145 days later...I re-watched SB 52

[supafly]

Without a pass rush (ie- hightower, sheard, nink, and long) you can beat the miamis and jets of league. However, you’re going to have a tough time against quality teams. This is exactly what happened last year. And improvement isn’t about numbers alone. It’s about improving against good opponents.

I think benching a starting cornerback was a bigger issue than Sheard not playing...

They gave up almost 5 yards a carry on the ground and were 31st in YPC allowed. The run defense was atrocious. As much as we want to point to the decision to bench one of the starting CBs, I think it all pretty much starts there. Those issues were exposed in the SB.

Of course, one can easily claim that Butler would’ve helped with shoring up the run defense with more sure-handed tackling, so there’s that aspect to take into account, but he was back there all year long and they still finished 31st in the league in YPC allowed with 4.7.

 

[aluminum seats]

Besides, the defense wasn’t exactly impressive with Butler playing against KC, Carolina and Houston. Maybe he was part of the problem.

Those games were in SEPTEMBER.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Those games were in SEPTEMBER.

And they proceeded to beat a bunch of average teams thereafter with a few exceptions like atlanta and Pitt. Doesn’t mean the D vastly improved. You can’t look at stats alone in determining how good a D is. Philly supposedly copied KC’s game plan against us. If they really improved it would have shown in the super bowl. And malcolm butler wasn’t going to do a whole lot to shut philly down since he struggled most of the year.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

They gave up almost 5 yards a carry on the ground and were 31st in YPC allowed. The run defense was atrocious. As much as we want to point to the decision to bench one of the starting CBs, I think it all pretty much starts there. Those issues were exposed in the SB.

Of course, one can easily claim that Butler would’ve helped with shoring up the run defense with more sure-handed tackling, so there’s that aspect to take into account, but he was back there all year long and they still finished 31st in the league in YPC allowed with 4.7.

Good point. The porous run d may be most to blame. Perhaps this is why BB went out and traded for danny shelton before doing anything else.

 

[supafly]

Good point. The porous run d may be most to blame. Perhaps this is why BB went out and traded for danny shelton before doing anything else.

Yeah, they ran the ball down their throats in the SB. It was disgusting. Look at the stats. Everything else is so close that they easily win by shaving 25% off of the rush total, but yet everyone is just like “Malcolm Butler.”

164 yards rushing. 6.1 YPC

Again, I do think he may have been a difference maker just because maybe they don’t allow 164 yards on the ground, but they did suck all year vs the run (31st), so I don’t know if it’s quite as clear cut as some suggest.

 

[aluminum seats]

And they proceeded to beat a bunch of average teams thereafter with a few exceptions like atlanta and Pitt. Doesn’t mean the D vastly improved. You can’t look at stats alone in determining how good a D is. Philly supposedly copied KC’s game plan against us. If they really improved it would have shown in the super bowl. And malcolm butler wasn’t going to do a whole lot to shut philly down since he struggled most of the year.

It “would have shown” in the Super Bowl if Belichick hadn’t sat his starting cornerback who had played nearly 100% of the snaps. Butler, and by extension the rest of the defense that wouldn’t have been out of whack, would have improved enough then to have, you know, won a Super Bowl instead of losing one.