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Message: [QUOTE="upstater, post: 2562293, member: 153"] 32nd in defense. Faced fewest offensive possessions of any team. Faced worst field position. I said all this on Patsfans board well before the game. Barnwell nailed this one: [URL="http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22266751/2017-nfl-playoffs-super-bowl-lii-preview-philadelphia-eagles-new-england-patriots"]The best Eagles-Patriots preview you'll read: Barnwell makes his Super Bowl pick[/URL] Here it is: "One of the reasons Foles might be able to enjoy some success on Sunday is that the Patriots' defense simply hasn't been very good in 2017. Raw numbers note that the Pats finished fifth in points allowed at 18.5 per game, which makes them look like a dominant defense. [URL='http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwellx18029/bill-belichick-tom-brady-contributed-more-new-england-patriots-dynasty-2017-nfl-playoffs-super-bowl-lii']As I mentioned on Monday[/URL], New England simultaneously finished 31st in [URL='http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef']defensive DVOA[/URL], suggesting it is one of the worst defenses in the league. How can a defense simultaneously be great and abysmal? Context. Raw numbers don't account for the fact that the Patriots' offense makes its defense's life as easy as possible. The average Patriots drive on offense included a league-high 6.2 plays, keeping their defense fresh and off the field for long stretches of time. The New England defense faced just 172 possessions this season, the fifth fewest in football and 12 below the league average. Contrast that to the Jaguars, who finished second in points allowed and faced 204 possessions. That's nearly three additional games worth of drives to defend. In addition, that incredible Patriots offense rarely turns the ball over and delivers the defense consistently excellent field position. Only the Chiefs turned the ball over less frequently than the Patriots on a per-possession basis in 2017. Brady & Co. turned over the ball just 6.9 percent of the time, substantially lower than the league average (11.4 percent). Only two teams went three-and-out less frequently." As a result, the defense almost never faced a short field. The average defense in 2017 had to face just over 17 possessions that began on its own side of the field. The Patriots went up against just five of those possessions, and two of them were the Chiefs and Dolphins kneeling at the end of their victories. (If we remove drives in the final two minutes to get rid of kneel-downs, the Patriots faced three, and the league average was 15.5.)" [/QUOTE]

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