FOXBOROUGH – So, I know. At first glance, you’re probably saying ‘what?!’ when reading the title.
Don’t get me wrong. The final drive is inexcusable, especially when you consider Indianapolis went 4-4 on ‘gotta have it’ plays to extend the game.
But, I actually didn’t think the defense was all that bad on Sunday. Is Anthony Richardson Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen? Of course not, but New England has struggled with all types of QB’s this year and while Richardson has quit on his team once already this year, he can still hurt you. The Pats gave up a total of 253 yards of offense, with 80 of them coming on that final marathon drive. New England also had two picks on the day too.
Coming into the week, the buzz word was ‘communication’ and while the back end is certainly still struggling at times, giving up less than 300 yards of offense to any team in an NFL game is pretty damn good.
After the game, I asked Marcus Jones, Dell Pettus and Alex Austin how they felt the communication as a whole was on Sunday.
“I felt like communication was better,” said Pettus. “There’s always room for improvement. We just need to go back, watch the tape and find ways to continue to get better.”
“I feel like the communication was good,” Austin said. “Never as good and never as bad as you think. We’ve got to get back to the film, watch some tape, clean up the little things. But, I feel like we had a good, communicative day.”
“I felt like the communication was good, but we’re always perfectionists in a sense,” added Jones. “There will be things in the film room we need to get corrected and things like that.”
One piece of the puzzle that will certainly help communication moving forward is Jabrill Peppers. This was obviously his first game back since his arrest in October, but for the younger guys like Pettus, Austin and Jones, having a veteran back there that knows what’s going on is quite helpful.
“Any time you have a vet back in our secondary, it’s always going to help us,” Pettus said. “They’re experienced. They’ve seen things that are just like, second nature to them. That’s something we’re always going to be welcoming back with open arms. We’re always going to appreciate that experience and that knowledge.”
“Oh man, it helped a lot,” added Austin. “Just his energy, what he brings to the game and the defense. So, having him back out there…you can’t miss it. You hear him out there all the time.”
“It’s very important, making sure we’re on our right level on communication,” Jones said of Peppers’ return. “Every down is different and we’re always talking about the back end has to be the back end and the linebackers and to talk to the front. We always gotta make sure we’re right and he’s a big part of that.”
So, while people will only look at that final drive – and rightfully so – it’s important to point out the positives for this defense when there are some, considering they’ve been few and far between this season. The communication was better on Sunday, but it absolutely still needs to be more consistent.