Everyone’s secondary is a problem spot. Some teams have one good corner. A few have two. Even less have three and virtually nobody has 4. Strong safety tends to be a liability against the pass as well.
Most teams play zone on passing downs when they know they don’t have the personnel to man up, thereby limiting a defensive coordinator in what they can do.
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac]
Defensively, the Patriots didn’t look so hot on this one. They didn’t get much pass rush, but didn’t get much downfield coverage, either. Seems to me they played it as if they were afraid of Westbrook killing them. They did manage to keep him pretty much in check. But without those three interceptions, the D would have been lucky to get a D for their day’s effort.
[/QUOTE]
Didn’t look so hot? I thought they looked terrible. They let a back-up QB torch them for 350 yards at home. They kept blitzing and blitzing and blitzing, but very rarely got anywhere near Feeley. Meanwhile he’s throwing 15-20 yard passes with ease. Hell, Feeley looked as calm and composed as Brady back there in the pocket. The Eagles offensive line played spectacular, IMO.
If Feeley hadn’t made that bad decision + bad throw at the end, I truly believe we’d be looking at a big fat loss here. No way was the Pats defense going to stop that drive - they couldn’t stop anything all night.
What was amazing to me is that Belichick is known for his in-game adjustments. Madden was going on and on about the in-cuts being open all game (and he was right). Why the hell didn’t the Pats do something to adjust to that? It was weird.
On the “blueprint” thing - don’t expect it to work, Baltimore. I wouldn’t be surprised for the Pats to come out next week running Maroney 10 straight plays - they always mix it up dramatically. It’ll be a different game plan, and if you just try to copy what the Eagles did, you’re going to get hosed.
PS. That was a tough game to watch as a Pats fan. They looked so…ordinary 
[QUOTE=Jurph]
Is it me, or are the NBC camera-and-mike guys sticking it to Belichik by filming (and audibly recording) every snap-count that Brady makes? If I were on a team that had to play the Pats later this season, I’d be reviewing the game film along with the incredibly helpful footage that NBC is shooting… next time I hear “OMAHA! OMAHA! One-eighteen!” I’d be pretty confident that Brady was passing short to the right sideline. And yeah, I’m sure that some of those signals are just dummy signals… but a savvy mathematician could use the extensive data set that NBC has provided and force the Pats to change their snap calls for next week.
[/QUOTE]
Hmm…I didn’t even think of that.I was so annoyed everytime they took a close up of Brady(what.. 50 or more times?) on the snap-count ,I wasn’t thinking about that.Good fer NBC!
Eagles showed the Patsies are beatable…they wont win it all. 
[QUOTE=MadTheSwine]
Hmm…I didn’t even think of that.I was so annoyed everytime they took a close up of Brady(what.. 50 or more times?) on the snap-count ,I wasn’t thinking about that.Good fer NBC!
Eagles showed the Patsies are beatable…they wont win it all.
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They probably WILL win it all. They’re still the best team in the league. But they’re definitely vulnerable. The Colts showed that first.
The Patriots’ offense is dynamite, but their defense is highly overrated. Just like the Rams in the Kurt Warner era, the Pats’ offense makes their defense look a lot better than it is. What I mean is, when Brady & Moss put the Pats up 14-0 or 17-0 early, the Pats defense can ignore the run and tee off on the quarterback every play. The result can be a major blowout.
But when teams can stay close to the Pats, when they can keep pounding away with the running game and mix in the pass when they WANT to, the Pats can be scored upon.
Moreover, the Pats’ offensive line is very good but not great. The Colts got pressure on Brady with just the front four, without any stunts or tricks.
So, a team with a good pass rush and a strong running game can beat the Patriots. I nominate the Steelers to do just that (though I must say, much as I hate the Patriots, I hate those smug '72 Dolphins even more).
Incidentally, it’s been taken for granted that home field advantage will be huge for the Patriots. I’m not so sure. In the past, the Colts were viewed as the finesse team and the Pats as the tough, physical team. But today? Joseph Addai can run on the Pats in rain or snow. Bad weather will hurt the potent Patriot pass attack more than it will the Colts.
In fact, I think the Pats would have a much better chance of winning indoors in January than on a cold, wet, sloppy field.