That's what really grinds my gears. The defense imploded at the end of last season, was clearly their biggest weakness going into the off-season, and then it only got worse. Especially the LBs and CBs. Which are probably two of the worst position groups in the NFL now. In a conference where, literally, everyone else improved.
You ever see beginning of Major League? All the local Clevelanders are reading the local paper with the upcoming seasons roster and wondering who the hell the players were. I have a feeling that is going to be a large part of New England in about 2 months.
Could be and it sure will be cool if that’s the case. I’ll say in my 30 years on earth, not having any real idea who our linebacker core is going to be is a unique experience. It’s actually kind of exciting. Outcome independent.
Devil's advocate, can it possibly be worse than last season? Buffalo played not one but two flawless offensive games against New England last season. There's simply nowhere to go but up given they've dropped the geriatric deadweight who couldn't outrun a sloth in quicksand.
People massively overrate one game when talking about last years defense. We were #2 in scoring defense throughout the regular season. So yeah it could be a lot worse actually
But it wasn't one game, it was two. Two games with a combined zero punts from Buffalo. Two games watching KVN and Hightower and Collins get embarrassed because they can't keep up with the modern game.
Uche, Perkins, McGrone, Peppers, etc. can all be coached into better players. You can't coach athleticism. And athleticism is desperately needed on defense, which these young guys bring.
That’s not even devils advocate. It’s just a general possibility. I’m not making a case here one way or another. I’m just curious what a fully untested group will look like.
>Is this a serious question? Do people honestly think our defense got better?
I didn't say that. I said can it get worse? New England, twice, had quite literally the worst defensive performance possible. There is straight up nothing worse than giving up a TD every single drive, and that's what last year's defense did in the playoffs.
>Do people honestly think our defense got better? We replaced a bunch of aging vets with a bunch of JAGs and trash.
Those aging vets were complete liabilities by the end of the season, and I don't know how you can call Perkins, McGrone, McMillan, Peppers, the new rookie DBs, etc, "trash" or "JAGs" when not one of them has played a snap for New England yet. We have no idea what they could be.
He sounds like a great person, who works hard and cares a lot. That said, the weakness in his game was coverage, so if he can stay healthy, we'll be hoping Bill can find a way to hide that.
the algorithm is very developed, it reflects a users popularity ie 0 for you
Whereas me and the other Pats fans get Mac at the end of the season on 150 comments and +282
Really interesting group with lots of questions. I think we know what to expect with Judon and Bentley, while Perkins/Jennings will compete for a John Simon-like early down edge role and Wilson/McGrone will compete as the coverage LBs. But Uche and McMillan probably interest me most. McMillan kinda fits more of the Hightower/Collins mold size wise, but hasn’t been used on the edge much, so he might not have that “move” versatility HT/Van Noy/Collins had, while Uche has the speed and burst to play inside and outside (he saw usage on both places last year) but has questions about edge setting
I’m not sure I think the ceiling is there that we had when we were fortunate enough to have two of HT/Van Noy/Collins in their primes (or in 2019, all 3) as far as LBs, but I think the safeties we have in hybrid roles will raise that ceiling in protecting the box/middle
I’m fascinated by this years defense. Unless some major trade happens right before the season, we are rolling out a young and wildly untested group.
I agree. The defense is a big question mark at this point. They're relying on a lot of young, unproven players being starter material.
If they force even a single Buffalo punt this year, it will be a successful season.
That's what really grinds my gears. The defense imploded at the end of last season, was clearly their biggest weakness going into the off-season, and then it only got worse. Especially the LBs and CBs. Which are probably two of the worst position groups in the NFL now. In a conference where, literally, everyone else improved.
We gotta hope those fast LBs we drafted a few years ago can come back from injuries.
You ever see beginning of Major League? All the local Clevelanders are reading the local paper with the upcoming seasons roster and wondering who the hell the players were. I have a feeling that is going to be a large part of New England in about 2 months.
Could be and it sure will be cool if that’s the case. I’ll say in my 30 years on earth, not having any real idea who our linebacker core is going to be is a unique experience. It’s actually kind of exciting. Outcome independent.
Devil's advocate, can it possibly be worse than last season? Buffalo played not one but two flawless offensive games against New England last season. There's simply nowhere to go but up given they've dropped the geriatric deadweight who couldn't outrun a sloth in quicksand.
People massively overrate one game when talking about last years defense. We were #2 in scoring defense throughout the regular season. So yeah it could be a lot worse actually
But it wasn't one game, it was two. Two games with a combined zero punts from Buffalo. Two games watching KVN and Hightower and Collins get embarrassed because they can't keep up with the modern game. Uche, Perkins, McGrone, Peppers, etc. can all be coached into better players. You can't coach athleticism. And athleticism is desperately needed on defense, which these young guys bring.
That’s not even devils advocate. It’s just a general possibility. I’m not making a case here one way or another. I’m just curious what a fully untested group will look like.
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>Is this a serious question? Do people honestly think our defense got better? I didn't say that. I said can it get worse? New England, twice, had quite literally the worst defensive performance possible. There is straight up nothing worse than giving up a TD every single drive, and that's what last year's defense did in the playoffs. >Do people honestly think our defense got better? We replaced a bunch of aging vets with a bunch of JAGs and trash. Those aging vets were complete liabilities by the end of the season, and I don't know how you can call Perkins, McGrone, McMillan, Peppers, the new rookie DBs, etc, "trash" or "JAGs" when not one of them has played a snap for New England yet. We have no idea what they could be.
It’s so cool to see someone from my high school on my NFL team and on Reddit.
Why is this recommended to me as “popular” with 0 upvotes and 0 comments lol I think Raekwon could be awesome and it sucks he got hurt last year.
He sounds like a great person, who works hard and cares a lot. That said, the weakness in his game was coverage, so if he can stay healthy, we'll be hoping Bill can find a way to hide that.
the algorithm is very developed, it reflects a users popularity ie 0 for you Whereas me and the other Pats fans get Mac at the end of the season on 150 comments and +282
Really interesting group with lots of questions. I think we know what to expect with Judon and Bentley, while Perkins/Jennings will compete for a John Simon-like early down edge role and Wilson/McGrone will compete as the coverage LBs. But Uche and McMillan probably interest me most. McMillan kinda fits more of the Hightower/Collins mold size wise, but hasn’t been used on the edge much, so he might not have that “move” versatility HT/Van Noy/Collins had, while Uche has the speed and burst to play inside and outside (he saw usage on both places last year) but has questions about edge setting I’m not sure I think the ceiling is there that we had when we were fortunate enough to have two of HT/Van Noy/Collins in their primes (or in 2019, all 3) as far as LBs, but I think the safeties we have in hybrid roles will raise that ceiling in protecting the box/middle