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Sam Gold took the New England Patriots defense to task in this week’s Film Room. Gold looked at how and why the Patriots defense has struggled so much in 2017.
The skinny? Everyone is underperforming. The run defense is not good enough on first down, with focus on Alan Branch’s struggles anchoring and Kyle Van Noy not making enough plays at the line of scrimmage. The secondary is inconsistent with a different player having a terrible game every week and with Malcolm Butler, Stephon Gilmore, and Devin McCourty all playing beneath their ability.
Watch the video to see how opposing offenses have used the Patriots weaknesses to pick them apart down after down and what New England can do to fix it.