New England Patriots’ Pass Defense Improving Past Expectations

November 26, 2011   ·   James DiMaio   ·   Jump to comments

At the start of the 2011 NFL season, the Patriots' defense was giving up an atrocious amount of yards through the air, anchoring them at the bottom of the league in passing yards allowed. The Patriots looked awful while allowing second-rate quarterbacks such as Chad Henne and Jason Campbell to throw for 416 yards and 344 yards, respectively.
The Patriots became heavily reliant on Tom Brady and their explosive offense to mask the blemishes of their defense. Despite the championship-level play of the offense, Patriots fans were haunted by the memories of recent playoff losses to the Jets and Ravens, when the seemingly unstoppable offense of the regular season struggled early and the defense failed to make crucial stops. 

Once again, the underlying problem showed its ugly face: If Tom Brady isn’t perfect, the Patriots can’t win. After a horrific start to the season, fans were left with one question: Can the pass defense improve?
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