Ihedigbo sees Sunday as ‘statement game' for D

Share

FOXBORO - We all know NFL statisics are malleable. We can shape them to say whatever we want and often they only tell half the story. Check this out: The Patriots are dead last in the NFL in total defense in terms of yards per game. They allow 416.3 total yards and 314.0 through the air. Second worst team in yards allowed? Well, no surprise. It's the Colts. They're 0-9 and allowing 406.1 yards per games, 260.0 through the air. And which team is 30th? That would be the Packers. They are 8-0. They're allowing 399.6 per game and, get this, 299.6 through the air. You can ascribe reasons that help explain all these teams. The Packers are so explosive, they get up on teams and a lot of the yardage totals are compiled in garbage time. The Colts? Well, they suck. The Patriots? A little of both. They've been ahead and teams have been forced to up-tempo it and take shots to try to keep pace. They've also been thrown all over in close games as well. Whatever the reason for the Patriots being 32nd in the most frequently cited measure of defense (by the way, Bill Belichick said this week that "points, turnovers and red zone" are the most important team stats in his mind), safety James Ihedigbo insists their time at the bottom is ending. "You never want to be last at anything in life," said Ihedigbo. "The fact that we're ranked 32nd in the league puts a nasty taste in our mouths and it's something - we're at the midpoint of the season - it's not something that has to change, it will change."This week, the Patriots play Ihedigbo'sold team, the Jets. He spent three seasons there, primarily as a special teams guy. With the Patriots, his role's been bigger. Starting in Week 5, the Patriots' win over the Jets, Ihedigbo's seen significant time. The time will grow more significant now as fellow safetyJosh Barrett has been put on injured reserve. "I definitely feel for him," said Ihedigbo. "It's something that's tough. You battle back from injury (Barrett had a broken thumb) and then have a tough calf injury like that at the end of the game. Tough for that to happen."Safety's been a big concern all season. The Patriots let steady James Sanders and inconsistent Brandon Meriweather go before the season. Now New England has a hobbled Patrick Chung back there as well."We'll definitely embrace the challenge (of playing the Jets)," said Ihedigbo. "It's a great opportunity this week coming up. Big game. Spotlight's definitely on us and people want to see what are the Patriots gonna do, are they gonna fold or are they gonna bounce back? It's definitely a statement game for us back in the secondary and I'll go out and say that it's a big game for us on our part."And the stat that tells no tales - wins and losses - will be the most important one after this one.

Contact Us