While its head coach is considered a defensive mastermind, the New England Patriots defense will not be confused with one of the NFL’s best units any time soon. Too mediocre are the most prominent statistics seven weeks into the regular season: only eight teams surrender more points per game than the Patriots’ 25.6, while the team has been inconsistent against both the run and the pass.
However, not all is as bad as the stats make it look. One of the major problems for New England’s defense, after all, stems from the other phases of the game: starting field position.