First off, the Patriots' defense is fabulous. While the following may convince you that they may occasionally hurt the offense, the fact that they are keeping opponents from scoring at record breaking levels is great and I want that to continue. Under no means am I saying that the Patriots' defense or coaches should make changes to potentially "fix" this "first team" problem.
We all know that the Patriots are absolutely the best at making in game adjustments. We all also know that the Patriots lost two key parts to their offensive line at the start of the regular season. Top that off with no longer having Gronk, and the offensive line is a bit of a mess. When the offensive line is a mess, that really messes with offensive timing, the running game, and keeping Brady upright.
So what does all of this have to do with the defense? Last Sunday the defense was so dominant that the offense didn't have time between possessions to make those needed adjustments. Here is a quick rundown of the 1st half possessions starting with the Patriots' first one:
O- Brady was sacked and the Patriots punted pretty quickly
D- Gave up a horrible 2 play 52 second touchdown
O- Patriots' touchdown
D- :58 3 plays and a punt
O- turnover on downs after challenge, possession included one sack and 2 horrible offensive penalties
D- punt after 4:00
O- FG
D- punt after 1:57
O- punt, Brady was sacked once
D- :09 fumble
O- interception in red zone
D- 3:31 punt
O- Patriots punted, Brady had scrambled for a 6 yard first down but it was negated on a holding call
D- :07 interception
O- Field goal
O- Brady was sacked and the Patriots punted pretty quickly
D- Gave up a horrible 2 play 52 second touchdown
O- Patriots' touchdown
D- :58 3 plays and a punt
O- turnover on downs after challenge, possession included one sack and 2 horrible offensive penalties
D- punt after 4:00
O- FG
D- punt after 1:57
O- punt, Brady was sacked once
D- :09 fumble
O- interception in red zone
D- 3:31 punt
O- Patriots punted, Brady had scrambled for a 6 yard first down but it was negated on a holding call
D- :07 interception
O- Field goal
Adding it all up, the defense was on the field for 11:34 of first half gametime after the Patriots initial possession. While that isn't actual time, it does give you a sense for how little sideline time the offensive line is typically given to fix situations which arise.
Here are some more defensive drive statistics from Football Outsiders which shows how dominant the Patriots have been this year.
Here are some more defensive drive statistics from Football Outsiders which shows how dominant the Patriots have been this year.
- 66 defensive drives (#1)
- 17 yards per drive (#1)
- 0.3 points per drive (#1)
- 0.03 touchdowns per drive (#1)
- 0.03 field goals per drive (#1)
- 0.561 punts per drive (#1)
- 0.182 turnovers per drive (#5)
- 4.48 plays per drive (#1)
- 2:04 time of possession per drive (#1)
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