I think Chandler fading was more of a product of scheme. They are not an uphill pass rushing team and more of a control the gaps. However, I did notice Jones didn't have many rush moves in NE. He is the rare player that left NE, but got better.
The Rams offense was a shell of its self before the playoffs even started as Gurley's knees were cooked. The Rams were very lucky to even to get there. Had Gurley been healthy, it would've been even more of a nail biter.
In terms of points, the 2007 defense should've been enough for the offense to pull away from the Giants. There were many factors why they lost in 2007: the sprain of Tom's ankle was more severe than lead on, the offensive game planning was awful, Neal exiting the game, the bizarre call to go for it on 4th and 13, the all out blitz late in the game and McDaniels getting overmatched by Spags were big reasons why they choked. But the one that flies under the radar is how many turnovers the defense/special teams could've had, but let slip away. We all know about the Samuel drop and daydreaming during the Tyree catch, but the Pierre Woods non fumble recovery really hurt earlier in the game.
In regards to 2011, while the defense choked again on the final drive, I put more blame on the offense as Brady was healthy and was up 17-9 with all the momentum in the Pats favor. They took their foot off the gas and it ended up coming down to a Welker drop because the offense called it a day after the Hernandez TD.
They didn't go to the 2012 Super Bowl, but they did get shredded by Flacco in the AFCCG after Talib tapped out.
Teams were catching up to what the Pats wanted to do with the "boogeyman", but I do agree it would've been enough had they had an offense. They would've beaten the Chiefs and had the #2 seed with a better offense.