Lost in the discussion of the all the fuss being made over the the Patriots offense is the fact that their defense is quietly one of the more interesting aspects of this football team heading into Sunday's opener in Buffalo.

The problems they dealt with last season are well documented. They averaged 271.4 passing yards per game allowed, but clamped down when it came to keeping teams out of the endzone after finishing tied with the Texans for the 9th spot for points per game given up. Surprisingly they even finished tied for 5th in interceptions, which after hearing people constantly complain about how bad that unit was last year seems hard to believe.

Looking at what transpired early on last season, one of the biggest problems they had weregiving up the big play in the passing game. Through the first eight games they gave up 14 pass plays of over 30 yards, including five for over 40 and two of over 50.

Aqib Talib is battling for a big payday after this season. (USA TODAY Images)

The second half of last year they allowed a total of seven, which was obviously a big improvement and it's one of the reasons why they found themselves, once again, in the AFC Championship game. You can obviously point to the acquisition of Aqib Talib, but it's fair to say that it was also a product of guys finally settling into their roles and getting better with their overall execution.

Getting pressure on the quarterback is also something that has seemingly been an