Pats Defense Now Ranked 9th in PPG

[RobertWeathers]

1985 bears 198 points 12.5 per game
2017 pats last 8 games 95 points 11.9 per game
True story.

Andy thats a bit much.....

 

[jah]

Pretty much every national write-up about the Pats I read STILL has to make some weak-ass concession about how "despite recent improvement, the defense still has major question marks."

Yeah, our defensive line is trash and the linebackers aren't anything special (although Van Noy has been balling). But is this what the pundits are referring to? Hell no, they probably don't even know that much. They're just, like many who don't follow this team closely this year, remembering the games from 3 months ago.

 

[Uptown]

I called it in September!!!! In BB (and Matty P) we trust.

 

[JayNM]

The secondary has been playing the way we thought we would on the beginning of the season. Stellar

Im not going to type it all again... My only fear is we face someone who gets ahead of us and starts running down our throath. Its the only area I havent seen improvement this year...

 

[patsinthesnow]

Some good pass defense stats since Gilmore returned Week 10 (4 games):

197 YPG
56.4% Comp Pct.
3 TDs
5 Ints
5.3 YPA
63.8 passer rating


Comp pct. %, YPA & passer rating would all be 1st in the NFL for the season. Opponents can be pointed to just like last year for defensive success but those numbers are unreal.

Gilmore
Butler
Jones
McCourty
Harmon
Chung

I'll stay a broken record: That above group is the best in the league & will contend for the best BB era secondary. Imagine their stats if they had the Jaguars or Vikings DL in front of them.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Pretty much every national write-up about the Pats I read STILL has to make some weak-ass concession about how "despite recent improvement, the defense still has major question marks."

Yeah, our defensive line is trash and the linebackers aren't anything special (although Van Noy has been balling). But is this what the pundits are referring to? Hell no, they probably don't even know that much. They're just, like many who don't follow this team closely this year, remembering the games from 3 months ago.

This defense is very 2001-ish. Gives up a ton of yards but once the offense is inside the 20 its FG or a turnover. Plus that was a D which allowed < 17 ppg in 9 straight games to finish the year

 

[RobertWeathers]

Some good pass defense stats since Gilmore returned Week 10 (4 games):

197 YPG
56.4% Comp Pct.
3 TDs
5 Ints
5.3 YPA
63.8 passer rating


Comp pct. %, YPA & passer rating would all be 1st in the NFL for the season. Opponents can be pointed to just like last year for defensive success but those numbers are unreal.

Gilmore
Butler
Jones
McCourty
Harmon
Chung

I'll stay a broken record: That above group is the best in the league & will contend for the best BB era secondary. Imagine their stats if they had the Jaguars or Vikings DL in front of them.

Dont sleep on Rowe. Healthy he is very good.

 

[Mack Herron]

Andy thats a bit much.....

Okay, but do we agree that Matty P could still win with his secondary and 6 guys from the board? The Smoke and Mirrors Gang.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Hitting their stride right on time.

 

[Ring 6]

Andy thats a bit much.....

It’s a fact. How you use that fact is up to you.
To be clear it’s stating that for half a season the patriots allowed fewer ppg than the bears did over a full season. No one would take that as apples to apples but it’s a hell of a statement about how this d has played.

 

[Ring 6]

This defense is very 2001-ish. Gives up a ton of yards but once the offense is inside the 20 its FG or a turnover. Plus that was a D which allowed < 17 ppg in 9 straight games to finish the year

But it doesn’t give up a ton of yards. Since week 4 it is ranked 14 in total yards allowed .
Over the last 6 (half of the season so fast) they tank #7 in total yards allowed.

It’s not just points they are playing great defense by every measure.

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

If the Steelers give up 14 more points in the second half, then they will go from 4th to 9th behind us.

 

[Nehalem]

To meet last year's 15.6ppg allowed Pats need to allow 27 points over the next 4 games or allow less than a TD a game.

Tall order.

Excluding the Karras missnap TD, the D has allowed an average of 9.5ppg over the last 6 games. And that is facing QBs of Ryan, Rivers, and Carr... not exactly scrubs.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Points Allowed and Point Differential have a relatively fair amount of 'making it to the SB' prediction value based on history (something like 68%). Currently the Patriots have a 125 differential which is #1 in the AFC (#2 in the NFL-- Philly with 146).
AFC leaders: Patriots 125, Jags 121, *Ravens 73, Steelers 68. Chargers 56, KC 29. all the rest are negative (*Ravens at #3 in the AFC is a surprise and indicates they are trending upward/could be trouble for the Steelers or others).

Regarding the Patriots defensive improvement, it's obvious where the imprevement is and what the strength of this D is (LOL, not a big shock whatsoever). Using the Patriots last 6 games D performance and comparing it to the current full NFL rankings:

_311 total yards per game -- 8th
_185 passing yards per game -- 2nd**
_126 rushing yards per game - down so low in the rankings let's just call it not good
(**Jags have a fantastic 169 per game. The #3 team is far behind at 198 per game)

 

[Deus Irae]

Nice improvement

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Andy thats a bit much.....

One certainty I can say regarding the 85 Bears D to the 2017 Patriots D comparison, in the preseason Alan Branch's profile from a distant view had a very striking resemblance to Refrigerator Perry.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Excluding the Karras missnap TD, the D has allowed an average of 9.5ppg over the last 6 games. And that is facing QBs of Ryan, Rivers, and Carr... not exactly scrubs.

The D has played well and has become a ++ compliment to the O. As a 1-2 O-D punch the Patriots are going to win the vast majority of games and are extremely unlikely to be outright beat by anyone (if we lose we'll have been very close to pulling out the win right up to the final minutes).

But the D and the team overall does not yet feel like it is at juggernaut level. They seem to be trending in that direction, however, the O isn't the potent scoring machine we've seen in other years and the run D remains undeniably vulnerable (Chung as a frequent quasi-LB is going to make run yards gained greater I'd assume).

For the O the good news is a deep RB group is gobbling up TOP which can result in lesser points but makes the game slope more and more downhill as the third and fourth quarter come along. For the D, the defensive backfield isn't wall to wall shutdown covers but man it's deep. A QB is going to have to be on their game to sustain TD drive after drive after drive necessary to keep up with the Patriots O. Provided the Run D can shore up on some sets of downs and force favorable 3rd down/distance situations, the Patriots pass D appears to be too good to give QBs good chances at converting at a level sufficient enough to sustain those number of drives needed.

If trends continue and health is fair (a week 16 #1 clinch is huge for gathering health), the Patriots may be at their peak, near juggernaut, starting in the playoffs. If that's the case the blitz for six will be looking as good as just about can he hoped.

 

[RobertWeathers]

One certainty I can say regarding the 85 Bears D to the 2017 Patriots D comparison, in the preseason Alan Branch's profile from a distant view had a very striking resemblance to Refrigerator Perry.

Funny how at 310lb Fridge was a monster back then. Now that's a very normal size for a DT

 

[RobertWeathers]

It’s a fact. How you use that fact is up to you.
To be clear it’s stating that for half a season the patriots allowed fewer ppg than the bears did over a full season. No one would take that as apples to apples but it’s a hell of a statement about how this d has played.

I take it as a point of reference.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This defense is very 2001-ish. Gives up a ton of yards but once the offense is inside the 20 its FG or a turnover. Plus that was a D which allowed < 17 ppg in 9 straight games to finish the year

For a team that has been allowing barely more a TD and fg a game over the last 2 months they do give up more yards than you would expect an elite D to allow. With that said, I believe it's mostly by design