Some vaunted D's surprisingly bad

Steelers, Jets, Patriots, Bears haven't been able to live up to reputations

Karl Walter / Getty Images

The Steelers' defense has been surprisingly porous this season.

ANALYSIS

updated 11:00 a.m. ET Oct. 27, 2011

Mike Tanier

If you are a fan of hard-hitting, well-played defense ? sacks, interceptions, goal-line stands and third-down stuffs ? you may be tempted to sit down to watch this week?s Steelers-Patriots game.

You may be better off renting a time machine and going back to see them play in 2005.

The Steelers' defense isn?t quite what it used to be. The Patriots defense isn?t even close. And they are not the only teams coasting on their defensive reputations. The Bears have become Monsters of the Mildly Middling. The Jets, while pretty good at stopping opponents, are only half as good as they claim to be.

Here?s a breakdown of four teams with winning records, great defensive aspirations and serious flaws that undercut their hard-hitting reputations. Much of the statistical analysis comes from Football Outsiders, whose DVOA statistic analyzes every play by down, distance, quarter and field zone, taking us past slobberknocker clich?s and deep into what each team does right, and wrong.

Bears
Reputation: Hard-hitting, disciplined heirs to Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary, led by Brian Urlacher and the Cover-2 wizardry of coach Lovie Smith.

Reality: Unexcitingly average unit with red-zone troubles and an inability to stop big-time receivers.

The Skinny: Urlacher is still great, with three interceptions, a fumble recovery and four tackles for a loss this year, but the Bears rank as an almost perfectly average defense according to Football Outsiders. (They actually earn a 0.0 DVOA percentage, which is FO-speak for ?dead center.? It is hard to be that perfect.) Part of the Bears? problem is that they make life too easy for opponents in goal-to-go situations, allowing six touchdowns in eight opportunities. A bigger problem may be their inability to shut down elite receivers. Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings and Roddy White combined for 31 catches and 491 yards in four games against the Bears. Those guys are going to make a play or two, but they have to be held below 123 yards each. The Bears allowed 110 points in one four-game stretch. Neither Butkus nor Singletary would approve.

Patriots
Reputation: Chess pieces for Bill Belichick to deploy with Deep Blue precision, capable of tricking unprepared quarterbacks into four-interception days and stepping on an opponents? chest once the Patriots' offense knocks them over.

Reality: Where have you been? The Patriots' defense has been fading for years. This year, it ranks 26th in the league in yards allowed, and 28th in DVOA.

The Skinny: The Patriots have the worst first down offense in the NFL: opponents average 5.0 yards per rush and an awful 10.3 yards per pass on first down. Opponents have little fear of the Devin McCourty-Kyle Arrington-Leigh Bodden secondary, and the pass rush is not compensating. The Patriots have recorded just 10 sacks, even though opponents are passing all the time.

The Patriots do have some tricks up their sleeves. Their offense moves the ball so well that opponents are always pinned in their own territory, with average starting field position on the 23-yard line (worst in the NFL). The Patriots' defense also has a knack for red-zone stops, as the Chargers will tell you. Still, do not mistake this for a ?bend-don?t-break? defense. It is more of a ?bend, crack, splinter, and hope the offense scores over 30 points? defense.

Jets
Reputation: Rex Ryan?s marauding pirates, a danger to themselves and others, blitzing quarterbacks into the fetal position while banishing receivers to Revis Island.

Reality: The pass defense really is almost as good as advertised. (A birthday cake covered in diamonds, delivered by the ladies of Pan Am, couldn?t live up to the Jets advertising). The run defense, however, is mediocre, and saying that the defense gets better as the game goes on is a nice way of pointing out that it is pretty bad in the first quarter.

The Skinny: As usual, Darrelle Revis and his cohorts are doing an excellent job of eliminating top receivers from the opponents? game plans. Vincent Jackson had just one catch on eight passes last week, Anquan Bolding caught just one pass for the Ravens and while Brandon Marshall caught six passes two weeks ago, Revis returned one pass to Marshall 100 yards for a touchdown. The Jets rank 18th in the NFL in run defense according to DVOA, and poor play against the run cost them the Raiders game. Like their offense, the Jets' defense has trouble with slow starts. The Cowboys, Raiders, and Patriots all scored touchdowns on their opening drives, and even the Dolphins managed an early field goal. With their offense sputtering out of the gate and the defense taking its time to get settled, the Jets are always in danger of falling behind early.

Steelers
Reputation: Angry linebackers blitzing from all angles, Troy Polamalu everywhere at once and a run defense as stout as a bank vault door.

Reality: You can run against the Steelers. Unless you are Tarvaris Jackson or Blaine Gabbert, you can drop to pass without fear of being picked off or turned into coleslaw.

The Skinny: Ten of the Steelers' 17 sacks came against Jackson and Gabbert, two of the league?s favorite pi?atas. The Steelers have intercepted just two passes, a shocking total for a team that has faced Jackson, Gabbert, Kevin Kolb and the Kerry Collins-Curtis Painter Project. The Steelers have allowed just 108 rushing yards per game, but even that figure is high when you realize their opponents are often playing from behind. Arian Foster and Ray Rice combined for 262 rushing yards in the Steelers' two losses, and Maurice Jones-Drew gained 96 yards and kept the Jaguars game close even though he may as well have been the only player on the field.

If an opponent with a good quarterback can build a small lead, they can drive the football right through the Steelers? abdomen. Look for the Patriots to try it on Sunday: if their own defense does not turn a former defensive duel into a game of playground basketball.

Mike Tanier writes for NBCSports.com and Rotoworld.com and is a senior writer for Football Outsiders.

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45060600/ns/sports-nfl/

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