Ty Law: the Defense [Mod Edit for Accuracy] Still Has Major Holes In It.

[makoute]

If this was last year at the beginning of the season the defense would have easily given up 300 yards of passing to both Manuel and Smith.

not only that they probably lose that Thursday night game too, with the offense playing the way it did, this defense has certainly started this year much better than I would say the past 3 season or so.

 

[JMC00]

Is this a serious argument? QBs differ considerably in their accuracy, and few will be worse than Geno was Thursday night.

The guy was 63 percent against a secondary that had Revis, Goldson, Barron, Banks and a good coverage LB Lavonte David.

Half this board would trade the Pats secondary for Revis, Goldson, Barron and Banks in a heartbeat.

So the Pats don't get any credit for what happened on Thursday? It was all Smith's doing?

 

[PatsSox363804]

So the Pats don't get any credit for what happened on Thursday? It was all Smith's doing?

You act like you're surprised that's the sentiment of some here.

 

[FoxWhiskey]

So Ryan is a 100 percent completion guy now? He'll miss throws, just like every QB misses throws.

Of course not. But i wouldn´t expect, Matty Ice will over look a completly open receiver in the endzone, like Gino Smith.
And the Falcons receiver are Jones/White not stone hands like Hill/Gates.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Of course not. But i wouldn´t expect, Matty Ice will over look a completly open receiver in the endzone, like Gino Smith.
And the Falcons receiver are Jones/White not stone hands like Hill/Gates.

So what you're saying is more talented players have a better chance at succeeding? Hard hitting analysis there.

 

[aluminum seats]

they did, but Adrian Wilson's on IR.

Meaning they haven't found him yet. Put Rodney Harrison back there, and this D suddenly looks dominant.

And I mean Rodney Harrison now.

 

[Mack Herron]

The guy was 63 percent against a secondary that had Revis, Goldson, Barron, Banks and a good coverage LB Lavonte David.

Half this board would trade the Pats secondary for Revis, Goldson, Barron and Banks in a heartbeat.

So the Pats don't get any credit for what happened on Thursday? It was all Smith's doing?

You are arguing against straw men--extreme positions that nobody holds or offered. It is great to be 2-0. Give them credit. What Ty Law is saying is that close wins over bad teams do not mean they can beat a good team. I will reserve judgment on the defense for a few weeks.

 

[Patriot Missile]

First, they weren't getting beat deep as often as make it to be.

Second, Stephen Hill is an amazing athlete who gets open often. He just can't run the right routes or catch the ball. Hill would be an elite WR if he didn't have hands of stone and a ten cent head.

Third, considering they pressured Smith a lot with a four man rush and playing contain, I do have faith in the pass rush. Jones, Ninkovich, and Kelly are all very good pass rushers.

Pretty much this. When the defensive ends and linebackers are playing contain on the outside your not going to get much pass rush up the middle with two players. They were still effective at rushing the passer when they wanted to so that was a good sign. I am very interested to see how they will change when it comes to a flat footed QB. It bothers me when posters say Manning,Brees or Ryan will rip this team to shreds when they haven't yet.

 

[PatsSox363804]

You are arguing against straw men--extreme positions that nobody holds or offered. It is great to be 2-0. Give them credit. What Ty Law is saying is that close wins over bad teams do not mean they can beat a good team. I will reserve judgment on the defense for a few weeks.

If our offense keeps playing like this they can't beat good teams no matter how well the defense plays. The days of 2000 Ravens defenses are gone.

 

[Patriot Missile]

If our offense keeps playing like this they can't beat good teams no matter how well the defense plays. The days of 2000 Ravens defenses are gone.

I got a good feeling this offense will be a juggernaught when everyone gets on the same page. Thompkins and Dobson are right there. When Gronk gets back it instantly improves both the passing and rushing attack. Very exciting times for me as a Pats fan. The uncertainty of this team makes me feel like like the early 2000's again. It's quite refreshing actually and kind of moves a lot of us away from the entitlement of wins.

 

[RayClay]

I want to believe this....but the Ravens D line that consistently collapsed the Pats pocket last winter held Manning to only 7 TDs last week. Hopefully the quality of Pats CBs will be a better test vs Manning than Balt.'s.......
As far as blitzing Denver.....with all the weaponry Manning has...I expect our S's to be back on their heals....so it will be up to our speedy LBs

Are you seriously comparing the Ravens defense to last year?

Baltimore Ravens Lose Half Defense To Free Agency - Business Insider

 

[PatsSox363804]

I got a good feeling this offense will be a juggernaught when everyone gets on the same page. Thompkins and Dobson are right there. When Gronk gets back it instantly improves both the passing and rushing attack. Very exciting times for me as a Pats fan. The uncertainty of this team makes me feel like like the early 2000's again. It's quite refreshing actually and kind of moves a lot of us away from the entitlement of wins.

I agree they'll be better but I don't know about juggernaut. Obviously I hope you're correct. A healthy Gronk improves both the run and pass games and Amendola getting back on the field would be nice. The thing that gives me hope about Dobson and Thompkins is that they are getting open, just need to improve the timing and shake the nerves.

 

[mgteich]

I suspect that had we played Atlanta, we would have lost by 3 touchdowns. If the Jets had no problem getting receivers open, then Atlanta surely would not have done worse. And. somehow, I think that Atlanta's receivers are more dependable than those of the jets.

Of course not. But i wouldn´t expect, Matty Ice will over look a completly open receiver in the endzone, like Gino Smith.
And the Falcons receiver are Jones/White not stone hands like Hill/Gates.

 

[Rob0729]

I suspect that had we played Atlanta, we would have lost by 3 touchdowns. If the Jets had no problem getting receivers open, then Atlanta surely would not have done worse. And. somehow, I think that Atlanta's receivers are more dependable than those of the jets.

I suspect that if the Pats played Atlanta, they wouldn't have played a contain defense to keep Ryan in the pocket.

The strategy the Pats employed the last two weeks would not be the same one as they are going to use against the Falcons. The Pats gave both Smith and Manuel time for their receivers to get open because they feared that rushing them would allow them to run free. They will not do the same thing with Ryan.

I will expect a lot more pressure on Ryan to force him to throw it quickly especially since he has two deep threat WRs. That is the exact opposite strategy they used against the Bills and Jets.

 

[JMC00]

Seems to me that the big difference-maker the Pats lack is the enforcer-type, hard-hitting safety. Been looking for him for years and haven't found him.

I think that would fundamentally transform this defense.

They had him and cut him. He just knocked Eddie Lacy out of the GB/Wash game.

 

[aluminum seats]

They had him and cut him. He just knocked Eddie Lacy out of the GB/Wash game.

If Brandon Meriweather was a smarter player, yeah, he might have been that guy. But he's not and he wasn't.

 

[mgteich]

I suspect that if the Pats played Atlanta, they wouldn't have played a contain defense to keep Ryan in the pocket.

The strategy the Pats employed the last two weeks would not be the same one as they are going to use against the Falcons. The Pats gave both Smith and Manuel time for their receivers to get open because they feared that rushing them would allow them to run free. They will not do the same thing with Ryan.

I will expect a lot more pressure on Ryan to force him to throw it quickly especially since he has two deep threat WRs. That is the exact opposite strategy they used against the Bills and Jets.

So, let me understand better. The defense was ineffective agains the jets. The receivers were often open.

Is it your position that the defense would have been more effective if we were playing Atlanta?

 

[PatsSox363804]

So, let me understand better. The defense was ineffective agains the jets. The receivers were often open.

Is it your position that the defense would have been more effective if we were playing Atlanta?

They weren't "ineffective" that's crazy. They weren't perfect sure, and a better team would have exploited some of those holes but they held the Jets to 10 points on 15 possessions so let's not act like they sucked out loud.

 

[mgteich]

I knew that I shouldn't comment in this thread.

The patriots were awesome! We made the open receivers drop pass after pass after pass. Our pressure made Geno miss a half dozen open receivers that any third quarterback would have found.

All that matters is stats. We are 2-0. We certainly shouldn't bother do anything but congratulate ourselves.

As a final note, if I knew nothing about the patriots other than the last couple of games, I would give them a power rating in the bottom ten of teams, even though we are 2-0.

They weren't "ineffective" that's crazy. They weren't perfect sure, and a better team would have exploited some of those holes but they held the Jets to 10 points on 15 possessions so let's not act like they sucked out loud.

 

[PatsSox363804]

I knew that I shouldn't comment in this thread.

The patriots were awesome! We made the open receivers drop pass after pass after pass. Our pressure made Geno miss a half dozen open receivers that any third quarterback would have found.

All that matters is stats. We are 2-0. We certainly shouldn't bother do anything but congratulate ourselves.

As a final note, if I knew nothing about the patriots other than the last couple of games, I would give them a power rating in the bottom ten of teams, even though we are 2-0.

Oh is that what I said?