Too many blowouts bad for the defense's diet?

[Pats_AZ]

Do any of you think that the earlier blowouts were a bad thing for this defense? My theory is that maybe because the games were so one sided that the defense rather than cranking it up, they got a little lax, kind of a "lets not kill ourselves and play but if they score no big deal" attitude. Granted this team always seems to make that big play when they need to make that big play which helps bolster my opinion that they have been possibly turning down the volume in these blowouts. These last 2 games and the fact that the Pats are 32nd in red zone defense makes me wonder if the blowouts are having the same effect on the defense as too many glazed donuts would have on me. It's not pretty.

 

[MDPATSFAN]

I believe so, they've become fat and lazy like house cats.

I knew it was going to be a long night after the first Ravens run. As Mcgahee drove through the interior, 3 Pats defenders were standing outside the scrum like spectators.

They tightened up during the 4th quarter when their backs were against the wall.

One just has to look at the Colts to see the difference attitude makes. Most of last year they were wallflowers, now the same players fly to the ball like kamikazies.

 

[RussFrancis]

Im gonna spin this positive. With most teams, a LOSS is usually a wake up call. NE's been able to avoid that. But this game vs Baltimore and the way they were 'gashed' by McGahee is equally the wake up call that a loss usually provides. First of all, there arent too many backs having a better year than McGahee. And he's playing about as well this season as any back not named Peterson. There are 4 RBs in the NFL who've rushed for over 1000yds, and after Sunday, NE will have faced 3 of them. But Baltimore uses a power running game, and McGahee is a power back. That's not Parker's game. He can make some plays when he gets outside. But he's not the powerful inside runner that McGahee is. And that's where we were getting beat the worst. Much of that was getting blocked well upfront by their big guys, but alot of that was bad technique in gap discipline and tackling. That will improve. Like I said, it was a great wakeup call. And it will improve. The team knows its the one achilles heel they have right now, and it will be their #1 focus. Im just glad it didnt take a loss to figure it out.