Burning Patriots questions: Will the defense live up to the hype?
FOXBORO -- There is a whole lot of hype surrounding the New England Patriots defense heading into the 2023 season. A lot of hype.
And rightfully so, since the defense was pretty stout last season. The Patriots allowed just 20.4 points (ranking 12th in the NFL) and 322 yards per game (8th) in 2022, and their 30 takeaways were the second-most in the league.
They were pretty good, and they should be pretty good once again. The defense lost Devin McCourty, whose retirement left the Pats without their defensive quarterback and a big leadership void in the middle of the field. But guys like Ja'Whaun Bentley, Deatrich Wise, and Kyle Dugger should be able to take on more of a leadership role, and will continue to make plays for New England.
The Pats should also be beasts in the pass rush, with Matthew Judon and Josh Uche (in a contract year) leading the charge again. Add in that Bill Belichick used his first three draft picks on defensive players, injecting some much-needed youth on that side of the ball.
Christian Gonzalez is going to be their top corner. Keion White is a human bulldozer on the line. Marte Mapu is going to fill a number of roles and will display some incredible athleticism all over the field.
All of that has some folks really, really high on the Patriots' defense in 2023. Some are saying it could be Bill Belichick's best defense ever. It's getting a little extreme.
Will the Patriots' defense live up to the hype in 2023? Will they be pretty good, really good, or as some are saying, historically good? The WBZ sports team weighs in, and thinks the defense will ultimately land somewhere in the middle.
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
The defense is the strength of this team. They're going to play with a lot of swagger, which I love.
Their pass rush may be one of the best in the business.
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
The Patriots have all the ingredients to be a great defense. There is experience at every level, plus speed and energy from newcomers Keion White, Marte Mapu and Christian Gonzalez.
But this year's group needs to play better against top 15 quarterbacks than last year's group did. Can they stop Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes? That will determine if the Patriots are a great defense, or just a really good one.
Michael Hurley, WBZ.com Sports
Yes and no.
Yes, because they'll rank highly in some key categories, probably sitting in the top 10 in yards allowed and points allowed. (A functional offense will alleviate the workload on the defense.) But also no, because Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and the like will always be able to get what they need to get, so I'm not expecting New England to win many big games on defense alone.
Matthew Geagan, WBZ.com Sports
The New England defense is going to be good. Top 10 good. Probably even top 5 good for most of the season.
They'll make some teams look silly and keep others out of the end zone. The Pats defense is probably going to be right at the top of the NFL as we approach the last third of the season.
But the December/January schedule is a beast, and facing Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Josh Allen in three of the final four weeks of the season is going to bring the defense back to earth. The D has lost steam the last few seasons (though having an offense that couldn't stay on the field didn't help last season) so that injection of youth from the draft was imperative.
The defense is going to be good, but I don't think the defense will be as dominant as people think.
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