You can't trust anything Bill Belichick says or does, but it seems you can trust his defenses. Year in and year out, it's one of the best in the league in terms of takeaways.
Over the last three seasons, the Patriots have more takeaways than any other team. They've ranked 2nd, 6th and 11th in fantasy defense in that time, using a scoring system of 1 point for sacks, 2 points for takeaways, and 6 points for all defensive touchdowns.
Don't trust what the Patriots say, but you can believe in what they do.
The top defenses in terms of takeaways over the last three seasons are presented below.
DEFENSIVE TAKEAWAYS, 2011-2013 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
New England | 34 | 41 | 29 | 104 |
Chicago | 31 | 44 | 28 | 103 |
Seattle | 31 | 31 | 39 | 101 |
NY Giants | 31 | 35 | 29 | 95 |
San Francisco | 38 | 25 | 30 | 93 |
Cincinnati | 22 | 30 | 31 | 83 |
Green Bay | 38 | 23 | 22 | 83 |
Buffalo | 31 | 21 | 30 | 82 |
Arizona | 19 | 33 | 30 | 82 |
Tampa Bay | 24 | 26 | 31 | 81 |
Atlanta | 29 | 31 | 21 | 81 |
Washington | 21 | 31 | 26 | 78 |
Carolina | 24 | 23 | 30 | 77 |
Kansas City | 26 | 13 | 36 | 75 |
Baltimore | 26 | 25 | 24 | 75 |
Detroit | 34 | 17 | 22 | 73 |
Tennessee | 23 | 24 | 25 | 72 |
Jacksonville | 28 | 23 | 21 | 72 |
Cleveland | 20 | 29 | 21 | 70 |
NY Jets | 31 | 23 | 15 | 69 |
Philadelphia | 24 | 13 | 31 | 68 |
St. Louis | 18 | 21 | 29 | 68 |
Dallas | 24 | 16 | 28 | 68 |
Denver | 18 | 24 | 26 | 68 |
Oakland | 26 | 19 | 22 | 67 |
Houston | 27 | 29 | 11 | 67 |
San Diego | 21 | 28 | 17 | 66 |
Minnesota | 23 | 22 | 20 | 65 |
New Orleans | 16 | 26 | 19 | 61 |
Indianapolis | 17 | 15 | 27 | 59 |
Miami | 19 | 16 | 24 | 59 |
Pittsburgh | 15 | 20 | 20 | 55 |
--Andy Richardson