Tonight as I listened to Bob Neumeir suggest that the Patriots and their fans felt “blase” with this impressive run the team has put together, I realized that it wasn’t too long ago we had the worst pass defense in the NFL. At least according to the “pundits”.
So now, as the media anoints the Pats as the favorites to be playing in Dallas, we have to honestly ask ourselves if this defensive group has what it takes to win the big one.
If they continue to force turnovers like they have been them the answer is a resounding yes. But the fact is Shaun Hill, Mark Sanchez and Jay Cutler aren’t really elite NFL quarterbacks despite what you might’ve heard.
Peyton Manning is elite, and he came within a bad throw of putting just as many points on us as we put on them. Philip Rivers is elite, and he came within a missed Field Goal of taking the Pats to overtime.
I have no doubt that the Patriots run defense is up to the challenge of winning a Super Bowl. I’ve seen them shut down Adrian Peterson, and a number of strong running teams like the Ravens and the Steelers.
But the teams that have effective passing attacks will give the Pats a run for their money. And with Aaron Rodgers likely out this weekend the Patriots will not face an elite passing attack until the playoffs.
In that case the Pats best chance for the Super Bowl will be to avoid Rivers and Manning at all costs. Luckily they’ll most likely have the home crowd and conditions on their side if facing either of them, but even then it’s probably going to be interesting.
That doesn’t even touch on the teams in the NFC the Pats could face. They could be even more scary, with Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Michael Vick all possible opponents.
The legacy of this young defense will be written based not on how they beat the Bears on December 11th but how they perform when it’s do or die. To shut down an elite quarterback they will need to play on a level we still have yet to see.
Will they get there? They have three more games to work on it, and a prayer that Devin McCourty’s ribs are just bruised.
