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Well I'm happy he is here. Hope a deal can be worked out so he stays. Can't take anymore of Arrington in the #1 or #2 CB spot. He belongs in the star.....or out the door. lol

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Dennard is looking to be an excellent pick up. Doubt if he would have been available had he not did what he did with that incident. Still not sure of the full details of that incident. 

McCourty at FS, Talib and Dennard at CB, Dont'a Hightower playing well at OLB, the emergence of Justin Francis and Chandler Jones getting his legs back have all been the reason for the reason to feel great in the playoffs about our defense. 

 

One more year for BB and he'll have an elite defense to go with Tommy's elite offense. 

I agree Talib is a big key. But it is actually a combination of the following:

(1) improved pass rush. much of it generated with blitz packages and stunts

(2) Talib

(3) Dennard

(4) McCourty playing FS and having more games there under his belt

(5) The interplay and communication in the secondary as a unit

(6) Development and game experience of Spikes, Hightower, Jones, Francis, Nink, and even White, Deaderick and Love.

Defense is truly a team endevor.

In response to RockScully's comment:

Arrington is okay in the slot. 

In response to portfolio1's comment:

It seemed like another chapter of the defensive playbook opened up with the arrival of Talib. I'm curious as to who they add in the future.

In response to 49Patriots' comment:

Put it this way...I don't cringe in fear when I see him in the slot as opposed to either the #1 or #2 DB spot

ha..you all beat me to the chase wilh great comments.

This is the Defensive Uprising graph from your article Rusty: Can't slant those numbers. Upon closer look - I usually read quick - my eyes popped.

First 10 games                                                 Last 6 games
 
388.7 yards allowed per game (ranked 28th)      347.5 yards per game (18th)
 
22.5 points allowed per game (16th)                  17.7 pts per game (tied-4th)
 
1.91 points per drive allowed (23rd)                  1.33 pts per drive (4th)
 
22.9 TD percentage allowed (TD/per drive) (24th)   14.1 TD pct (6th)

Interesting. Just imagine what ONE more defensive standout in the draft will do to this Young D? In the Jax game I feel BB just rolled out the Vanilla D again, perhaps no choice, dunno, so those numbers would have been better still.

all, Keep up your good work .... You all do a great job as I prefer to read and a fill-in poster at times.

 

 

One thing I think NE did very well during the 2nd half of the season is get younger, less experienced guys on the field and get them a little bit of game-time action under their belts.  Some of this was forced due to injuries/suspensions, but I really like that guys like Deaderick, Francis, Martin, Rivera, Scott, etc. got a few reps down the stretch.  If they can get in there and contribute in spots in the playoffs, it will only help our depth and to keep our starters fresh.  Smart coaching and thinking ahead, IMO. 

And of course I have been supportive of the D during that time because when they play major league, I give them credit for that. When they play mickey mouse, I say so.

Additionally, I told zbellino in his thread about "Talib expectations", before he played a down for us, that I was expecting him to play exceptionally and stabilize the entire secondary, allowing McCourty to be better as a S and Dennard to flourish in a secondary that had its shyte together, rather than running around like chickens with their heads chopped off.

Now I'm just hoping it stays for real. I would love nothing better than to see this D redeem its legacy by getting a HUGE stop in the SB with the game on the line.

In response to Rodimus77's comment:

Funny, I made a thread saying how good it felt to have a D you don't cringe about when the other team gets the ball, and I was beset by demons for the effort.

In response to WazzuWheatfarmer's comment:

Good thought and one overLQQKed Wazzu. Just think the numbers above - nor Rustys article - explain that. Good show.

In response to WazzuWheatfarmer's comment:

When things get stable you can look at more possibilities.

OK, but he only played like 3 snaps the last two games so don't you think we are giving him too much credit? 

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Also, we have to add what the D did in that last regular season game in shutting out the Dolphins.  Miami came in to prove they are a good team and to put a crimp into the Pats playoffs plans.  Are there even better things in store considering we did not even see Cunningham in the game upon return from his suspension?

In response to palookaski's comment:

It should probably be noted that the Broncos have allowed the fewest point over that stretch (12.8 per game). The other teams ahead of the Patriots were the Falcons and Seahawks.

It also helps that they play 4 of those 6 games against some of the worst offenses in the NFL (Dolphins x 2, Jets and Jacksonville). 

I think this defense has improved, it is still on pretty tenous ground going into next year. If Talib does not stay the Patriots will be right back where they were going into this season.

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In response to FrnkBnhm's comment:

Not true.  Nobody could have predicted Dennard's emergence this year so you're not accounting for his impact.  He's turned into a very reliable corner and will only get better with time so you're leaving him out of the picture going into next year vs. going into this current season.  Going into the season we had DMC and Ras-I as the two corners with Arrington filling in for Ras-I once he had his annual broken toe nail that placed him on IR.  I'm still not giving up on Ras, though; he has a ton of talent and I love his size.  He just can't seem to stay healthy.

I do think Talib will sign here for a somewhat cap-friendly deal.  BB was willing to give him a chance on a SB-type roster and I think Talib knows this is the best place for him to get his career back on track. 

In response to Jets' comment:

I thought you didn't want us to have any more Brady 'man-loving' threads?  We just conceded.  After all, we're all here to make you happy, Leon!

In response to IrishMob7's comment:

I think Dennard is a great second CB. I do not think he could be the number one. I am sorry, but I have given up on Ras-I. It will be his third season and, like you said, he cannot stay healthy. 

I wish I had the confidence that other people do about Talib staying. He is saying the right things now, but I suspect once some one else throws money in his face he will walk. 

In response to FrnkBnhm's comment:

Why don't you see Dennard developing into a number one corner? 

Also, you might be right with Talib.  I hope you're wrong, but you might be right.  I just don't think he's the be all end all to our emerging young defense.  I think he's certainly helped a great deal, but I don't think we're doomed if he doesn't get resigned.

What I noticed when Talib came on is that he ran the D for us, pointing out players and plays he saw coming, basically quarterbacking the D.  I didn't see that before he got here but the good news is Denard seems to have picked it up for him and was doing the same thing in the Texans game when Talib went out.  I don't know if it was all of him or not but they read plays better get into position quicker and stay with their assignments.  You don't see a 10 to 15 yard gap after a catch anymore you see a defender defending the play and either knocking it down, picking it off or making a tackle for no YAC.

This Defense has learned how to play together and that will not change if Talib leaves, but I hope he can stay for a couple more years at least.