Bye Week Breakdown: Patriots Defense
FOXBORO (CBS) – With the New England Patriots on a mini-vacation for their Bye Week, the WBZ-TV Sports team is breaking down the season so far.
Dan Roche and Levan Reid started by breaking down the Patriots offense, and now move on to the defense. Where it was hard to find anything wrong with the O, the Patriots D is another story.
"It's still a big question mark," said Reid.
Dan and Levan Talk Pats Defense
The Patriots started the season surrendering an average of 477 yards a game over their first four contests. The defense has shown improvements over the last two weeks, giving up just 255 and 377 yards to the Jets and Cowboys, respectively.
But they have still struggled shutting down the pass. That includes Pro Bowler Devin McCourty, who turned some heads with an amazing rookie campaign in 2010.
"We all though he would be the guy that would be the 'shut down corner' and right now he seems to be getting burned," said Reid.
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
With McCourty struggling, that places a bigger need for his supporting cast to step up. Kyle Arrington leads the NFL with four interceptions, but is he the other guy in the secondary the Patriots can count on?
That leads to the debate: who is the Patriots defensive MVP? Defensive Lineman Kyle Love has been a pleasant surprise so far, and Jerod Mayo was making plays before he got injured.
But no one has made a bigger impact than defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who with two interceptions and a forced fumble, is the early favorite.
"Any time he makes a big play, the whole stadium whether we're here or it be the offense or the defense, they all stand up. Because Vince is one of those guys on the team they all pull for," said Reid.
There remains many questions on the D though. For one, when is Albert Haynesworth going to start making the impact we all know he is capable of? And if he doesn't who else will start coming up big?
"Who is that other guy we're looking for to be a star in that defense. Because right now they have two or three, but they need a fourth one," said Reid. "It's not a full game yet."
