That any link between defense and the outlandish success of the New England Patriots isn’t universally recognized doesn’t seem to trouble one of their linebackers, Kyle Van Noy. He totally gets it.
“Tom Brady is Tom Brady.
“And the defense is the defense – just guys, I guess,” he said.
The Patriots arrived in Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII as one wholly-owned subsidiary of their quarterback, Brady, and the dramatic offense he leads. At least that’s the perception, as measured by column inches of print and sports talk volume.
On the other side of Super Bowl LIII, the Los Angeles Rams possess arguably the most destructive defender in the league, lineman Aaron Donald. He works in tandem with another notorious bloke, Ndamukong Suh. For those crass souls who use money as a guide to relative importance, those two together make a yearly average of $36.5 million, according to Spotrac.com. Combined, the four starting lineman for the Patriots make a fifth of that, just over $7 million.
If you can name a couple regulars on the New England D, consider yourself a football savant.
You might start with cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the one New England defender named first-team AP All Pro this season. He has flourished, with a couple interceptions and a team-leading 20 passes defended (and the Pats lone postseason interception). He has yielded but a single catch in both the Pats’ postseason games.
You may want to include lineman Trey Flowers who has been on a bit of a roll lately. Falcons fans should remember him for the three sacks he inflicted upon their squad in Super Bowl LI. More recently, he’s accounted for five quarterback pressures in both the divisional playoff and AFC Championship games. He has seven sacks in his last eight games (including two in the postseason).
Asked the strength of this defense, Van Noy, however, touched on the more egalitarian nature of this unit with one word. “Everybody,” he said.
“I think we all play together, that’s what makes us strong,” linebacker Elandon Roberts said. “There is no selfish person on the D. It’s a do-your-job mentality, what you’ve always heard (a Patriot mantra). We just all do our job.”
Behind a sum-of-their-parts approach and a scheme that is one of the most flexible in the NFL, the Pats have put up some decent resistance lately. No one is going to confuse them for the 1985 Bears, but there has been a noticeable uptick on defense.
“I feel that everything peaked at the right time,” Roberts said.
Neither Super Bowl defense topped the charts this season, but the Patriots did significantly better than the Rams in one vital category, points allowed (seventh in the NFL, compared to 20th for the Rams). So doubtful was the betting world that either defense could stand up to a pair of potent offenses that this Super Bowl opened at the highest-ever over-under point total of 59. It has since edged downward by around three points.
This postseason, New England has flexed some early defensive muscle. In the divisional round, it held Philip Rivers and the other team from L.A., the Chargers, to only seven first-half points. The following week, it did even better against the NFL’s highest-scoring team, shutting out Kansas City in the first half. The Pats gave up 31 to the Chiefs in the second half, but that was still below K.C.’s points-per-game season average.
The Bill Belichick famed method of taking away one crucial aspect of an opponent’s attack was on display in that AFC Championship. (As safety Devin McCourty put it earlier this season, “When you look at our defense, one thing that we pride ourselves on is coming in and not letting your best guy beat us.”) The Chiefs quicksilver receiver Tyreek Hill abused the Pats in a Week 6 game, with seven receptions for 142 yards and three scores. Come the postseason, though, he had but one catch – a 42-yard reception – and was only targeted three times.
“We have taken it week by week, seeing what teams are throwing at us, seeing where we need to shape up,” Roberts said. “As it gets late (in the season), you’re coming on, coming on, coming on, getting to that peak point. This is definitely the stage to peak.”
While New England – a five-time Super Bowl champ since 2002, mind you – has been known to play the overlooked-and-underappreciated card this season, one player has a little different, more positive, view when speaking for the defense.
More than wanting to prove doubters wrong, “I want to prove people right,” Van Noy said. “There’s a lot of people – our families, teammates – that believe in each other. We want to prove those people right.”
The Pats still hold the memory of last year’s Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia, in which the Eagles rolled up 41 points and 538 yards. That’s not an experience any of them are eager to relive.
“I feel like defensively we didn’t play well, so it’s just humbling to go through that opportunity like that,” Van Noy said.
Credit may be sometimes slow to sidle up to the Patriots defense. But its members realize first-hand how quickly that blade of blame can fall and how deeply it can cut.
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