Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics – Pats at Broncos

by Scott Benson, Patriots Daily Staff
October 8, 2009

And now, for some shallow analysis of the Pats coming visit to Denver, let’s see how the New England’s numbers stack up against the surprising Broncos.

Combined Record of Opponents

Pats: 9-6 (BUF, NYJ, ATL, BAL)

Broncos: 6-10 (CIN, CLE, OAK, DAL)

Lies, damned lies – Pats win! Next.

Run

Pats Offense: 17^th, 102.2 YPG, 3.7 YPC

Broncos Defense: 5^th, 77.2 YPG, 3.2 YPC

Broncos Offense: 4^th, 148 YPG, 4.7 YPC

Pats Defense: 11^th, 95.2 YPG, 4.5 YPC

Lies, damned lies – ‘4^th’ and ‘5^th’ sounds a lot better than ‘11^th’ and ‘17^th’, but then again, Denver has already played two of the worst teams in the NFL. Credit to the Broncos, though; they didn’t lose either time.

Pass

Pats Offense: 5^th, 273.8 YPG, 6.5 YPA

Broncos Defense: 3^rd, 162.5 YPG, 5.7 YPA

Broncos Offense: 18^th, 217.0 YPG, 7.7 YPA

Pats Defense: 7^th, 192.2 YPG, 6.9 YPA

Lies, damned lies – I’m thinking Tom Brady presents a pass defense with a few more challenges than, say, JaMarcus Russell. I’m also thinking the Pats pass defense – last week a pleasing blend of madcap blitzing and tight coverage from the secondary in big spots – will force Kyle Orton to complete one hell of a lot of passes to score a touchdown on any given drive.

Kick

Pats Kickoff: 4^th, 70.8 AVG (5 touchbacks)

Pats Kick Coverage: 29^th, 27.4 AVG

Broncos Kick Return: 30^th, 19.6 AVG

Broncos Kickoff: 3^rd, 70.9 AVG (9 touchbacks)

Broncos Kick Coverage: 14^th, 22.6 AVG

Pats Kick Return: 16^th, 23.0 AVG

Broncos Punt: 17^th (Net), 37.8 AVG

Broncos Punt Coverage: 9.5 AVG (10 returns)

Pats Punt Return: 21^st, 6.8 AVG

Pats Punt: 31^st (Net), 31.3 AVG

Pats Punt Coverage: 10.0 AVG (3 returns)

Broncos Punt Return: 18^th, 7.8 AVG

Lies, damned lies – I guess the thing that strikes me here is the disparity between Stephen Gostkowski’s kickoffs (average kick is in the end zone) and the average return by the Patriots opponents. Might as well kick it to the 30 and get it over with.

Scoring

Pats Offense: 14^th, 87 PTS, 21.8 PPG

Broncos Defense: 1^st, 26 PTS, 6.5 PPG

Broncos Offense: 19^th, 79 PTS, 19.8 PPG

Pats Defense: 10^th, 71 PTS, 17.8 PPG

Pats 3^rd Down Offense: 6^th, 46 PCT

Broncos 3^rd Down Defense: 2^nd, 26 PCT

Broncos 3^rd Down Offense: 18^th, 37 PCT

Pats 3^rd Down Defense: 23^rd, 41 PCT

Lies, damned lies – It feels like a defensive game, don’t you think?

E-mail Scott Benson at scott@patriotsdaily.com