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Patriots 3rd Down Defense – Week 2 :Ian’s New England Patriots Blog
If you’re looking for silver linings from Sunday, check out Ian Logue’s breakdown of the third down defense. Yes it’s still Kevin Kolb and the Cardinals but we still got torched by teams like that last year.
Patriots 3rd Down Defense – Week 2 :Ian’s New England Patriots Blog
Great breakdown of the third downs from Ian Logue at PatsFans.com.
That puts the two-game total at 55.8 percent in sub packages. The number figures to fluctuate based on the specific matchup. Last season, the Patriots were in sub 63 percent of the time.
I’d expect these numbers to continue this trend, they’re better suited to defend the pass in this base defense.
Updating base vs. sub D stats – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Picked-up pieces from first-half review – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
I’m finding it hard not to be overly positive about the defense. To be honest I don’t really care that much about the loss. Things that interest me most are severity of Hernando’s injury, Welker’s diminished role and our young badass D continuing to ascend.
The Patriots’ secondary was sensational in holding Larry Fitzgerald to just a single catch for four yards, which occurred early on in the game. It would be oversimplifying what was great work to try to chalk it up to a single factor, but there were a couple of common threads that seemed to exist throughout the first half as it related to defending Fitzgerald: the Patriots did a good job of being physical with Fitzgerald near the line of scrimmage, while also keep a safety over the top of Fitzgerald to prevent him from driving deep.
A change in the Patriots’ sub packages stood out, with CB Ras-I Dowling replaced by CB Sterling Moore in the nickel. One line of thinking was the that Dowling (6-1, 210) would be a good matchup against the size of Larry Fitzgerald (6-3, 218), but the Patriots had more confidence in Moore (5-10, 200) joining top cornerbacks Kyle Arrington (5-10, 195) and Devin McCourty (5-10, 195) in the sub. Arrington moved into the slot, and given the way the Cardinals moved Fitzgerald around, every cornerback matched up against him at one point or another, usually with safety help over the top. Fitzgerald finished with 1 catch for 4 yards, which meant it was a job well done by the defense.
Okay I’ll put some pics of the defense up but offense we might not see any pics of you guys until next week some time…
I re-watched the Pats-Titans last night and wanted to make sure I mentioned how impressed I was with two guys that have been somewhat overshadowed in the last couple days.
No one, including the pundits, knew who Tavon Wilson was when the Pats drafted him but he could be a real difference maker this year. Yes, we all saw the interception which was a quality grab and no gimme, but his quickness and tackling ability in the middle of the field brought a dimension to the Pats defense that has been missing in recent years.
Pro Football Focus graded him out a solid 1.7, including a 1.5 for pass coverage.
The other guy who was a beast inside was Kyle Love. PFF gave him a 2.1 including a 1.8 for run defense. We all know how valuable Wilfork is to this defense but Love has done nothing but improve the last two years. He was aggressive and decisive.
They were unsung heroes this past weekend, but if they continue these levels of performance they won’t be unsung for very long.
