PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Archives for September 2011

Patriots pass defense struggling most vs. #1 Wide Receivers

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Here in Football Outsider’s breakdown of how teams match up with each type of receiver we find the Pats broken down this way:

  • vs. WR #1: 31st overall
  • vs WR #2: 18th overall
  • vs. Other WR: 9th overall
  • vs. TE: 8th overall
  • vs. RB: 20th overall

So what can we deduce from this? That Devin McCourty’s struggles are clearly evident. Perhaps he’s not getting as much help over the top as he had last year, but even my untrained eyes can see that he’s getting beat off the line far too much.

Last year the Pats struggle most against running backs receiving out of the backfield. Clearly they’ve improved in that area but it’s still not good enough.

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Patriots dump Landon Cohen to bring back Gerard Warren

Well this move is a no brainer considering that stopping the run will be objective numero uno for the Pats this weekend, coupled with Gerard’s previous stints with the Raiders.

If they can get Haynesworth back this week as well it should make for an ideal run stopping defensive line.

And with the Jets on tap next week Gerard should stick around for a bit this time.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/gerard-warren-patriots/

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Patriots to wear red throwback versus Jets, which I’m very excited about because it’s scientifically proven teams in red win more.

In equally matched bouts, the preponderance of red wins was great enough that it could not be attributed to chance, the anthropologists say.

“Red seems to be the color, across species, that signals male dominance and testosterone levels,”

https://www.patspropaganda.com/patriots-to-wear-red-throwback-versus-jets-which/

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Brady went back to the old helmet against the Bills and I can’t believe the old helmet would let him throw 4 interceptions. If anything I would’ve expected the new one to cause that kind of crappy TFB day. We’ll see this weekend which helmet way he goes. But his look with the old one is an A+, and with the new one it’s an A- so you guys probably know which one I’m hoping for.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/brady-went-back-to-the-old-helmet-against-the/

Footbal Outsiders: Patriots fall to 5th in overall DVOA

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Footbal Outsiders: Patriots fall to 5th in overall DVOA

The breakdown:

  • Offense: 2nd overall
  • Defense: 30th overall
  • Special Teams: 10th overall

Another interesting thing to note on this Football Outsiders is their chart on the biggest halftime collapses for teams during weeks 1-3. The 2010 Patriots had the 8th all time biggest differential between first and second half. Of course they did turn it around, but it shows the kind of inconsistency you can expect out of a young defense especially early in the season.

“Yards passing are quickly becoming the most overrated stat in the NFL”

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“Yards passing are quickly becoming the most overrated stat in the NFL”

Am I just posting this because the Patriots D leads the league in passing yards given up? Maybe. But the landscape of the NFL has changed.

Despite Monday night’s defensive struggle, the NFL notes there have been 33 300-yard games this season.  That’s the most through three weeks of the season ever.

The second highest total through three weeks: 21 games, in 2009.  Small sample size, we know. But the record has been boosted by more than 50%.

A moment of positivity about the Patriots defense

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Everyone has been killing the Patriots defense ever since they got killed on Sunday, and I’ve been right there with them, but after watching the tape a few more times I’m not quite as depressed as I once was.

Let’s look at the 12 defensive series the Patriots had:

  1. 2 plays: Interception
  2. 10 plays: Interception
  3. 3 and Out: Punt
  4. 6 plays : Punt
  5. 8 plays: TOUCHDOWN
  6. 10 plays: FIELD GOAL

Halftime

  1. 3 and Out: Punt
  2. 7 plays: TOUCHDOWN (after Brady INT put Buffalo on NE 39)
  3. 3 plays: Punt
  4. 3 plays: Punt
  5. 2 plays: TOUCHDOWN (46 yards in penalties)
  6. 3 plays (and a few kneel downs): FIELD GOAL

So 12 series break down as such:

  • 5 Punts
  • 2 Interceptions
  • 3 Touchdowns
  • 2 Field Goals

Now clearly there are still problems, especially closing out the half and end of game. It seems the more pressure the situation provided the more likely the Pats D was to play sloppy.

But there is evidence that there are positives to build on from this performance no matter how much people want to point out all the stats that make this look like the worst defense in the history of football.