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2013 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com
I still tear my hair out thinking about 2012 when mediocre QBs had career days, and I lived on the edge of my seat every time a QB floated one 20+ yards downfield. That changed in 2013 when the greatest concern was getting man-handled up front with Wilfork, Kelly and Mayo out, and Spikes playing through injuries most of the season.
Here are a few pass defense statistics to chew on as you think about off-season moves on defense. Keep in mind that Wilfork, Mayo and Kelly went out weeks 4,5,and 6, and Dennard and Talib missed chunks of time as well.
....Opponent's................2012....2013
Passing Yards Per Game:......271....239
Passing Yards per attempt....7.1....7.0
Passing Yards per catch......12.9....12.3
Completion %....................62.1....57
Passer Rating....................86.9....81
Sacks..............................37.......48
A couple of factors that I think were important were: 1) continuity - the Patriots added a couple of rookies, but kept Arrington, Talib, Dennard, Gregory and McCourty together for a 2nd year and ended the revolving door secondary that drove all of us to distraction in previous years, 2) discipline - there were some exceptions, but for the most part, the defensive backs did not get out of position and were there to contest passes or force coverage sacks, hurries, and QB hits. They looked like a unit that knew what they doing and a lot of the credit has to go to Gregory and McCourty for recognizing formations and communicating the correct coverages.
For all of the people who are looking to dump Gregory for a small cap savings, let Talib go, or throw Matt Patricia under the bus, think about the improvement this defense made in spite of the injuries, and starting rookies at two or three positions for most of the season, and filling in with interior defensive linemen off of other teams' practice squads since week 6.
I still tear my hair out thinking about 2012 when mediocre QBs had career days, and I lived on the edge of my seat every time a QB floated one 20+ yards downfield. That changed in 2013 when the greatest concern was getting man-handled up front with Wilfork, Kelly and Mayo out, and Spikes playing through injuries most of the season.
Here are a few pass defense statistics to chew on as you think about off-season moves on defense. Keep in mind that Wilfork, Mayo and Kelly went out weeks 4,5,and 6, and Dennard and Talib missed chunks of time as well.
....Opponent's................2012....2013
Passing Yards Per Game:......271....239
Passing Yards per attempt....7.1....7.0
Passing Yards per catch......12.9....12.3
Completion %....................62.1....57
Passer Rating....................86.9....81
Sacks..............................37.......48
A couple of factors that I think were important were: 1) continuity - the Patriots added a couple of rookies, but kept Arrington, Talib, Dennard, Gregory and McCourty together for a 2nd year and ended the revolving door secondary that drove all of us to distraction in previous years, 2) discipline - there were some exceptions, but for the most part, the defensive backs did not get out of position and were there to contest passes or force coverage sacks, hurries, and QB hits. They looked like a unit that knew what they doing and a lot of the credit has to go to Gregory and McCourty for recognizing formations and communicating the correct coverages.
For all of the people who are looking to dump Gregory for a small cap savings, let Talib go, or throw Matt Patricia under the bus, think about the improvement this defense made in spite of the injuries, and starting rookies at two or three positions for most of the season, and filling in with interior defensive linemen off of other teams' practice squads since week 6.