Not sure how Bill Belichick does it, but his defenses are always a lot better in terms of points rather than yards. Three years in a row, it's been a bottom-10 team in yards but above-average in terms of preventing points.
And this isn't just a short-term, flukey deal. It's always like that.
In the 14 years he's been in New England, believe it or not, Belichick has NEVER had a defense that's ranked worse in giving up points than yards.
One year, I will concede, it ranked the same (4th) in both yards and points. In half of those years, it's been at least a half-dozen spots higher in terms of giving up points.
How do you explain this?
Part of it, I suppose can be tied to New England not turning the ball over. Opponents have more long fields (so a lesser ratio of points versus yards). New England has also started doing more stuff with tempo in recent years. With more plays in their games, that means more yards.
But it still seems remarkable.
Somebody let me know if I'm missing something here.
| PATRIOTS: BEND BUT DON'T BREAK | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Points | Rank | Yards | Rank |
| 2000 | 21.1 | 17 | 334.5625 | 20 |
| 2001 | 17.0 | 6 | 334.5 | 24 |
| 2002 | 21.6 | 17 | 336.0625 | 23 |
| 2003 | 14.9 | 1 | 291.625 | 7 |
| 2004 | 16.3 | 3 | 310.75 | 9 |
| 2005 | 21.1 | 17 | 330.1875 | 26 |
| 2006 | 14.8 | 2 | 294.375 | 6 |
| 2007 | 17.1 | 4 | 288.3125 | 4 |
| 2008 | 19.3 | 8 | 309 | 10 |
| 2009 | 17.8 | 5 | 320.1875 | 11 |
| 2010 | 19.6 | 8 | 366.5 | 25 |
| 2011 | 21.4 | 15 | 411.0625 | 31 |
| 2012 | 20.7 | 11 | 373.25 | 25 |
| 2013 | 21.1 | 10 | 373.0625 | 26 |
--Ian Allan