Don't care what you say, the defense played very well yesterday...

[PatsGirl2011]

As much we want to blame the defense, 4 INTs is difficult to overcome sometimes. Each INT kept the Bills in the game!

 

[Ring 6]

8 penalties + 4 interceptions = L

The key to your post was the repeated use of the word penalties. Other than the two uncharacteristic penalties on Logan Mankins that stood out, the defense repeatedly got flagged to keep drives moving. There's a lack of discipline or experience here that we can only hope can be fixed.

It was weird to watch part II of A Football Life on Thursday evening with Belichick preaching about "one penalty can kill us" and then watch the game Sunday with 8 penalties for 93 yards.

8 penalties + 4 interceptions = L

Not if the defense put up any kind of resistance on those 2 drives.

 

[fair catch fryar]

As much we want to blame the defense, 4 INTs is difficult to overcome sometimes. Each INT kept the Bills in the game!

I'll disagree and defer to the 93 yards in penalties and the "Can't stop a nosebleed" Defense.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

The defense is not good.

If we did not have Brady, we'd be the Colts.

An awful team. When they make the playoffs they should hand him the MVP and rename it the Brady Trophy.

If we make it to the super bowl. They should rename Gillette, Tom Brady Stadium.

My stupid point? The defense is awful and we can't go far without much improved play. That's the bottom line. Brady will have to outscore everyone, and notice I said Brady.

If we didn't have Brady we would be the Colts???

Are you kidding me???

If we didn't have Brady Goodell might as well be announcing "with the first pick in the 2012 draft,The New England Patriots select...."

The Colts will win 4 games or so...I think with this defense and no Brady the 2008 Lions might have company in the record books.....seriously

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

this loss is all on tom brady, i dont understand how its so hard for fans to come to grip with this

Funny...I remember Brady making up for his mistakes by strongly taking his team down to a score and tie the game with just a few minutes left

I didn't know Brady was on the field right after that score with the defense and failed to tackle Fred Jackson who was practically untouched on the way to the winning FG

Damn Brady needs to lean to tackle better or he is gone!!

 

[VJCPatriot]

They scored 27 points on offense. In addition, the Patriots forced two turnovers, and many believe it should have been three turnovers (PI call in the end zone.)

You make a valid point about allowing only 27 points, since Brady did gift wrap one TD as a pick 6. That shouldn't count against the D. However the last drive was simply inexcusable. They didn't even make it look like a challenge for the Bills to get down to the 1 yard line in the space of less than 60 seconds. After that it was run out the clock and chip shot FG for the win for the Bills. We CANNOT have that happen and win ball games. A good defense makes stops when it matters. The defense did NOT play well last Sunday.

The Pats D played pretty good at times vs the Chargers imo, coming up with big stops and turnovers when it counted. They made a lot of mistakes but at least they came up with plays when they needed to. That was an acceptable effort. The effort and execution against the Bills was just not there. I'm not gonna throw this defense under the bus but I won't make excuses. They need to SHAPE UP fast!

 

[patsfan-1982]

what has the great Chad Henne done since he's 416 yerd 2TD game vs the pats he has averaged just over 200 yerds and 1 TD and 1 INT per game, Philip Rivers after he's 378 yerd 2TD game vs the pats throw for 266 yerds 0 TD's and 2 INT's vs KC the worst team in the NFL

Ryan Fitzpatrick had only the 3rd 300 yerd passing game of he's career vs the pats on sunday throwing for 369 yerds... you can put all the Blame on Brady if you want but the fact is if Brady does not put up video game stats the first 3 games of the season the pats are 0-3

 

[Dutchmaster617]

If it's a 7-7 game and Tom is throwing picks blame it all on him, in the SB he had no picks and still caught blame but whatever.

To give up 34 is bad defense period, ok 27 still bad, to do it when you have a 21-0 lead is horrible. That means you know they will pass, the pressure is on them, and you have an advantage. I can't remember how many stops they had after the huge lead but I assume only a few would be needed to end the game. I really don't know what happened and how to look at it though honestly.

 

[Mike in 333]

It was kind of like a game long "prevent defense" and worked just as well as that usually does. Our backs are way too far off the receivers and very rarely engage them inside the 5 yard window. In theory we're relying on the opposing QB to make an error and then take advantage of an errant pass to force a turnover. This works fine if the opposing QB makes a lot of mistakes or can't read the coverage properly but yesterday Fitzpatrick did a very good job with his accuracy and didn't seem fooled at all by our defense.
Some of this might be counterintuitive to DB's who aren't used to our system so we can expect some improvement with experience but it requires the Safeties and CB's to work together and that didn't seem to be happening yesterday. Basically what should happen is what we saw Arrington do in the 1st half.

 

[sbpatfan]

One of my favorite quotes:

"You have to get your ass beat before you can kick ass."

If the team can learn from this game, we have hope. If we continue to make the same mistakes every week, and there is no improvement, we're screwed.

 

[Metaphors]

There is a huge gap between a championship defense and the worst defense in the league. The Pats defense is solidly somewhere in the middle...not close to either extreme.

You can observe the game yesterday and come to the conclusion that the defense did pretty well. 10 points at halftime (would have been 7 if Brady didn't put a gassed defense back on the field late). 3 of the next 4 series were 3-n-out. The 4th was a 7-play 39-yd drive after the defense was off the field for 11 seconds.

That is a good enough effort to win the game, so the OP has a reasonable basis. After 3 quarters, the score very well could have been <insert big number> to 7. However, a championship defense makes big plays at big times. This defense isn't capable of that yet.

I said that this was a report card game for the defense. They get a C-. Good enough to win with an A+ offense. Problematic when the offense turns the ball over.

So what do they need to improve their grade? Simple. Get QBs off their first read. That's it. The common theme in the first 3 games is that the defense struggles when QBs examine the defense, decide where they are going pre-snap and then just sling it. When QBs have to look off their initial read, the pressure has a chance and the coverage can defend secondary routes/options.

Why is the defense content to play straight up and allow clean reads at the LOS? No idea. I just hope we aren't asking that same question during the bye week.

And for the people quoting stats to "prove" the Pats have the worst defense in the league...look at the other teams close to the Pats in your stats of choice. You will likely find the Bills, Packers, Saints and Chargers. Weird that I don't hear them being criticized. The Jets have the next to worst run defense in the league yet I don't recall them panicking.

While you are looking at stats, reverse them and see the teams at the other end. Titans, Jags, Bengals, Niners, Seahawks...all top 10. They also happen to be teams with plenty of room on their bandwagons. Just saying...

 

[LetsGoPats36]

You sound like a message board version of Brian Billick trying to defend the Kyle Boller pick in the opening post.

I don't care if you have the most comprehensive knowledge of "ebbs and flows" in football, if you think the defense played "very well" yesterday you are blind.

 

[Joker]

The Pats gave up 3 offensive TD's to the Bills...2 FG's..that's 27 offensive points...the Pats scored 31 offensive points...say what you want about giving up 27 offensive points to the Bills in their house..the Pats STILL scored enough offensive points to beat the Bills. Add to that the FACT the Bills scored FORTY ONE offensive points and THIRTY EIGHT offensive points in their previous two games, one on the road, I'm finding it hard to understand why you're so angry and disappointed that three games in the Pats have managed to hold the Bills to the least offensive points scored this season, yet with this horrible "worst defense in history!!!!!!!".

Would anybody argue the fact that they'd like it if the Pats could shave 7-10 points of that 27? Sure they would...but as of this week THAT was as good as the defense made it...and it WAS good enough to win the game.An INT runback, one of four INT's given out by Brady, cost the Patriots NINE sure points, probably more, and GAVE the bills seven points which made THE difference in the game.

 

[supafly]

I don't care if you have the most comprehensive knowledge of "ebbs and flows" in football, if you think the defense played "very well" yesterday you are blind.

No doubt. While the offense did give the ball away, we're going to have to remember that happens sometimes. It's up to the defense to bail them out, just like any other team, and they haven't been able to do that.

As AndyJohnson pointed out in another thread, those last 2 drives were likely the worst series' that I have ever seen too, as far as a team blowing the lead and the tie in such a critical situation. Those last 2 drives were completely unacceptable.

The defense has trouble stopping the run (as pointed out by Berman and Co. tonight prior to the MNF game), they cannot rush the QB to save their lives..at all, they allow huge gains right down the middle of the field where teams have been attacking us for years now, they can't seem to combat the RB dumpoffs, and they are an absolute joke at defending the pass...That doesn't leave much left to judge or grade.

 

[ctpatsfan1]

The Pats gave up 3 offensive TD's to the Bills...2 FG's..that's 27 offensive points...the Pats scored 31 offensive points...say what you want about giving up 27 offensive points to the Bills in their house..the Pats STILL scored enough offensive points to beat the Bills. Add to that the FACT the Bills scored FORTY ONE offensive points and THIRTY EIGHT offensive points in their previous two games, one on the road, I'm finding it hard to understand why you're so angry and disappointed that three games in the Pats have managed to hold the Bills to the least offensive points scored this season, yet with this horrible "worst defense in history!!!!!!!".

Would anybody argue the fact that they'd like it if the Pats could shave 7-10 points of that 27? Sure they would...but as of this week THAT was as good as the defense made it...and it WAS good enough to win the game.An INT runback, one of four INT's given out by Brady, cost the Patriots NINE sure points, probably more, and GAVE the bills seven points which made THE difference in the game.

as always a well thought out post Joker. However even you must admit there are some serious issues with this D. They aren't aggressive enough, there appears to be no disquised looks or creative blitzes. I personally think Matt Patricia is in over his head, problem is everyone knows BB is the brains behind the D so who's fault is it, the defacto DC or the HC whose scheme he is running.

 

[aluminum seats]

Obviously the idea that the defense played "very well" Sunday is ridiculous, and not really worth discussing.

But I'd like to point out another misplaced idea, that the Pats defense is currently good but just not "consistent." The lack of consistency defines mediocre/poor defenses, or anything. It's like if you play golf and hit a couple of good shots then land the next one in the water. If you want to fool yourself, you say, "I just need to be more consistent," when the fact is you're just a lousy golfer.

 

[LiveShot]

And Custer had an amazing day at Little Big Horn.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

I can certainly see some griping about the defense, as there are problems (I think Metaphors is correct that they are not forcing QB's off their first read), but the overwhelming "defense is crap" sentiment is silly and not based in fact.

CHFF has a great defensive stat called bendability. It's a quality stat that has been proven to have a direct correlation to wins/loses. It's basically yds given up per point, so it blends yardage allowed and points allowed. Last year, for the whole year we were at 18.73, and Green Bay (eventual SB Champs) were tops overall at 20.61. Pittsburgh (who lost the SB) was second at 19.06. We were 4th behind Baltimore. The year before our rating was 17.98 (which was again 4th in the league).

After 3 games this year, we are at 17.82, which is good for about 6th-7th in the NFL right now, ahead of teams like Buffalo, Pittsburgh and the Jets. We're giving up lots of yards, but not nearly as many points. At this point last year, we were at 13.60 and were allowing 27.66 ppg (more then we are now). We were at the same record to (2-1). We improved significantly over the course of the season and there is no reason to believe we won't again. Statistically, this defense is playing BETTER then we were last year at this point by this measure, which again correlates directly to wins/losses.

Lots of room to improve, but it's not NEARLY as bleak as people might be inclined to think.

If you absolutely MUST place blame for this loss, look to the other side of the ball. Yeah...... I'm serious. We gave them 4 extra possessions on offense and they made the most of it. Bills scored 24 points off of Int's. Sure it was against this defense, but lets be honest, they should have NEVER been in the position in the first place. We had a couple Int's of our own, and we managed a meager 7 points of them. The turnover/point differential was 24-7...... You ain't EVER gonna win games like that. Take out those giveaways and we dominated this Buffalo team on both sides of the ball 24-10. At the game, it really did feel like we dominated them outside of all those crappy Int's and the ensuing drives afterword.

You HAVE TO EXPECT a defense to take advantage of giveaways to the tune of 3 or 7 points. Sunday was NO EXCEPTION. Buffalo scored on all 4 (3 TD, 1 FG) and we scored only on one (1 TD). In fact, in a game that we moved the ball at will, one of our only 3 and outs came after the second Int. That's uncharacteristic. Brady almost ALWAYS makes em' pay. It's a signature thing for him.

You just can't do that kind of stuff. Sunday was a rare day for the offense in that 1) they were careless with the rock, and 2) they did not take advantage of Buffalo's mistakes. Had they done either, we would have won this game. Plain and simple, the offense gave this game away.

There really isn't much of an argument the other way beyond "they gave up alot of yards" and a few easy TD's (on possessions the Bills SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD and in situations you can reasonably expect to get scored on).

 

[THELAWFIRM226]

How can you possibly say the defense played very well. They can't stop the pass, they can't get to the QB, they can't stop anybody on 3rd down, THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING. This defense has been playing this way all 3 games this year. While they were on and off the field all day due to the 4 int's by Brady, this really is no excuse because the Pats lead overall time of possession. I'm worried, as of right now, this team will not be getting far in the playoffs. Luckily, it's week 3 and TEAMS GET BETTER. Lets stop with the fire O'brien, or cut ochocino, this kind of talk is stupid. Did anyone expect this team to go undefeated? Because I sure didn't.

 

[mosi]

The defense was lousy. It is lousy. But it did its job.

Don't expect the defense to pitch a shut-out. This defense is designed to simply force a couple of punts a game or getting a few turn-overs. That is it and that is all we should be looking for. Really.

We lost the game because of the offense. Their job is to score on all possessions and to not turn the ball over. This is 2005 all over again but with a much better offense.