Could it be that the Patriots O.L is over-rated?

Question

THIS is for SERIOUS comments only with only intelligent comments...I want some REAL opinions by some of the guys that KNOW....I know there are some....give me some insight on this.....oh, and this is off the Patriots site...not a hater site...


They were sights Sunday night that Patriots fans haven’t seen much of this year: Tom Brady being pressured, getting hit, getting sacked even, Tom Brady throwing the ball before he was ready, Tom Brady forcing it into coverage.

In short, Gillette Stadium fans were watching No. 12 play like a regular good QB, Tom Brady circa 2001-2006 instead of the SuperBrady that had been flying high for 10 games.

So, where was the Patriots’ offensive line, the unit that ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook said would make Joey Harrington into a star? Well, they were facing a good Philadelphia front seven, something they haven’t had to do much of during their remarkable run.

New England’s line, which is excellent by any measure, and for years underrated by the media at large, had probably gotten to be a tad overrated by Sunday night’s game.

While the Patriots have played a representative NFL schedule this year – some studs, some so-sos and some bottom-feeders – they haven’t played many good defensive fronts.

In fact, they’ve played some of the worst.

Using our Defensive Hog Index rankings heading into Week 12, here’s how New England’s opponents have played up front.
Buffalo (twice): No. 32
Miami: No. 31
Cleveland: No. 29
New York Jets: No. 28
Cincinnati: No. 26 (tie)
San Diego: No. 24
Indianapolis: No. 22 (tie)
Washington: No. 19 (tie)
Dallas: No. 5.
Now, the Patriots’ output certainly helped make all of those teams look like pushovers, but there’s no getting around the fact that New England has played some terrible front sevens – only Dallas is good, while Indy and Washington would be the closest thing to respectable.

The Eagles played like a team that knew this, and their No. 10 Defensive Hogs showed no fear of the Patriots’ supposedly impenetrable offensive line.

Does any of this mean that the Patriots are vulnerable (at least a little) on the O-line? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, future opponents Baltimore (No. 1 Defensive Hogs), Pittsburgh (No. 8 Defensive Hogs) and New York Giants (t-6th Defensive Hogs) were taking notes.

IT’S LIKE 1998 ALL OVER AGAIN
The parallels between this season and the 1998 season are striking.

Start with the fact that the main storyline for each season went something like this: good team adds Randy Moss to offense, turns into world-beater. As it was for the 15-1 Vikings.

But, like the Patriots have company in the NFL stratosphere this year, the Vikings had company in 1998. Atlanta and Denver both finished 14-2, and the Jets and Niners were both powerful 12-4 teams (both over +150 in point differential).

It was the first time there’d ever been three teams with two losses or fewer since the merger, something that could be repeated this year with some combination of Dallas, Indy, New England and Green Bay. Moss and the Vikings became the greatest non-Super Bowl team in history that year when they lost to Atlanta; he hasn’t been to the big game yet.

Answer 1

They are not overated.
I have to say that they are one of the best lines in recent years, and i can only think of 3 lines in past years that have been better than it
1. The Colts present offensive line
2. the Chiefs line from 02-05, now that was a line
3. The Packs line from 02-04, if you remeber, Green Bay had the top passing attack and 2nd or 3rd rushing attack those years. Too bad we lost Rivera and Wahle. sigh

Anyway, that line in New England hasnt really given up much ground this year, in fact, you really cant even measure any data against the Eagles because that Jim JOhnson led defense gets sacks on everyone! Dick Lebeau is the only coordinator better than him.

Bradys sucess cant be attributed to this line, tough, it is his recievers. In the past with decent/ok recievers, his stats have been ok, but they were a run team until this year. This year, the combination of Welker, Moss, and Stallworth have lead the vicious attack, these boys, combined with Coach Belichicks insistance on destroying all competition, have lead to their offensive surge.

I will say one more thing
If you put Brett Favre or Peyton Manning behind that line with those weapons, Their numbers would dwarf those of Brady right now. THose sportscasters say "Oh yea, that was a throw that only Tom Brady could make" Well thats a bunch of bull. Brady never made those throws until this year.

FAVRE FOR MVP!!!

Answer 2

Probably underrated. It is nonsense to call them overrated:

Buffalo has 10 sacks in 11 games and is the worst team in the league. Tom Brady has been sacked 13 times with the 5th most pass attempts in the league with 395

Only 2 QBS have lower sack to attempts ratio than Brady. Drew Brees has been on the losing side of blowouts, that has probably helped him avoid sacks.

Average sacks by Patriots 11 opponents= 21 for the year against non-Patriots teams
Avg. Attempts per team = 365

So, Brady has 38% fewer sacks than their opponents typically allow with 9% more attempts. That's pretty damn good.

Answer 3

Being this good for this far into the season is NOT over rated even the least. The writers are told to write critically, and have to put doubt, and there for pressure on the teams. What else should that have written after that performance "OK, even at your worst, you can still win. Way to go guys!". Of course not, you have to always be critical.

Answer 4

calm down, I would stand tall behind that OL any day. The just played against very strong Defensive Eagle team

Answer 5

I agree with Jared. If your QB can stay upright for most of the season, then the O-line is definately NOT overrated.

Answer 6

That O line helped the Pats offense score 24 pts. u tell me if that is good

Answer 7

i think their o-line is pretty good and if you count the holding they get away with, they are the best in the nfl right now

Answer 8

A line that has been that good for cannot be considered overrated

Answer 9

Being on the best isn't overrated its just skill.

Answer 10

I think your tiny brain is over rated