The Pats have the second ranked defense

[JJDChE]

Yep sure. Points are the most important Stat. But I wish people would stop putting hardly any emphasis on being at the top of pass and run defense. If you are tops in all 3 categories that makes you an elite defense and quite fun to watch.

Yeah, I don't get this at all. Yeah, being #1 in points allowed is the most important, but being #1 in yards allowed means you dominate the other team's offense. There's a lot of situations where that's more important than the cumulative amount of points you allow in a given year. And let's be realistic, you don't generally have middle of the road yardage defenses leading the league in points allowed. They usually go hand in hand.

This is the best our Secondary has been since 2007

The best our Linebackers have been since 2005

I wouldn't be surprised if we were talking about this as our best front 7 and LBs ever by the end of the year.

 

[RIpats88]

I would say that by the eye test our defense looks alot better this year..and I attribute it to

-Spikes continuing his solid play from last year
-McCourty so far is reverting more to who he was as a rookie
-Belichick hitting on his first 3 draft picks...Jones/Hightower/Wilson have already been making an impact on this defense.

 

[ausbacker]

This is the best our Secondary has been since 2007

The best our Linebackers have been since 2005

Hightower, Spikes and Mayo have the potential to be one of the Patriots best linebacking crews for some time. One more major hit in the 2013 draft for the LB crew and I will convulse.

I've long been of the belief that Mayo is 1B to Wilfork's 1A on defense. He will flourish with talent around him allowing him to make more what other people like to call impact plays.

 

[Nikolai]

What I really like about this defense is that it's young and will be around for a while. That means that winning is less on Brady's shoulders, which will be key as he moves into his late 30s (and early 40s?). A great defense extends the window, and who can argue with that?