

[Bhelmet]

We had ZERO pass rush and that is very disturbing b/c we know how that works out. I saw holds that did not get called - in fact - one play a guy (Chandler, I think) got wrestled to the ground and it was a no-call. it happened on the Ravens last TD drive - the one where the officials GAVE them a new set of downs when pinned deep - no penalty occurred. We did, however, drop two INT's that more than likely would have iced the game. The refs played WAY too big a role - but both teams' fans were going to be pissed depending upon the outcome - maybe they gave the Ravens extra calls to get out alive. Coverage was inconsistent - looked good at times - looked like last year at others.

At this point, I am more worried about the O - the Ravens shut down Gronk - and if it is b/c Hernandez is hurt - then that makes it even worse. Lloyd makes incredible catches, but has zero YAC - granted he has not been given the best opportunities for YAC. This O has to protect the D with rest and with leads. The young guys on D are physical and all over the place, but they are YOUNG. There was a lot of getting caught out of position and Nink was manhandled and perhaps should have been replaced. I would like to think last night's game gave them confidence and huge experience - this unit needs to grow up quickly.