They were a laughingstock in THAT GAME, THEIR PLAYOFF GAME. Do you not agree? Blown out. Historically bad.
You homers could have 0-17 seasons and you'd still be talking about their "top 3" defense. How'd that great defense look in the playoffs? No stops. No punts. All TDs. Top 3 huh?
It's a conundrum, right? Because that performance against Buffalo was, I contend, the worst defensive performance of all time. Didn't get one single stop. Not even a FG. Just one touchdown after another. Moreover, Buffalo only had to convert six third downs the entire game (there was a 7th third down, but it was when Buffalo was kneeling to run out the clock at the end of the game). In other words, they cut through the Patriots so easily that they barely even had to go to third down. That's how bad it was.
Of course, as bad as that was, it wasn't reflective of how they played during the regular season. There is no defense in the history of the league that ever played worse than the Patriots did in the WC game. It was so bad it almost doesn't even "count". It was such a statistical outlier that it almost shouldn't be considered a data point. I mean, the Pats' D was HORRIFIC in the second Eagles' Super Bowl (Phi had 41 points and 538 total yards). But even then, Philly didn't score a touchdown EVERY TIME. They threw one interception, had one punt, and kicked three FGs. So that was an atrocious defensive performance but even they got SOME stops (or "stops" if you count field goals as a "stop" in quotes). What happened against Buffalo was just crazy off the charts impossibly bad that you'll never see that again in your lifetime, even when the best team plays the worst team.
I mean, here's what a "normal" HORRIFIC defensive performance looks like. When your defense allows 42 points and 552 total yards, letting the other team convert 8 of 13 third downs, and allows the other team, when you've taken the lead TWICE in the last two minutes of the game, to come back and either take the lead or tie the score immediately afterward.
Who am I talking about? Oh just the #1 ranked Buffalo Bills' defense.
The point: Even great defenses can have abysmal nights. None have ever had as bad a night as the Patriots did, but Buffalo's even HIGHER ranked defense didn't do much better this past weekend.
Who has an impervious defense? The Rams? LOL. They gave up 37 points and 465 yards to Arizona, 36 points to the Packers, and were ranked #15 in points allowed, and #17 in yards allowed this year. They were consistently...meh, though they obviously have star talent that can show up big in certain spots.
The 49ers? They gave up 33 to the LIONS this year. 30 to the Packers. 30 to the Colts. 31 to the Cardinals. 30 to Seattle. Five times they gave up 30+ points this year. That's nearly 1 out of every 3 games they were getting lit up.
I think the Patriots' defense wasn't as good as their ranking. That much should be obvious. They were missing some key people in the WC game which didn't help. Not having Jones or Mills, and then losing Bentley early in the game, really wasn't good for them. And then it was just a frigging steamroller. They do need to fix some things though, and I don't want them to ignore their needs on D.
- They need some better run stoppers. The guy I want them to get is the Jets' Foley Fatukasi. Big, strong, awesome against the run, just 26 years old, and improving against the pass. He'd be awesome here.
- They need speed at LB. Painful to watch Van Noy, Hightower, and Collins chase and be unable to make the play. I love those guys and they've been great Patriots, all contributing to SB championships, but they need guys like Winovich, Uche, McMillan, Jennings, Perkins, and McGrone to step up. At least SOME of them. And they still need to draft for speed at LB.
- They need to shore up the defensive backfield. Things get a lot dicier if they lose Jackson, as he's a premier corner. If they keep him, they still need another corner. If they lose him, then they need TWO quality corners, which is hard to get. Expect more of these guys in the draft.