Old School

I really thought I  preferred the 33-20 wins but winning 16-3 in Denver felt good. So good.

Defense wins championships, right? I think I heard that somewhere once.

Pass rush? Check. Pass defense? Check. Run defense? Check.

In yards per game, the Patriots defense ranks #10. That's probably higher than you would've thought had you been paying attention to the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads lately. As Ryan Logan so succinctly answered the critics after the game, "You said we sucked."

In points per game, the Patriots defense is #1.

16.6 points per game.

Despite the fact New England has been in the Top 5 as a scoring defense for weeks now, the defense, as Ryan noted, hasn't gotten much respect from the gridiron cognoscenti.

Maybe they just couldn't figure it out.

The Patriots D just didn't pass the eye test. They lacked a stud like Von Miller or Khalil Mack, having traded away the two players who seemed capable of playing that part in Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. They played "bend but don't break" defense, as frustrating to fans as it was (apparently) to opposing offenses. The perception was that they weren't physical so much as they were intellectual (and you know how much America hates intellectuals). They weren't lions on the veldt, chasing down zebras in an open display of speed and power; they were tigers lying in wait, hidden, patient, waiting for their prey to make that one fatal mistake.

Maybe the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads just don't know as much about football as Bill Belichick and his rocket scientist defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia.

Okay, no maybe there.

New England's defense may lack a superstar but they go four deep on the edge with Chris Long, Rob Ninkovich, Trey Flowers and Jabaal Sheard. They go four deep at defensive tackle with Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine and Woodrow Hamilton. They will go NASCAR with Flowers and Sheard lining up inside. They will drop Sheard and Ninkovich into coverage. They can mix and match at linebacker with Dont'a Hightower, Shea McClellin, Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts. Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Eric Rowe and Jonathan Jones are an underrated group at the corner while safeties Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon may be as strong as any position group on the Pats defense. They're deep and fast with a great mix of youthful exuberance and veteran leadership.

A defense that shut everyone up on Sunday. There were a number of great moments - the sacks, Ryan's interception, Butler erasing Emmanuel Sanders - but for me it was Devin McCourty laying the wood on Demaryius Thomas late in the game, knocking the ball loose and effectively ending the game.

They can be lions when they need to be.

It's a game plan thing.