Like it or not: This is the D we are taking into the playoffs

[patsfanincleveland]

I don't think anyone should like this D where they are right now. I know it's becasue of injuries. But you still can't like what you are seeing.

They have been clutch which has won them games. But can they be clutch almost every game especially in the playoffs. That's the key

What?

Did you watch the Denver game?

 

[coolguy]

How will we stop Cleveland? CLEVELAND?????? O! M! G! You have officially taken chicken little farther and higher than anyone has ever taken it before. You are to PatsFan CL posting what Chuck Yeager is to the airplane. Ian should give you a T Shirt or mug or a plaque for that one....

(sorry PATRlOT - I just had to have some fun with this post of yours. And if I missed your intended sarcasm, ummm, nevermind )

Most of us here still remember the Cleveland massacre from 2010.

 

[Deus Irae]

The defense sucks. The Patriots are forced to go with it, and we, as fans, just have to hope that scheming masks the problems well enough for the team to move forward come playoff time, and that the offense can play well enough to overcome the defensive problems.

This is not new. We've been seeing this since 2010. The 'good' news, if we can call it that, is that this year's problem is health as opposed to pure talent deficiency.

 

[SacPete1]

I'm not willing to concede this just yet.

The past 2 weeks have seen an absolute gashing of the front 6 (playing out of nickel most of the time) but before that and long after Wilfork and Mayo went down, the run defense was decent which is as much as I could expect.
I would really like to see someone qualified review the film and determine why this has occurred as opposed to getting a lot of unqualified opinions. The gaps are just too huge for it to be a case of guys not being able to shed blocks or not tackle. While I realize we are limited with personnel, I just have to believe that that some alteration of scheme will produce better results.

One thing I have noticed is that there doesn't appear to be much safety run support going on. I can understand a 2 deep cover against Denver but not Houston unless there is concern with the cb's health and BB decides for additional coverage at the expense of the run.

I would be very surprised if we don't see significant improvement in this area.

 

[coolguy]

The defense sucks. The Patriots are forced to go with it, and we, as fans, just have to hope that scheming masks the problems well enough for the team to move forward come playoff time, and that the offense can play well enough to overcome the defensive problems.

This is not new. We've been seeing this since 2010. The 'good' news, if we can call it that, is that this year's problem is health as opposed to pure talent deficiency.

This is actually the best pass defense the pats have had in 4 years. Teams running on the pats actually disrupts their passing rhythm as the game goes on.

 

[Deus Irae]

This is actually the best pass defense the pats have had in 4 years. Teams running on the pats actually disrupts their passing rhythm as the game goes on.

Yes, the pass defense is better. The defensive secondary is much better with Dennard/Talib at the corners. Unfortunately, due to injury, the run defense is woeful. Also, unfortunately, the team's best starting linebacker, and the only starting linebacker who can cover worth a damn in the 4-3, is on the shelf. The losses of Mayo/Wilfork/Kelly are huge and, while they are injury related (as I noted in that earlier post), they are what they are.

 

[SVN]

Chat: Chat with Tedy Bruschi - SportsNation - ESPN Boston

Alex (Boston)

Hey Tedy. On several of Tate's touchdown runs yesterday it seemed like the defense didn't even try to get in his way after he got to the second level. McCourty and others seemed to be content to just let him in untouched rather than try to knock him down. Was this just a matter of practicality (i.e. he's a big back and probably wouldn't be stopped anyway), or is this lazy play? The run defense has been an issue lately, so this left a bad impression for me in regard to the will to commit to stopping big runs.
Tedy (2:15 PM)

As a former defensive player, that pains me to see. I want to see guys laying out and giving great effort every single play. This Texans' running game is different than they've experienced before. From a front-7 perspective, on a regular basis, players were chopped down and on the ground. The Texans' offensive line is coached to cut block on the back side, and cut block linebackers, and for inexperienced players like Joe Vellano and Chris Jones, it can be a shock to the system. I've been in plays where there's a split second when you see the ballcarrier and the next instant you're looking at the turf because you were cut down. I don't think they were ready for that up front. That is tough to simulate in practice. From a secondary perspective, when that happens to your front seven, what you will have is big Ben Tate with a full head of steam coming right at you. Sometimes you can't adjust your angles quickly enough when your front seven isn't even getting a hand on the RB because they are on the ground. I'm sure that factored in with some of those untouched touchdowns.
Scott (Alexandria, VA)

Tedy, LB Brandon Spikes looked very limited on Sunday. He could move forward but was tentative moving laterally, and it looked like it cost the Patriots on a couple of plays. It looks like he's still dealing with an injury. What was your assessment of Spikes and why do you think we didn't see more of Dane Fletcher? Thank you for all your great work and insights.
Tedy (2:17 PM)

This is a direct effect of the cut block. This is a direct effect of when you've been chopped down a few times and you're looking at who is going to be diving at your legs. This offensive line is full of ankle-biters. Sometimes you have your eyes on the linemen, worrying about your knees. I've been there. It's tough. When you have young DL who are letting the linemen get up to you at linebacker quickly, it's a tough down.

 

[FalconHeavy]

Chat: Chat with Tedy Bruschi - SportsNation - ESPN Boston

nice analysis by Tedy ! LB'ers having to worry about ball carrier running at full speed at the same time looking out who is going to dive at their legs is kind of scary

question is if this is so effective and legal, why can't we use it from time to time ?

 

[bostonia3333]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

 

[FourierSeries]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

What?

Our pass D is at least top 5 this year when healthy.

 

[JMarr]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

Huh? The secondary is light years better than it's been in quite some time, even when you're running guys like Arrington and Ryan out there on the outside. The second safety position is problematic if Gregory's not in there and I think his healthy return is pretty crucial. God willing, you get a healthy Dennard back at least for the playoffs and Talib doesn't get any worse healthwise. The Secondary becomes a major strength if those things happen.

Strongly disagree with your sort of minimizing the loss of Wilfork and [especially] Mayo, our best LB and the guy that brought everyone together on the field. TBS, Spikes really needs to get healthy if he's hurt--he and Hightower are talented, high-upside guys who really should be able to step up their games to help fill the void up the middle. You just have to scheme around their coverage deficiencies as best you can. I have a feeling that Fletcher and Collins are actually going to be two of the biggest keys as to whether this D can hold it's ground the rest of the way.

 

[JackBauer]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

Great point. It's not like our defense was significantly better when the aforementioned were healthy, or anything...

 

[BradyManny]

This defense is completely different with a healthy Dennard.

The ripple effect is huge. Arrington, especially banged up as he currently is, has struggled on the outside to the point of getting replaced by Ryan &/or Cole at times. When healthy, and I'll assume by January he will be, he is as good a slot corner as there is in the league. Adding Dennard boosts two positions, tremendously.

Our run D will continue to struggle, but we might be lucky and avoid any good running teams in the postseason. When we've had our top 4 CB/DBs healthy (Talib, McCourty, Arrington, Dennard) - our secondary has been a strength of the team.

 

[JMC00]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

Jets would have had about 13 points had Mayo, Talib, and Kelly played in that OT game in NY.

Pats would be 10-2 with the tie-break over Denver right now.

Also are you complaining about stats or effectiveness with Ninkovich? He pressures the QB as much as Jones does.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

The Pats are 4th for average starting field position and defensive TOs, and 10th in points allowed. I'm a bit nervous given the struggles lately, but the backfield still has the potential to get healthy. Even with a porous run defense the Pats will be a tough team to face with its combination of offense and defense.

 

[SVN]

Our defensive injuries are overrated I think. I don't think our record would be any better than 9-3 if we are at full strength on D--our run D stats would improve, but our pass D would still be hideous. Even when Wilfork, Mayo, etc are in there, we still never touch the qb, our dbs still take bad angles and don't look at the ball, we don't tackle properly. We have to hope and pray for one of those Ninkovich sacks which happen once a millennium it seems.

The main reasons why we are 9-3.....gotta thank Brady, Gost, and Talib for that.

Did you see brady and the offense for the first 6 weeks ? If this offense has improved with time imagine how much better the D wouldve been without the injuries that what you before ... Sacks and pressure dont equate good defense all the time. Go ask the Chiefs from yesterday's game.

 

[patsfanincleveland]

The Pats are 4th for average starting field position and defensive TOs, and 10th in points allowed. I'm a bit nervous given the struggles lately, but the backfield still has the potential to get healthy. Even with a porous run defense the Pats will be a tough team to face with its combination of offense and defense.

Yesterday proved two things:

Don't the opponent great field position.

The defense is much better with Dennard in and Arrington in the slot.

 

[pats4life12]

If our offense can handle it and it's very cold windy and snowy I think we will do just fine.

 

[Bhelmet]

As long as the D (and at times the team as a whole) can play a SOLID half of football, please let it continue to be the 2nd half.

 

[mgteich]

I would include Gregory. The top 5 make a fine defensive back unit, with Ryan, Harmon as backups.

When we've had our top 4 CB/DBs healthy (Talib, McCourty, Arrington, Dennard) - our secondary has been a strength of the team.