jupiter49

I didn't see the game, just the box score, and it appears to me that
the offense is anemic at best. Ten for twenty seven in the passing
department won't make anybody get too excited.

The running stats were encouraging, but the run stop stats were not.

It's preseason, I don't care much about the W, but I do care about
this lack of a passing attack, and the lack of a good run stop.

I hope I'm reading too much into the stats, but they really were not
great stats for a team that won.

davepitt11

Troy dropped a couple of Brady's throws and Rohan looked horrible. After they
were up 13-0 there was definitely a letdown. The playcalling got weird too
and the O couldn't really develop a rhythm. Antowain ran real hard though.


They definitely looked bad at times, but they also looked scary good at times.
As usual they are somewhere in between.

sri krsna

I really wouldn't worry about the passing attack. With the depth and
quality at WR and the addition of Centers, this is the least of my
worries. I'm more worried about pass protection since as of now, our RT
is Ashford or Klemm (who played left tackle I think, though I'm not sure
about this, for the second team last night), our running game and rush
D. And speaking of defense, though it's been mentioned here by many
people, I disagree that we'll have one of the top ranked defenses since
the "bend, don't break" philosophy hardly translates well statistically.
We'll probably be in the top tier in team sacks and pressures and
tackles for losses but we'll be middle of the road statistically in run
defense. The other thing I liked last night was that even the rookie or
second team DB were all either trying to strip the ball or tackle the
ball. I'm not sure if Belichick or Crennel preaches this to his players.
Regardless, with Harrison, Milloy, Otis and Law in the secondary and
with our penetrating front seven, I think we'll cause some turnovers and
once again be highly ranked in the give away, take away category as we
were in the SB year.

mark zarella

If you go by the truly meaningful statistic, points, then I believe it will.

sri krsna

Yeah, I agree with what you say but I was referring to statistics which
determine total defensive rankings and not just points allowed.

tigerclaw

Obviously, most of us were not impressed with the Patriots showing last
night, as a matter of fact I bet they pissed some of you off too with their
inconsistent play. I for one though remain as optimistic as ever about them
having a vastly improved defense. Yeah, they may not have shown us too much
last night, but they will have a formidable defense for sure. Maybe one of
the best in the league. Their offense should also be very effective. Sure
they have question marks on the O-line (and many other places), but they
will be a very strong team no doubt when they tee it up for keeps in early
September. Have faith.

jupiter49

In its own way, that "too much push" thing is bothersome. One thing
we cannot allow is our DL to be pushed around. That is begging for
problems, regardless of who the LBs are.

I agree, it's wait and see on the run stop. By no means would I give
up on them because of this. We have very good speed in the defensive
backfield and that alone will reduce those cutback killer runs.

kazhayashi911

Not all of us have the opportunity to watch the game.. unless you know a magic
channel where regional New England programming is magically ported to New
Mexico(in my case). All we have to go off of are stat sheets.
---
"30,000 people think you ****!"

tigerclaw

I'll buy that. Their overall statistics may not be the best, but they
should be one of the best in certain catagories.

I'll buy that. In terms of "rankings", they may not have the best D
statistically. There is a good chance they will be one of the "best"
defenses in reality though. The run D should be a lot better this season,
but that stat. may bring down their overall ranking. Superb pass defense,
physical play, and points off of turnovers will be how they show their
mettle. The bottom line is mission accomplishment. In the end, the only
stat that matters is winning.

sri krsna

I'll buy that too. Especially, winning Superbowls!