Defense must show its support
Loaded offense can’t win another ring alone
Even though Julian Edelman will miss the entire season because of a torn ACL suffered in a preseason game in Detroit, the Patriots still have enough pieces to put together an historic offense.
But that means nothing. When it comes down to it, a high-scoring offense is no guarantee the team will win Super Bowl LII. Why?
History bears that out. Of the top 10 scoring offenses in NFL history, only one has won the Super Bowl. Even that team, the 1999 St. Louis Rams, only scored 23 points in the final game, tied for its third-lowest output of the season. And the Tennessee Titans nearly tied the game in the final seconds.
The 2007 and 2012 Patriots also are on that list. If one extends it to the top 12 scoring offenses of all time, the 2010 and 2012 Pats, respectively, are next up, and they also fell short of the ultimate goal.
So what does that mean for the 2017 Patriots, who have had every compliment thrown their way from an offensive perspective (even whispers of a 19-0 season) since acquiring receiver Brandin Cooks from the Saints. The loss of Edelman hurts, but tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen remain along with Cooks and fellow receivers Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell to catch passes from quarterback Tom Brady. The running back stable is as deep as it has ever been in the Bill Belichick era. Oh, and there’s Brady. What could go wrong? Either one of two things: The offense could meet its match at the wrong time, or the defense could not hold up its end of the bargain.
Looking at the list of teams that didn’t get it done, it’s usually the former. Of the 11 teams that lost, only five scored 20 or more points in that defeat, including just two that topped 30. Six of the teams scored 17 or fewer, including three that failed to reach double digits.
It’s akin to the old adage
in baseball. When the play- offs come around, a good hitting team will meet its match when it runs into a squad with a staff full of aces. Or in hockey, when an offensive juggernaut faces a hot goalie. As tired as the cliche might be, defense wins championships, and it has held true throughout football history.
As Belichick likes to reference, it comes down to complementary football. If the offense has a poor showing, the defense has to find ways to compensate for those shortcomings.
According to free safety Duron Harmon, there really isn’t a way for the defense to take the offense’s play into account.
“You can’t really think of it, anyway,” he said. “They’re going to go out and do their job, and we’re — BILL BELICHICK going to go out and do our jobs. You can’t really say how good (the offense is) going to be yet because we haven’t really played a full game. So we just don’t know. I think the only thing we can focus on right now is how good of a defense we can be and just try and be an effective piece for our offense and give them the opportunity to score a lot of points.”
What does appear promising for the Pats in such a scenario is the defense has potential to be a top unit, as well. The secondary has three capable cornerbacks in Stephon Gilmore, Malcolm Butler and Eric Rowe, while Harmon, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung comprise a safety unit that should limit big plays. In a league that is increasingly pass-oriented, the Pats have a defensive backfield well-suited to thrive.
The question marks lie more in the front seven, particularly when it comes to a pass rush that took some time to develop last season. Defensive end Trey Flowers and linebacker Dont’a Hightower are the team’s best hopes there, but it remains a concern.
Maybe the offense will be so good that none of this even matters. But history shows that, at some point, every great offense finds a worthy adversary.
Harmon hopes the defense can stay on course.
“Really, it’s on us (for the defense to live up to its potential),” he said. “If we put the work in and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll see. But if we’re out here not being consistent, not putting the extra work in, then we’re just going to be up and down. But if we’re doing everything that we’re supposed to do, putting the extra work in, going out there, being accountable, doing your job, then we should be alright.”
‘The only thing we can focus on right now is how good of a defense we can be and just try and be an effective piece for our offense.’