To support a conservative defensive approach? I have one: more games won than any other team in the NFL over the last 13 years.
Look, I know it can be infuriating to watch when some crummy QB lights up the Pats defense for hundreds of yards yet somehow the Pats win. BB don’t care about that. He don’t care about stats. He cares about winning the game. So if he thinks your QB is incapable of playing mistake-free for 60 minutes against a conservative zone defense, that’s what he’ll run if he thinks it’s the best chance to win the game.
Here’s a list of select crappy QBs who have thrown for 300+ yards on the Pats since 2001 (there have been 53 total):
- Vince Young
- Jason Campbell
- Gus Frerotte
- Chad Henne (x 4)
- Dan Orlovsky
- A.J. Feeley
- Ryan Fitzpatrick (x 4)
- Aaron Brooks (x 2)
- Mark Sanchez (x 3)
- Jay Fielder
- Jon Kitna
The Pats’ record in games where they allow a 300+ yard passer? 39-14.
Only eight times did one of those 300+ passers not throw an interception. In those games the Pats were 4-4.
19 times did those QBs throw for 2 or more interceptions. The Pats were 16-3 in those games.
So passing yards allowed don’t mean a whole heck of a lot. As maddening as it is to watch, it works over the course of 60 minutes.