While most of the consternation from Sunday's 34-0 loss to the Saints was understandably about the offense, a few concerns have risen on the defensive side of the ball.
They haven't been bad or anything. They rank 12th in defensive DVOA, which is solid (though they finished 5th a season ago).
But with each passing week, especially in this, the first game without Matthew Judon — the team's only elite player — the pass rush has become a concern. That's at least part of the reason why the Patriots have an NFL-low two takeaways through the first five games. A year ago, the Patriots finished tied for second with 30.
There are a number of factors in creating turnovers, but conventional wisdom holds that fumbles come from team defensive speed, and interceptions come from the marriage of pass rush and tight coverage.
Through five weeks, the Patriots don't have much of any of that. Speed is lacking, especially at linebacker and now at free safety, and the Patriots aren't generating enough pressure despite blitzing much more than they usually do. And due to the issues in the secondary, they are playing more zone. No pass rush and zone coverage is a bad combination.
Here are the blitz and pressure rates so far this season:
Eagles: 33.3% pressure, 21.4 blitz
Dolphins: 11.7% pressure, 8.8 blitz
Jets: 31 pressure, 33 blitz
Cowboys: 25.7 pressure, 40.5 blitz
Saints: 20% pressure, 44% blitz
Against New Orleans, the Patriots had two sacks. Ja'Whaun Bentley's was poor pass protection by the Saints. Myles Bryant's came on a coverage sack because Derek Carr makes poor decisions. The Saints are not known as a strong pass blocking line. They are now 22nd in pass block win rate. The Patriots' pass rush win rate is ranked 18th.
When you combine this with the Patriots playing zone coverage, having some coverage busts and missed tackles, you have a little bit of a disappointing start to the season for the defense. And, yes, I know the offensive struggles have not helped.
Take a look at the coaches' film through the Saints' first two touchdowns, and make careful note of the lack of pressure despite sending additional players:
Sorry, there is an issue with the video ... I'm working on it.
Here are the positional ratings against the Saints:
DEFENSE
Defensive line (2 out of 5)
The Patriots are going to need more than one hurry (Josh Uche) out of their edge players against decent offenses. ... Keion White got more edge run in this game and he was OK overall but had a few really poor reps. Welcome to the NFL, kid. ... The Patriots actually did a pretty good job against Alvin Kamara in the run game, especially Lawrence Guy and Davon Godchaux. ... The nose tackle did, however, give questionable effort "rushing the passer" on Chris Olave's touchdown. ... Guy got planted on Kamara's TD run. I'm not sure if shooting the knees was a called technique (Godchaux also ended up on the ground) but it didn't work. ... I have no idea where Christian Barmore has gone. He's just a total non-factor. That can't keep going.
Linebackers (2 out of 5)
Tavai had his usual solid game getting off blocks but Ja'Whaun Bentley appears to be dealing with a shoulder injury and looks like he's a bit fatigued. He was late on a lot of his run fits. ... I was surprised to learn Mack Wilson is still on this team.
Secondary (1 out of 5)
Just huge issues here with busts and missed tackles. ... Physically, JC Jackson looked fine but he had a really bad coverage bust on a 25-yard pass. Jackson played man when it was Cover 3. Led to Jabrill Peppers not being happy. Jackson was lucky a pass was caught out of bounds as well. ... Kyle Dugger and Peppers look lost at times at free safety. Dugger gave up another TD when his eyes were only on Carr, allowing Olave to easily sit in zone. Dugger should be better on that, but it's been a constant issues for years. Dugger also had a miscue as the Mike in Tampa 2 while Peppers was too deep, allowing a 26-yard catch on a balloon ball in the middle of the field. ... Shaun Wade had a nice pass breakup down the field, but he was to blame for the 33-yard catch-and-run by RB Miller. That was Cover 2 and he was responsible for the flat. Wade was not there because he was covering for Peppers' poor reaction to a vertical route. ... The secondary is kind of a mess right now.
ONE UP
Lawrence Guy: Looked like his old self against the run and getting off blocks.
THREE DOWN
Adrian Phillips: Has played a total of 68 snaps this season. I'd be asking for a trade if I were him, but his film has not been good. Probably not used to playing so infrequently.
JC Jackson: He needs a dose of Patriots discipline in his play. Needs to tighten a lot up. But he looks good physically.
Ja'Whaun Bentley: Something was off with him. He was a step late on everything.