How tough are the New England Patriots? Not as tough as the Rams
Tedy Bruschi
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4787087/how-tough-are-the-new-england-patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — How tough are the New England Patriots?
Bill Belichick once told me that you measure toughness in football by running the ball, stopping the run and covering kicks.
I agree with that assessment but also believe there are other measurements of toughness in football. Are you a good tackling team? Are you tough enough to break tackles?
The Patriots pass muster when it comes to the statistics that reveal how tough a team is.
Using those variables I have made a toughness index to see who are the tough teams of the NFL through eight weeks of the season.
The categories are as follows:
Offensive yards before contact per rush. Does your offensive line win the line of scrimmage to give runners space to gain yards?
Offensive yards after contact per touch. Not just for running plays, but for all offensive touches (including receptions). Are you ball carriers tough to tackle?
Defensive yards before contact per rush. Is your defensive line wining the line of scrimmage? Are they getting penetration to stop a runner before he gets started?
Defensive yards after contact per touch. How good is your defense at tackling runners and receivers once they get the ball?
And for the former special teams coach that Belichick is, opponents’ kick return average and punt return average. Now at almost the halfway point of the season, there have been enough returns to measure this area.
After taking a team’s ranking in each area and averaging them out, here are the results (just like in football, low man wins):
1. Rams — 7.33
2. Raiders — 8.17
3. Patriots — 9.50
4. Chiefs — 9.67
5. Buccaneers — 11.17
6. Eagles — 11.50
7. Ravens — 12.83
8. Colts — 13.17
9. Vikings — 13.33
10. Cardinals — 13.50
11. Steelers — 13.67
12. Packers — 14.17
13. Dolphins — 15.17
15t. Broncos — 15.67
15t. Falcons — 1567
16. Panthers — 16.00
17. Jaguars — 16.17
18. Seahawks — 16.83
19. Jets — 17.17
20. 49ers — 17.33
21. Giants — 17.50
22. Bills — 17.83
23. Bengals — 18.17
24. Cowboys — 20.17
25. Lions — 20.67
26. Titans — 21.33
27. Saints — 22.67
28. Redskins — 22.83
29. Bears — 23.83
30. Browns — 24.17
31. Texans — 24.33
32. Chargers — 26.00
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