An Independent Patriots Blog
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Introducing Snap-Weighted Age
So the Patriots had the fourth-youngest defense in the NFL this year when weighing the number of snaps played? For all the talk about Brady being near the end how about the long-term prognosis for such a young defense playing in so many big games so soon?
Just a friendly reminder that life goes on and there are more important things than football. Not many, but there are some…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/just-a-friendly-reminder-that-life-goes-on-and/
The 2012 Patriots had the sixth-best rush defense in the league at 3.9 yards per rush. (Last season, the Patriots’ rush defense allowed 4.6 yards per rush, ranked 24th in the NFL.) In addition, despite facing 10 more rushes in the regular season this year (415) than last year (405), the Patriots’ defense allowed five rushes of at least 20 yards this season, half as many as last year. While the New England pass defense struggled at times, the run defense was equal to the task for most of the 2012 season. Only one running back (Ray Rice) hit them for 100 yards or more. (He finished with 101 yards in Baltimore’s win in September.) Defensive lineman Vince Wilfork was his usual steady self up front, while linebacker Brandon Spikes emerged as one of the most potent run stoppers in the league.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-2012-patriots-had-the-sixth-best-rush-defense/
If you’re looking for reasons why the future is still bright in New England this would be a good place to start for the offense…
The Patriots ran the ball 523 times during the 2012 regular season – the highest number of carries for a New England team since the 2004 team ran the ball 524 times over the course of the regular season. There was simply no comparison between the 2011 and 2012 running attacks: In the 2011 regular season, the Patriots had 438 carries, 1,764 yards, 4.0 yards per carry and 18 touchdowns. In the 2012 regular season, those numbers jumped to 523 carries, 2,184 yards, 4.2 yards per carry and 25 touchdowns. That’s an increase of six carries per game (from an average of 27 to 33) and 27 yards per game (from 110 yards per game to 137 yards per game), both of which represent sizable increases, particularly in this era of spread offenses. As a group, New England was able to hit 500 carries and 2,100 rushing yards and maintain an average of better than four yards per carry for the third time in the Bill Belichick era.
New England’s upset loss to Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game will sting Patriots fans for a while. But New Englanders shouldn’t fret. The Patriots are primed and ready to make another title push in 2013.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/new-englands-upset-loss-to-baltimore-in-the-afc/
