Ground Hog Day

[Simpelton]

Also don't forget that nobody was having any luck stopping the Eagles offense at the end of last year, that SB was easy to predict as a track meet. The D did tighten up late in the game. Not a hopeless defense by any stretch.

Yes, this is a fact. People aren't considering the fact that Nick Foles was playing at a superhuman level in those playoffs. He played his heart out, and he beat defenses that were a lot better than ours on paper, specifically the absolute plastering of Minnesota who was riding its own wave of momentum.

Basically what we're left with is a defense that was particularly injury riddled and depleted compared to its own normal, facing a quarterback who's already pretty good and is playing way, waaaaaaaaaaaaay over his head. This is not going to lead to a representative performance.

I think the Pats D was far better than it showed in the Superbowl and their performance for the balance of the season was solid, especially given their injury issues. One thing Belichick will never do is panic based on the outcome of one game, even if that game is the Superbowl. Call me crazy, but I think he's a lot happier with this defense than some of the livestock on this forum.

They chose a bad night to have a bad night. Too much should not be read into this.

 

[DaBruinz]

Fail

The Pats had the 31st ranked defense.

21st passing defense and 30th run defense. Allow that to sink in.

That's based on Yards allowed.. Which IS the most worthless stat.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Dude, did you just call Dillon a cast off? 1635 yards and 12 TDs in 2004. Led the NFL in rushing yards per game, 2nd in total rushing yards behind Curtis Martin because he missed a game. Comparing him to Blount, Woodhead and Smith is simply ridiculous.

I didn't even notice he was called a cast off.

Dillon wasn't a cast off as he wanted out of Cincinnati for years. In fact, he hated so much in Cincy he said he'd rather flip burgers than play for them. He was rumored to get traded for years because of this.

 

[Triumph]

You really should stop talking because with every post it just gets worse.

You claim the Patriots didn't help their front 7, yet you downplay or outright ignore the following:
Danny Shelton
Adrian Clayborn
Christian Sam
Ja'Whaun Bentley
Valentine's return from injury
Hightower's return from injury
Langi's return from injury
River's return from injury

BTW, since you clearly weren't paying attention in TC, Rivers was getting high marks for setting the edge and for his pass rush when playing against opponents 1s..

You're also ignoring that Wise made huge strides last year and that, despite being a late edition to the team, so did Eric Lee.

The additions of Duke Dawson and Keion Crossen to the secondary along with Jason McCourty should make up for the fact that Butler is gone and that Jonathan Jones is likely to start the season on the PUP.

As for your claim about Malcolm Brown being a "bust", that's just you talking out your rear end. Maybe YOU expected him to be the next Vince Wilfork, but most people expected him to be a solid starter. He's not the reason Shelton was brought in. They play two different positions on the D-line. Brown is better as an Under-Tackle while Shelton is more of a Nose Tackle. Brown was playing out of position last year because Alan Branch wasn't on the field.

Thank you for making my point when you crow about all the injuries coming back in 2018 and all the draft picks making the club and actually contributing. Also, get some new glasses. I mentioned that I have hope for Shelton and did not omit him from assessing the defense. Shelton BTW, who is here to replace Brown who has been a JAG. Shelton was not a fit anymore in Williams 4 - 3 defense. Shelton brings 4 - 3 experience here but his most productive seasons have been in the 3 - 4. Look it up. Shelton is a NT brought in to shore up one of the worst run defenses in 2017 thanks to players like Malcom Brown.

 

[Triumph]

That's based on Yards allowed.. Which IS the most worthless stat.

You know what a worthless stat is? All you people blovating about 5th ranked in points allowed.

The Pats played 7 games vs the worst offenses in the 2017 NFL.

24 Jets 22 pass 26 run
26 Bills 28 pass 19 run
27 Phins 23 pass 31 run
31 Broncs 27 pass 32 run

Jets and Bills both drafted top QBs and the Phins and Broncs should have taken QBs and nobody would have batted an eye. All this nonsense about points allowed is just that. So spare me all the NE defense accolades because the other team sucked worst on offense than the NE defense.

The best offenses gave NE trouble

2 Saints 6 pass 1 run
3 Steelers 4 pass 5 run
4 Chiefs 8 pass 5 run

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2017 OFFENSE EFFICIENCY RATINGS

 

[DaBruinz]

Thank you for making my point when you crow about all the injuries coming back in 2018 and all the draft picks making the club and actually contributing. Also, get some new glasses. I mentioned that I have hope for Shelton and did not omit him from assessing the defense. Shelton BTW, who is here to replace Brown who has been a JAG. Shelton was not a fit anymore in Williams 4 - 3 defense. Shelton brings 4 - 3 experience here but his most productive seasons have been in the 3 - 4. Look it up. Shelton is a NT brought in to shore up one of the worst run defenses in 2017 thanks to players like Malcom Brown.

I didn't "make your point". That is typical of someone as ignorant as you are..

Brown hasn't been a JAG and Shelton isn't here to replace him, you idiot. They play 2 different positions. BTW, you clearly show you don't know diddly squat about defenses if you don't understand that there is a NT and UT in specific 4-3s..

The Run Defense was bad because the team was playing Brown out of position as a NT. Why were they playing him out of position? Because they didn't have Alan Branch nor Vincent Valentine. Then you look at the fact that Roberts took a step backwards and continued to over-pursue and take himself out of the play on many running plays.. He didn't have patience..

 

[DaBruinz]

You know what a worthless stat is? All you people blovating about 5th ranked in points allowed.

The Pats played 7 games vs the worst offenses in the 2017 NFL.

24 Jets 22 pass 26 run
26 Bills 28 pass 19 run
27 Phins 23 pass 31 run
31 Broncs 27 pass 32 run

Jets and Bills both drafted top QBs and the Phins and Broncs should have taken QBs and nobody would have batted an eye. All this nonsense about points allowed is just that. So spare me all the NE defense accolades because the other team sucked worst on offense than the NE defense.

The best offenses gave NE trouble

2 Saints 6 pass 1 run
3 Steelers 4 pass 5 run
4 Chiefs 8 pass 5 run

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2017 OFFENSE EFFICIENCY RATINGS

The only person bloviating about a worthless stat is yourself. And that's the Yards allowed stat. Plain and simple.

Are you really NEM? Because he's the last one I can remember who thought that Yards Allowed was indicative of how a defense actually played..

 

[Triumph]

The only person bloviating about a worthless stat is yourself. And that's the Yards allowed stat. Plain and simple.

Are you really NEM? Because he's the last one I can remember who thought that Yards Allowed was indicative of how a defense actually played..

Points allowed is a pile of hor$ehit vs 7 of the bottom of the barrel offenses.

Other offenses like Tampa were not balanced and lopsided as to where all that was required was to stop the best phase and then other phase could not compensate for its struggles.

But keep telling yourselves playing crappy teams actually is indicative of a quality NE defense.

 

[Triumph]

I didn't "make your point". That is typical of someone as ignorant as you are..

Brown hasn't been a JAG and Shelton isn't here to replace him, you idiot. They play 2 different positions. BTW, you clearly show you don't know diddly squat about defenses if you don't understand that there is a NT and UT in specific 4-3s..

The Run Defense was bad because the team was playing Brown out of position as a NT. Why were they playing him out of position? Because they didn't have Alan Branch nor Vincent Valentine. Then you look at the fact that Roberts took a step backwards and continued to over-pursue and take himself out of the play on many running plays.. He didn't have patience..

Shelton is here because Brown is not cutting it short bus patron.

Shelton is a true NT. Brown will be moved. Blaming everyone else for Browns bad play is what Homers like you do day in day out.

 

[Sciz]

This title had such potential until the rest of the thread happened. The real "Groundhog Day" here is the yearly loop where so many fans spend three months solely evaluating how draft prospects fill the team's immediate needs and then are shocked when Belichick doesn't do that.

 

[captain stone]

What impact front 7 player should they have picked at #31?

Harold Landry. Good coaches, no matter the basic defensive schematic they draw, should be able to find ways to turn Landry's unique talent into production worthy of his draft slot.

p.s.: I also would have chosen Justin Reid ahead of fellow DB Duke (but not of Dorchester) Dawson. Reid is superior to Dawson both physically and athletically, and would've been a better pick using both value-based and needs-based criteria.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Harold Landry. Good coaches, no matter the basic defensive schematic they draw, should be able to find ways to turn Landry's unique talent into production worthy of his draft slot.

p.s.: I also would have chosen Justin Reid ahead of fellow DB Duke (but not of Dorchester) Dawson. Reid is superior to Dawson both physically and athletically, and would've been a better pick using both value-based and needs-based criteria.

Landry went 10 spots after where you say.

They already have Rivers.

They liked Dawson more.

 

[maust]

Guys, calm down. We're all fans of the same team here. You can make your point without calling your fellow Patriot fan an idiot in... every... single... post. It does not strengthen your argument anyway.

Your hypocrisy is boundless

 

[TB_Helmet]

Your hypocrisy is boundless

Normally I wouldn’t be a fan of reviving a four day old thread just to call out a bad post but in this case I’ll make an exception!

 

[maust]

Normally I wouldn’t be a fan of reviving a four day old thread just to call out a bad post but in this case I’ll make an exception!

Your magnanimity is duly noted...and understood.

 

[Ivan]

Yes, this is a fact. People aren't considering the fact that Nick Foles was playing at a superhuman level in those playoffs. He played his heart out, and he beat defenses that were a lot better than ours on paper, specifically the absolute plastering of Minnesota who was riding its own wave of momentum.

Basically what we're left with is a defense that was particularly injury riddled and depleted compared to its own normal, facing a quarterback who's already pretty good and is playing way, waaaaaaaaaaaaay over his head. This is not going to lead to a representative performance.

I think the Pats D was far better than it showed in the Superbowl and their performance for the balance of the season was solid, especially given their injury issues. One thing Belichick will never do is panic based on the outcome of one game, even if that game is the Superbowl. Call me crazy, but I think he's a lot happier with this defense than some of the livestock on this forum.

They chose a bad night to have a bad night. Too much should not be read into this.

Yep. And what really hurt them was that both McCourty and Chung were playing with serious shoulder injuries and simply could not tackle the way they normally do.

 

[Triumph]

Yep. And what really hurt them was that both McCourty and Chung were playing with serious shoulder injuries and simply could not tackle the way they normally do.

They couldnt cover either.

What other excuses ya got?

 

[Simpelton]

They couldnt cover either.

What other excuses ya got?

There's a distinction between understanding the factors that went into a defeat, and "excuses." Foles playing out of his mind and the Patriots defense being injured and depleyed are both reasons to understand why a defense underperformed. No "excuses" here.

 

[Kontradiction]

Young MAN? Mmmmm, not sure..

 

[Ivan]

They couldnt cover either.

What other excuses ya got?

They were beat by a 2nd string QB, there are no excuses, the better team won. Chung and McCourty playing hurt definitely hampered their defense, but that’s a fact of life in the NFL.