Patriots D

**wickedsolo** · 01-18-2012, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by chicagoravensfan

Who are the pass rushers for the Patriots? I know Andre Carter was tearing it up for awhile before getting injured. Who are the guys to look out for now?

Mark Anderson is a decent pass rusher. He was with the Bears a few seasons ago. They also have Jermaine Cunningham and Rob Ninkovich (sp?). Cunningham came on strong last year, but hasn't had nearly the same success this season. Ninkovich is a guy they need to watch out for. IMO he's one of the more underrated linebackers in the NFL. He does a lot of things really well and he can rush the passer as a stand up OLB and a hands in the dirt DE. Obviously Jerrod Mayo and Brandon Spikes are solid inside linebackers as well.

The Patriots' issues are all in the secondary. They got rid of Brandon Merriweather, which was smart and dumb all at the same time because they didn't have anyone who could replace him. They've had a mix-n-match unit at safety and it's really exposed them a lot in the middle of the field. Patrick Chung is a decent player, but he can't do it by himself and after an explosive rookie season cornerback Devin McCourty has come back down to earth a bit and isn't having nearly as dominant of a season as he did last year. Kyle Arrington had a bunch of INT's, but he gave up a lot of plays as well.

Vince Wilfork is still Vince Wilfork and is a hoss, but other than him the Patriots really don't have any big DT's or DE's that are any good.

Probably the biggest issue for the Pats was them switching schemes from the 3-4 last year to a base 4-3 this year with variances and nickel defenses. It hasn't worked well for them at all.

**Teavo** · 01-18-2012, 10:11 AM

Kyle Love is a big-body DL who isn't bad. Not someone to fear, but not someone to overlook either.

My concern is that the Pats D has just enough talent to follow a good game plan and take away what their opponent wants to do most. This means that the opponent must adjust to achieve success. This is certainly an achievable goal in theory. Lesser teams have done it. Unfortunately for us:

(1) The Patriots defense will almost certainly have a good game plan due to good coaching, and

(2) The Ravens offensive coordinator, Cameron Cameron, has not shown an ability to adjust his game plan. When what he wants to do is taken away, he either A) keeps trying it anyway and failing, or B) lurches so far in the opposite direction (e.g. change from run to pass 100% of the time) that we become imbalanced and easy to predict and defend against.

Now, if we can just get a brain transplant for Cam-Cam by Sunday we'll be in good shape.

**PeterB58** · 01-18-2012, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by Teavo

Kyle Love is a big-body DL who isn't bad. Not someone to fear, but not someone to overlook either.

My concern is that the Pats D has just enough talent to follow a good game plan and take away what their opponent wants to do most. This means that the opponent must adjust to achieve success. This is certainly an achievable goal in theory. Lesser teams have done it. Unfortunately for us:

(1) The Patriots defense will almost certainly have a good game plan due to good coaching, and

(2) The Ravens offensive coordinator, Cameron Cameron, has not shown an ability to adjust his game plan. When what he wants to do is taken away, he either A) keeps trying it anyway and failing, or B) lurches so far in the opposite direction (e.g. change from run to pass 100% of the time) that we become imbalanced and easy to predict and defend against.

Now, if we can just get a brain transplant for Cam-Cam by Sunday we'll be in good shape.

I agree with this 100%. Talent-wise, the Ravens have enough to easily put up 30+ points on a pretty bad defense. The big questions: Can they execute? Can they adjust?

**chicagoravensfan** · 01-18-2012, 10:23 AM

Do the Patriots have any CBs that can match up with Torrey in man coverage? The Texans seemed to be able to take him away by manning up Jonathan Joseph. If the Patriots try that I'd have no problem taking several shots to Torrey to force them to commit a safety.

**wickedsolo** · 01-18-2012, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by chicagoravensfan

Do the Patriots have any CBs that can match up with Torrey in man coverage? The Texans seemed to be able to take him away by manning up Jonathan Joseph. If the Patriots try that I'd have no problem taking several shots to Torrey to force them to commit a safety.

Devin McCourty may be having a down year, but he's still a good corner and he's got the wheels to keep up with Torrey.

I don't think that Kyle Arrington can hang with Torrey or Boldin though.

**tailgater** · 01-18-2012, 10:34 AM

Stats don't always show an accurate picture of things. At different times during the season, the defense was decent, but mostly it was agonizing to watch.

Put it this way - if the defense executes as they did on 1/1, Pats lose. If they execute as they did on 1/14, it's likely they'll win.

Originally Posted by chicagoravensfan

How bad is the Patriots defense compared to the weaker defenses the Ravens faced this year:

Rushing Yards per Attempt:
18. Colts 4.3
24. Patriots 4.6
28. Rams 4.8

Net Passing Yards per Attempts
17. Rams 6.3
27. Colts 7.0
29. Patriots 7.1

Football Outsiders ranks them as the #30 defense with the #28 rushing and #28 passing D's (Colts are 27/27/24 and Rams 20/15/29)

They do have 40 sacks, though Andre Carter accounted for 10 of them. I know Belichick always does a good job of altering the game plan to the opponent but I was surprised to see that the Patriots have a worse defense than the Colts.

**tailgater** · 01-18-2012, 10:44 AM

Pats gave up over 30pts once this season, in the 2nd game against the Bills, one their 3 losses.

In the losses to Pitt & Giants, they gave up 25 & 24 respectively.

I don't see the Ravens getting to 27pts, never mind 30+.

Originally Posted by PeterB58

I agree with this 100%. Talent-wise, the Ravens have enough to easily put up 30+ points on a pretty bad defense. The big questions: Can they execute? Can they adjust?

**PeterB58** · 01-18-2012, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by tailgater

Pats gave up over 30pts once this season, in the 2nd game against the Bills, one their 3 losses.

In the losses to Pitt & Giants, they gave up 25 & 24 respectively.

I don't see the Ravens getting to 27pts, never mind 30+.

Do you think the Ravens have less offensive talent than the Bills, Steelers and Giants?

**tailgater** · 01-18-2012, 10:48 AM

McCourty was moved to safety the last month of the season. They've been going with Moore & Arrington at corner, with Chung & McC at safety. It's been working better so far.

If Flacco is accurate this Sunday, he'll complete a few deep balls. If they lead to TDs, they have a good chance to win.

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

Devin McCourty may be having a down year, but he's still a good corner and he's got the wheels to keep up with Torrey.

I don't think that Kyle Arrington can hang with Torrey or Boldin though.

**tailgater** · 01-18-2012, 10:51 AM

Giants & Steelers, yes. Bills, no. Thats only my opinoin, but coaching has a lot to do with the end results too.

Originally Posted by PeterB58

Do you think the Ravens have less offensive talent than the Bills, Steelers and Giants?

**Everything_Ravens** · 01-18-2012, 10:52 AM

This is a team sport! Ravens win because they have a better team, flat out!!

The combination of ball control and even a slight and I mean SLIGHT drop of in patriots offensive production to a defense that should be at least capable of causing that will sink them!

We match up against their receivers better than folk think we do and it gets even better in the red zone!

Somebody bet me a dollar we get a pick inside of ten yards .......

**PeterB58** · 01-18-2012, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by tailgater

Giants & Steelers, yes. Bills, no. Thats only my opinoin, but coaching has a lot to do with the end results too.

I will grant you that coaching is a factor...and the Ravens have a serious coaching problem on the offensive side of the ball.

I might grant you the Giants have the better offense. No way are the Steelers a better offensive team.

Keep in mind, the Ravens played something like 75% of their games this year against defenses in the top 10.

I guess that is why they play the game on the field.