ESPN James Walker "Reasons why the Patriots will make it to the Super Bowl"

[PatsWickedPissah]

See what I did there?

Yes, quite apropos

 

[mgcolby]

Folks, it's not Jet fan heresy to point out that the 2011 Pats D has serious deficiencies. I'm with the camp that says it's not as bad as the YPG indicator but the D represents a serious risk when playing an elite offense in the playoffs. If Brady and Co aren't completely on their game vs another high powered offense sane analysis says we're probably gonna lose.

I'm optimistic that we can get some further improvement from this talent starved young D in January, maybe even enough to be playing in February, but then I'm a major Pats homo.

I agree, but the catch - and what makes me think this team can win it all - is that all the teams that have elite offenses have a defense that mirrors ours. IMO, if the Pats make it to the SB and play either NO or GB it will no doubt come down to the offenses.

 

[VrabelJr]

It's certainly nice for James Walker to post this but he is just an ESPN mediot spin doctor. While the reasons he cites are valid it all comes down to how we execute on that Saturday or Sunday. With the recent struggles of the Steelers and Ravens it certainly looks good for us in the AFC but I'm not ready to celebrate an AFC Championship until it actually happens.

 

[shmessy]

It's certainly nice for James Walker to post this but he is just an ESPN mediot spin doctor. While the reasons he cites are valid it all comes down to how we execute on that Saturday or Sunday. With the recent struggles of the Steelers and Ravens it certainly looks good for us in the AFC but I'm not ready to celebrate an AFC Championship until it actually happens.

Thanks for the advice. I don't think anyone was actually planning the parade because of a writer's column.

 

[strngplyr]

[B]Defense       YPG P Rank YPG R Rank YPG Total Rank Points Rank INT Rank  FR Rank[/B]

Green Bay     289.4   31 108.4   12     397.8   31   21.2   14  27   01  05   27
New England   296.7   32 117.6   19     414.4   32   21.2   14  18   04  10   08
New Orleans   256.1   28 109.9   13     366.1   28   21.8   18  08   28  05   27

Sacks:
GB: 27 (in 550 pass attempts)
NE: 33 (in 541 pass attempts)
NO: 31 (in 540 pass attempts)

Completion % against:
GB: 60.9% 7.7avg
NE: 63% 8.1avg
NO: 56.9% 7.1avg (For giving up the 28th most yards, they don't allow too many passes completed against them, also note that 6% difference only turns into 40 yards on average)

NE clearly has the worst pass defense of the three. But, they have the 5th most turnovers and the 3rd best differential. They also seemingly have the best pass rush, or at least make it to the QB more often in passing situations.

I'm still not going to say this defense resembles anything good, but for those who think it is clearly the worst in the league, I would take it over NO and GB's defense this season.

28 extra possessions is simply huge. No matter how many yards you give up, when your defense gives the offense 2 extra drives per game on average (if they don't score on the turnover) you'll have a hard time losing because of the D when our O is as efficient as they are.

 

[ausbacker]

Sacks:
GB: 27 (in 550 pass attempts)
NE: 33 (in 541 pass attempts)
NO: 31 (in 540 pass attempts)

Completion % against:
GB: 60.9% 7.7avg
NE: 63% 8.1avg
NO: 56.9% 7.1avg (For giving up the 28th most yards, they don't allow too many passes completed against them, also note that 6% difference only turns into 40 yards on average)

NE clearly has the worst pass defense of the three. But, they have the 5th most turnovers and the 3rd best differential. They also seemingly have the best pass rush, or at least make it to the QB more often in passing situations.

I'm still not going to say this defense resembles anything good, but for those who think it is clearly the worst in the league, I would take it over NO and GB's defense this season.

28 extra possessions is simply huge. No matter how many yards you give up, when your defense gives the offense 2 extra drives per game on average (if they don't score on the turnover) you'll have a hard time losing because of the D when our O is as efficient as they are.

I'm not sure any of us are attempting to illustrate that the defense is good because it isn't. The defense is opportunistic. The point is, the defense is not considerably worse than the Saints or Packers, which became a point of contention.

FWIW, I have the Patriots D rated somewhere near the middle of the NFL for the turnovers they create.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Folks, it's not Jet fan heresy to point out that the 2011 Pats D has serious deficiencies. I'm with the camp that says it's not as bad as the YPG indicator but the D represents a serious risk when playing an elite offense in the playoffs. If Brady and Co aren't completely on their game vs another high powered offense sane analysis says we're probably gonna lose.

I'm optimistic that we can get some further improvement from this talent starved young D in January, maybe even enough to be playing in February, but then I'm a major Pats homo.

I gues that makes you an ostrich, welcome to the club

Just to remove any doubt on what side of the fence we fall on we should all adopt this as our avatar for the playoffs