I hate to say i told you so

[JMC00]

2011 defense performed better in the playoffs than the 2014 defense did.

 

[JMC00]

Just a quick comparison for reference. Arizona played this same San Fran team last week at home, and gave up more points, slightly fewer yards (299 to 281), but more passing yards, and had a worse 3rd down defensive rate. Not that one game means anything, but if we're going to discount what the Patriots were able to do against a subpar team on the road, it's only fair to say they did better than one of the five teams you listed, just a week ago. As good a one-to-one comparison as we can get in the NFL.

Excellent point.

 

[skinnydog]

After 10 games the 2014 Patriots were 8-2 and allowed 218 points
After 10 games the 2016 Patriots are 8-2 and allowed 180 points.

Well, the Pats struggled overall a lot over the first few games until the we're on to Cincinnati game. If the 2016 Patriots can do what the 2014 Patriots did in the second half of games over the last 7-8 games of the season. No one will complain. That 2014 team went into half time over the over that span and would just smother teams in the second half. The league was higher scoring overall that year and their end of the season opponents included the Packer and Broncos who both had near record setting offenses. The only other team with a similar second half type of performance was the Seahawks. Even in the Divisional round they held the Ravens to 10 in the second half and only 3 points in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. I'd take that D over this one all day long.

 

[goheels22002]

Points against is a ******** stat and you can go just on feeling?

Yeah I'm sure Belichick would agree with you on that.

Points against is the fundamental stat on defense. Turnover ratio is number two. If you win the turnover battle and don't give the opposition added possessions, the chance of winning goes up. I'm concerned that this Patriots defense has so few takeaways (but they still get to play the Jets twice, so there's hope.)

New England is at +1 after ten games with only 9 takeaways, 27th in the NFL. Part of that is the lack of aggressiveness by the secondary, I think.

2016 NFL Team Givetake Stats - National Football League - ESPN

YPG allowed is the mirage statistic in my book. Even worse is time of possession.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I haven't gone through this thread, but, in my experience, when someone says "I hate to say I told you so" they never mean it.

 

[DarrylS]

Fans seem to long and pine for an elite "shut down" defense, probably will never see that.. the rules have changed to impact the offense at the expense of the D.. offensive games are believed to be more watchable by the fans in general..

If points allowed are the criteria, after 10 games #1 is Seattle @ 17.3 points per game, #2 Minnesota @ 17.6 points per game and #3 NE @18.0 points per game..

There are no really great defenses in the NFL any more and it is unlikely that will change unless there rule changes that favor the defense..

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

I agree the defense isn't good but not that they have to improve greatly for us to win the SB. I think this offense is that good and no other team in the NFL is so great that we wouldn't have a chance to win in the SB or in the playoffs.

 

[Jackson 2]

I haven't gone through this thread, but, in my experience, when someone says "I hate to say I told you so" they never mean it.

LOL, in fact they most usually mean just the opposite: "I was right, you were wrong and I'm here to gloat about it and rub your nose in it."

 

[Ross12]

This thread is filled to the brim with funny stuff. You guys are the best.

 

[Ring 6]

2011 defense performed better in the playoffs than the 2014 defense did.

Except on the drive (play?) that mattered the most

 

[skinnydog]

They sputtered for 2 quarters yesterday because Tom and Jules wanted to show off in front of their home town. Unfortunately for them they didn't execute all that well considering Jules was targeted 17 times. I would have liked to see Jules targeted 10 times and give bennet 5 more looks.

I thought it was the worst over all game they played since TB has been back. At least offensively. Defensively they took care of business for the most part. With that said TB made some incredible plays.. some of the best of the season.


Did you catch the Green Bay game LMAO!! Talk about Defense.

Playing in a driving rain for much of the game can explain a lot of Brady' performance which was superb consider ing

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

Playing in a driving rain for much of the game can explain a lot of Brady' performance which was superb consider ing

Rain causes you to lock in on a single receiver? You might have to hire Exponent to prove that one.

 

[Sicilian]

Rain causes you to lock in on a single receiver? You might have to hire Exponent to prove that one.

Not quite that, but there were many times when Edelman was open deep and Brady just didn't have any touch on the throws. Rain may have played a factor in how many were completed, certainly not how many attempts were made.

 

[Ring 6]

LOL, in fact they most usually mean just the opposite: "I was right, you were wrong and I'm here to gloat about it and rub your nose in it."

And often they aren't even right.

 

[deroc5050]

Playing in a driving rain for much of the game can explain a lot of Brady' performance which was superb consider ing

Brady had 2 good drives in the first half, he was lights out in the second half. And I agree with the driving rain, but why were they trying to go over the top to Jules and not more high percentage throws or plays in general in the 1st half?

Brady targeted Jules 17 or 18x which is silly. And for a portion of the game Jules was blanketed by a LB.

 

[XLIX]

So i'm going to emphasise once again, for the 2016 Pats to be in/win SB 51 the D has to improve ALOT because there is nothing wrong with the offense. They can run it, they can go short, they can go deep, they can go down the seam, basically wherever Tom wants to put it he can so long as the o-line continues to hold up.

Which AFC team is so talented that you just don't see any chance the Patriots beat them in the playoffs with improving the defense "ALOT"?

 

[n1997y]

After 10 games the 2014 Patriots were 8-2 and allowed 218 points
After 10 games the 2016 Patriots are 8-2 and allowed 180 points.

But we all know the 2016 defense is dumpster-fire bad. It's all over the Internet! How dare you argue against that with facts!

 

[n1997y]

Numbers again.....

You didn't take into account teams played or how good their offenses are/were. What i saw is at home the Pats played a team last week that is more than likely going to get to the NFC title game and got beat up on. Brady and co could only do so much but the defense was SOFT.

Argue that?

Yes I'll argue it. Pats weren't really beat up on, it was a close game. Defeat was sealed when Brady and co couldn't score on four tries after goal to go inside the two. How is that soft defense?

 

[TennisBallHead]

We must unleash Vincent Valentine, but first we need to open the safe and fight Lost Number for the key to his coffin.

 

[n1997y]

That's not a hard question, really. Below in not any order, really, are five defenses that I think are tougher than the Patriots. Mostly, I like the pass defenses on the five teams. The team with great metrics is Houston. Bill O'Brien and Romeo Crennel have assembled an excellent defense.

Minnesota
Denver
Arizona
Seattle
Houston

So what happened to that vaunted Houston defense south of the border? Raiders made them look like Pop Warner on that game winning drive.