THIS is for SERIOUS comments only with only intelligent comments…I want some REAL opinions by some of the guys that KNOW….I know there are some….give me some insight on this…..oh, and this is off the Patriots site…not a hater site…
They were sights Sunday night that Patriots fans haven’t seen much of this year: Tom Brady being pressured, getting hit, getting sacked even, Tom Brady throwing the ball before he was ready, Tom Brady forcing it into coverage.
In short, Gillette Stadium fans were watching No. 12 play like a regular good QB, Tom Brady circa 2001-2006 instead of the SuperBrady that had been flying high for 10 games.
So, where was the Patriots’ offensive line, the unit that ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook said would make Joey Harrington into a star? Well, they were facing a good Philadelphia front seven, something they haven’t had to do much of during their remarkable run.
New England’s line, which is excellent by any measure, and for years underrated by the media at large, had probably gotten to be a tad overrated by Sunday night’s game.
While the Patriots have played a representative NFL schedule this year – some studs, some so-sos and some bottom-feeders – they haven’t played many good defensive fronts.
In fact, they’ve played some of the worst.
Using our Defensive Hog Index rankings heading into Week 12, here’s how New England’s opponents have played up front.
Buffalo (twice): No. 32
Miami: No. 31
Cleveland: No. 29
New York Jets: No. 28
Cincinnati: No. 26 (tie)
San Diego: No. 24
Indianapolis: No. 22 (tie)
Washington: No. 19 (tie)
Dallas: No. 5.
Now, the Patriots’ output certainly helped make all of those teams look like pushovers, but there’s no getting around the fact that New England has played some terrible front sevens – only Dallas is good, while Indy and Washington would be the closest thing to respectable.
The Eagles played like a team that knew this, and their No. 10 Defensive Hogs showed no fear of the Patriots’ supposedly impenetrable offensive line.
Does any of this mean that the Patriots are vulnerable (at least a little) on the O-line? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, future opponents Baltimore (No. 1 Defensive Hogs), Pittsburgh (No. 8 Defensive Hogs) and New York Giants (t-6th Defensive Hogs) were taking notes.
IT’S LIKE 1998 ALL OVER AGAIN
The parallels between this season and the 1998 season are striking.
Start with the fact that the main storyline for each season went something like this: good team adds Randy Moss to offense, turns into world-beater. As it was for the 15-1 Vikings.
But, like the Patriots have company in the NFL stratosphere this year, the Vikings had company in 1998. Atlanta and Denver both finished 14-2, and the Jets and Niners were both powerful 12-4 teams (both over +150 in point differential).
It was the first time there’d ever been three teams with two losses or fewer since the merger, something that could be repeated this year with some combination of Dallas, Indy, New England and Green Bay. Moss and the Vikings became the greatest non-Super Bowl team in history that year when they lost to Atlanta; he hasn’t been to the big game yet.
Could it be that the Patriots O.L is over-rated?
THIS is for SERIOUS comments only with only intelligent comments…I want some REAL opinions by some of the guys that KNOW….I know there are some….give me some insight on this…..oh, and this is off the Patriots site…not a hater site…
They were sights Sunday night that Patriots fans haven’t seen much of this year: Tom Brady being pressured, getting hit, getting sacked even, Tom Brady throwing the ball before he was ready, Tom Brady forcing it into coverage.
In short, Gillette Stadium fans were watching No. 12 play like a regular good QB, Tom Brady circa 2001-2006 instead of the SuperBrady that had been flying high for 10 games.
So, where was the Patriots’ offensive line, the unit that ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook said would make Joey Harrington into a star? Well, they were facing a good Philadelphia front seven, something they haven’t had to do much of during their remarkable run.
New England’s line, which is excellent by any measure, and for years underrated by the media at large, had probably gotten to be a tad overrated by Sunday night’s game.
While the Patriots have played a representative NFL schedule this year – some studs, some so-sos and some bottom-feeders – they haven’t played many good defensive fronts.
In fact, they’ve played some of the worst.
Using our Defensive Hog Index rankings heading into Week 12, here’s how New England’s opponents have played up front.
Buffalo (twice): No. 32
Miami: No. 31
Cleveland: No. 29
New York Jets: No. 28
Cincinnati: No. 26 (tie)
San Diego: No. 24
Indianapolis: No. 22 (tie)
Washington: No. 19 (tie)
Dallas: No. 5.
Now, the Patriots’ output certainly helped make all of those teams look like pushovers, but there’s no getting around the fact that New England has played some terrible front sevens – only Dallas is good, while Indy and Washington would be the closest thing to respectable.
The Eagles played like a team that knew this, and their No. 10 Defensive Hogs showed no fear of the Patriots’ supposedly impenetrable offensive line.
Does any of this mean that the Patriots are vulnerable (at least a little) on the O-line? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, future opponents Baltimore (No. 1 Defensive Hogs), Pittsburgh (No. 8 Defensive Hogs) and New York Giants (t-6th Defensive Hogs) were taking notes.
IT’S LIKE 1998 ALL OVER AGAIN
The parallels between this season and the 1998 season are striking.
Start with the fact that the main storyline for each season went something like this: good team adds Randy Moss to offense, turns into world-beater. As it was for the 15-1 Vikings.
But, like the Patriots have company in the NFL stratosphere this year, the Vikings had company in 1998. Atlanta and Denver both finished 14-2, and the Jets and Niners were both powerful 12-4 teams (both over +150 in point differential).
It was the first time there’d ever been three teams with two losses or fewer since the merger, something that could be repeated this year with some combination of Dallas, Indy, New England and Green Bay. Moss and the Vikings became the greatest non-Super Bowl team in history that year when they lost to Atlanta; he hasn’t been to the big game yet.
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