Defense!  D-fence!   That's right ladies and gentleman, we got one!.   We've got one and it's shaping up to be very, very good.

What excites me most about this defense is their youth.  Certainly experience is going to be a major flaw this year and likely into next year but that's part of the natural growth.  Ability is something you either have or not in most cases, it rarely can be taught.

This defense is fast, big, smart, they tackle very well and play with a chip on their shoulders while also playing within the system.

Ah to be young.   Fresh legs, healthy bodies and absolutely no idea that this ever happened:

(anyone?  It's any easy one)

But how young are we talking?  A light sample of stats to chew on after the break

I have yet to do to this cumulatively for the season but from the game 7 defensive snap counts Mike Reiss provides Mike Reiss provides below are some #'s I find interesting about the Pats D:

A - Average level of experience of all players who took the field last Sunday was 3.14 yrs NFL experience.

B - Average age was 25.

C - Considering Chung was injured about one third of the way through the game, both of these numbers are likely skewed higher then the season average as Sanders took most of his snaps.

D - 66% of the defensive players who got on the field for the Pats had 3 years or less experience.

That's a pretty freaking young collective unit.  I have no idea what the league average would be in terms of experience or age but these #'s have to place the Pats as one of the youngest defenses in the NFL.

Considering what they have done @ Miam vs Baltimore and @ SD...the defensive potential for this team is very, very high.  At the same time the potential for melt downs and mistakes is also very high.

I'm a bit concerned about McCourty hitting the rookie wall.  He has been brilliant but is playing quite a bit and by week 10 or so may be wearing down. I'm personally a believer the Butler is going to come around and be very good for this D by years end - hopefully he can regain his confidence in the next couple weeks and can start to make an impact.