In Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots were beat at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Clearly, Bill Belichick made an emphasis on fixing that problem this week because the Patriots offensive and defensive line dominated the Vikings en route to a 30-7 win in week two. ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss says that the order was restored at the line of scrimmage and that the Patriots simplistic approach yielded great results.
"It comes down to this: If you don't block, and establish a presence at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, nothing else really matters," writes Reiss.
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Erik Frenz](http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extrapoints/2014/09/patriotsvsvikingsstockreportdefensestepsup.html) of Boston.com provided his weekly stock report following the Patriots win in Minnesota. He listed 6 players who's stock is up, including Devin McCourty, Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower, Julian Edelman, and Stevan Ridley, and Stephen Gostkowski. The Patriots defense as a whole played very well and we were given a glipse at how good this group can be when it's best players are performing at a high level.
Bob Ryan talked more about Chandler Jones on Comcast SportsNet's "Sports Sunday" last night. He believes that Jones is a major key to the defense's success and he's happy to see him living up to his potential.
"He was drafted as a pass rushing threat, he was supposed to be a marquee type of player," said Ryan. "He has shown flashes, especially the first year. But this is the guy that they thought they had."
CBS Boston's Matthew Geagon wrote his own stock report last night as well. His list of top performers looked very similar to Frenz's, while the "down list" included the penalties, every receiver not named Edelman, as well as the Patriots offense as a whole.
"Tom Brady was happy with the win, but made a point to say the offense has plenty of room for improvement," writes Geagon. "And he's not wrong, as the the Patriots were just 5-for-14 on third down, leaving points out on the field as they settled for three field goals."
According to Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal, another player who had a very good game against the Vikings was Darrelle Revis. Revis was matched up against Greg Jennings for most of the game and held him to just one reception for 5 yards.
"In Week One, Revis gave up two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown — all to Wallace. On Sunday, it was a different story," says Daniels.
NESN's Doug Kyed says that the Patriots' defense is starting to realize it's potential as an elite, big play unit. With the front seven creating pressure (6 sacks) and the secondary forcing turnovers (4 interceptions), the defense flashed in a big way in Minnesota on Sunday. Kyed believes that as long as Belichick and Matt Patricia continue to allow their players to play to their strengths, the defense should continue to excell even against better offenses.
"Proving they can make big plays, force turnovers and pressure the quarterback is good against any team, even if they're hapless like the Vikings were on Sunday," writes Kyed. "And that should carry over when they're facing teams like the Indianapolis Colts or Denver Broncos later in the season."
But as good as the defense played on Sunday, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe isn't ready to call them elite until they play a bigger test. He's waiting to see how the group peforms when they play a good offense with an elite quarterback behind center.
"Frankly, we won't know how good this defense is until it plays elite quarterbacks in the middle of the season — Jay Cutler, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, and Philip Rivers in consecutive games," believes Volin.
Proving they can make big plays, force turnovers and pressure the quarterback is good against any team, even if they're hapless like the Vikings were on Sunday, and that should carry over when they're facing teams like the Indianpolis Colts or Denver Broncos later in the season.
Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/09/patriots-defense-lives-up-to-elite-potential-as-big-play-aggressive-unit/
Proving they can make big plays, force turnovers and pressure the quarterback is good against any team, even if they're hapless like the Vikings were on Sunday, and that should carry over when they're facing teams like the Indianpolis Colts or Denver Broncos later in the season.
