All I'm saying is that I doubt Jones would be doing what he's doing in NE for the Jets. He's doing a great job, better than I would have ever given him credit for prior to the season, but he would have had to have learned a new position and pass Pace and/or Thomas to get snaps here. You're saying he would have made our defense much better. I'm not so sure about that.
Jones could have been effective in NY too. Pats ran a 3-4 before they switched to get the most out of both Jones and Kyle Love the DT. Personnel quality can dictate the formation you run. Although I agree it was unlikely for NY to consider 4-3
Jones made a nice play sacking Bradford for a 17 yard loss yesterday. His long arms paid off as he dived and tripped him up.
http://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-rushing-yards-per-game http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/fumblesForced They are middle of the road when it comes to sacks, but this is only because it is rare that they actually get a coverage sack because the secondary can't hold long enough. The Patriots are extremely difficult to run on. Ninkovich has turned into a beast at end. Wilfork is the best in the game at his position. There is talk of Jones being up for DROY. Brando "Hot Sauce" Spikes, Mayo and Hightower have been playing at a consistently high level. I don't feel that top 5 is a stretch.
I think they have a very stout front 7. I just think that bias tends to come in from watching your own team a lot so without any stats that have them top 5 that might be a stretch. We will see more as the season plays out.
Haha alright. As long as you agree to tell me what you think of our top 5 front 7 after we play :beer:
From my perspective as a Pats fan, but someone who watches a lot of the rest of the league (thank you NFL rewind!) I think it's a stretch to call their front 7 top 5. I'm not one to hung up on rankings (I think they are meaningless) but their are plenty of teams whose fronts are just as, if not more disruptive than the Pats. I certainly would include the Dolphins in that group.
you are missing one important fact....why do teams need to bother with the run when they can just pass the ball so effectively? The front 7 is killer against the run but outside of Nink and Jones (maybe Hightower), the passing defense is weak. When you see Wilfork in zone defense against the pass, something is definitely off (though, he does got some speed and agility in the open field). And lets get rid of that "hot sauce" nickname for Spikes. Seriously, does a power LB with the last name Spikes really need something else?
In general, teams aren't running on the Patriots. That is a fact. I will give you that that given the choice, most teams will pass against the Patriots more than average due to their weak DB play. Having said that, you still have to run the ball. Most teams haven't been able to do that against the Patriots. And "hot sauce" is a play on the Jets fans use of the term for Laron Landry and others who play a little more physical. Spikes is that kind of player.
The front seven is not good. If Wilfork goes down, the entire Patriots defense will melt. They have no qualified backup, and then running on them will become easy
