The Patriots certainly got off to a good start defensively in the AFCCG, and Talib had a nice pass breakup on Anquan Boldin, but I think trying to extrapolate those two possessions to the rest of the game is a little ambitious.
Had the Pats been destroyed on the outside and deep portions of the field I might agree with this argument, but Kyle Arrington, who replaced Talib, actually had one of his best games of the year on the outside.
Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones were still held in check once Talib was gone and that containment of the deep passing game speaks to the quality of play from free safety Devin McCourty and Arrington/Dennard on the outside.
It was the same problems that killed the Patriots defense all year long, they could not defend the middle of the field with Steve Gregory and their linebackers, and they could not get generate consistent pass rush.
The Ravens dominated post-Talib had a lot more to do with them going non-stop air attack on the middle of the field, than it did exploiting Talib’s replacement.
