(Clark Judge)Playoff-bound Pats have secondary concerns

[GimmeShelter]

Pretty good read in that the Pats are hard to figure right now because statistics wise they got healthy against horrible passing offenses.

Dillon again looked done last night but I'd take him for the play-off run but that's about it.

Playoff-bound Pats have secondary concerns

Dec. 27, 2005

By Clark Judge

CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

Tell Clark your opinion!

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New England Patriots are hot when it matters, with Monday's 31-21 dissection of the New York Jets their fourth consecutive triumph and sixth in their last seven. The question is: Does this make them the biggest threat in the playoffs outside of Indianapolis?

The Pats' four-game win streak has come against inferior offenses. (AP)

No. Not yet.

It's not that the defending Super Bowl champions aren't dangerous. Any club quarterbacked by Tom Brady is. But these are not the Super Bowl champions. This is a very different team with a weakness that can -- and should -- be exploited in the playoffs.

I'm talking about an injury-depleted secondary that's been through 12 different starters, with only cornerback Asante Samuel staying put -- and he was hurt in the first half Monday, with no word on the severity of the injury.

I'm also talking about a defense that just watched inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi helped off the field in the first quarter with a leg injury that kept him out the remainder of the game. Bruschi declined to be interviewed afterward.

"Not having Tedy is like a car without the navigational system," said defensive lineman Richard Seymour. "We definitely want him in the lineup."

They should. There's no question the Patriots' defense has been better, much better, of late, with its performance against the Jets the latest gold-medal effort. But the question still remains: Does anyone really know how good these guys are?

Sure, they allowed 31 points their last four games and paralyzed the woebegone Jets (3-12), but look at how they've gotten fat: They beat the Jets twice, Tampa and Buffalo -- in order, the 27th, 25th and 29th-ranked passing offenses. In other words, they throttled clubs that won't challenge your secondary.

Now, let's go back to the last time the Patriots faced an opponent with a top-10 pass attack. It was Nov. 27 in Kansas City, and they lost. The last time before that was Nov. 7 against Indianapolis. They lost that one, too.

I think you can see where this is going. At some point, New England must go through top-seeded Indianapolis, and if there's one thing the Colts do as well or better than anyone else it's throw the football -- with dissenters asked to review videotape of that 40-21 demolition of the Patriots.

Then you have Cincinnati, which will be the third or fourth seed in the playoffs, depending on what happens this weekend in Kansas City. The Bengals are the league's fifth-ranked passing offense, with quarterback Carson Palmer throwing an NFL-high 32 touchdown passes.

Lastly, I give you Denver. The Broncos are the 14th-ranked pass offense, but it's not passing that makes them dangerous. It's Invesco Field. Denver is murder at home, with quarterback Jake Plummer undefeated there this year and 19-3 in his Broncos' career. Oh, yeah, the Broncos also beat New England this season.

"I think we could be peaking at the right time," said Seymour. "We want to continue to move forward and get better as a team and finish up strong. We're not worried about what seed we're going to be. If we can just get better as a football team heading into the playoff hunt, that's all we can do."

Well, they succeeded there. But what, exactly, are we to make of New England? The Patriots have momentum when it counts most, and they haven't lost a playoff game with Brady. Or with coach Bill Belichick. And it's those two who can make this team intimidating.

But it's that secondary -- and the possible loss of Bruschi -- I can't get over. New England wasn't the same after losing strong safety Rodney Harrison on Sept. 25, with opponents regularly running up 400 or more yards in offense during a 4-4 mid-season lull. But all that stopped when the Patriots met the Jets, and it stopped for the right reason.

The Jets can't throw the ball.

They proved it in the first half Monday when they produced zero first downs and 28 yards in offense, including 7 passing. Still, as inept as they and starting quarterback Brooks Bollinger were, they solved the Pats' defense for two fourth-quarter TDs -- including Vinny Testaverde's first scoring pass this season.

I know, it didn't mean anything. But how meaningful are the last four victories for the Patriots? They demonstrate that New England can beat opponents it should beat, and that's what good clubs do. But they don't demonstrate that these guys are ready to challenge Indianapolis. Or Denver. Or Cincinnati.

Not yet.

OK, OK, so New England marched through the 2004 season with a reconstructed secondary, but there was a big difference: Harrison, the team's leading tackler and defensive captain the past two seasons, didn't miss a start. Now, he's gone, and the Patriots are learning how to win without him.

"I still think there are some things we need to tighten up," said linebacker Mike Vrabel.

So do I. It's one thing to stuff the Jets; it's another to bottle up Indianapolis. Or Denver. Or Cincinnati. New England will discover that soon enough.

[Jared]

I agree with that article completely, but a couple comments:

I wish guys would do some homework before writing articles. All reports after the game said Bruschi was walking unassisted with no brace, bandaging, or boots, and with nothing more than a minor limp. They can let him take a week off if they want, and he should be fine.

Back onto the main topic: I agree about the secondary. But first and foremost, this defense has stopped the run since Bruschi has gotten back into form. Even in the loss to KC, Johnson was only averaging 3.8 YPC. That's Antowain Smith numbers.

Secondly, look at how SD beat Indy. It wasn't because SD's secondary is great. Can you name more than 1 starter in the Chargers backfield? They won because their front 7 beat up on and confused the Indy OL. You can bet if the Pats are going to face indy, BB will be disecting that game film. No matter what happens behind them, if Bruschi is healthy again, the Pats front 7 is still one of the best in the business. It will be up to them to stop the run without safety help first and foremost, and get to the QB. The better they are at getting to the QB, the better the secondary will look.

[Blackout]

psh, Troy Brown has them covered

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Jared, welcome. Nice to see u here.