HUNH will always present a different set of problems to deal
with, but our inability to get off field against good teams on
third and longs was a killer. Hopefully we have a better group
of coverage corners and linebackers will be a little quicker to
drop into coverage next year.... There was a big difference
without a backer like Mosley making the window to throw to
much narrower.
This article with question about third down directed to
Belichick and his answer show what everybody knows, you
have got to get off the field on defense.
Q: It seemed like third down defense was a big part of the game last night. The Chargers started off with success but then had trouble. Did you guys change anything up defensively? How important was it to get off the field on third down going against a good third down offense in San Diego?
BB: Yeah, it’s really important to get off the field on third down. That’s always a big point of emphasis for us. Third downs are, on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, third downs are really kind of like turnovers in terms of the possession of the ball changing if a team can’t convert, whether it’s us or them. Those are huge plays in the game.
It was a killer for us in Sugar Bowl and got us beat. It wasn't a HUNH offense. Also the abandoning of running behind our true freshman left tackle was bewildering....:conf2: