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The ' unrivaled succe s this century, which includes five titles, has everything to do with the Hall of Fame careers of and Bill Belichick. Unfortunately, neither plays defense, which could not only be the downfall of the Pats in 2017 but could signal the end of a dynasty. Through four games, New England owns the 's worst defense, a point that was slammed home with a resounding thud in Gillette Stadium on Sunday against a offense that had struggled through its first three games. When it was over, Carolina had scored 33 points and racked up 444 total yards. finished 22 of 29 for 316 yards with three touchdown pa ses and one rushing touchdown. And while it  Peter Budaj Men Jersey must've been a relief for the Panthers to see Newton get back on track, we shouldn't put too much stock in one outing against a group that looked completely lost for much of the game. NESN's Doug Kyed spent much of his Marty Mcsorley Jersey  Sunday afternoon tweeting screenshots of just how confused the Patriots secondary was against straightforward Panthers formations.   Here's all alone at the bottom of the frame:   Benjamin's 43-yarder, Rowe and Gilmore both following Shepard, no one on Benjamin. Looked like Rowe thought Gilmore would pick up Benjamin.  Doug Kyed (@DougKyed)  And here's running free (again, at the bottom of the frame), completely uncovered.   Jeez. Funche s' 10-yard TD might be the biggest me s. I see 24 motion to 25 that he has Funche s. 32 tells 25 to cover TE. 24 covers TE.  Doug Kyed (@DougKyed)  And perhaps the most egregious blown coverage of the day came when no fewer than four Patriots defenders covered while sashayed into the end zone:   Whittaker TD is unbelievable. You have at least eight eyes on McCaffrey (maybe FS too) and two guys uncovered.  Doug Kyed (@DougKyed)  Kelly Hrudey Men Jersey  The movie-pictures evidence is even more damning. Not only is tight end Ed Dixon WIDE OPEN, but so is Whittaker.     Let's watch this TD again   Carolina Panthers (@Panthers)  The Patriots, whose secondary was supposed to be a strength -- especially after signing cornerback on the first day of free agency -- has been an unmitigated disaster. Gilmore called the Whittaker touchdown a "communication i sue" while safety was le s diplomatic: "Bad play. It had to look like a couple idiots out there." Safety added: "It's communication obviously something we need to work a little harder at. Obviously what we're doing is not good enough, so we need to go take a look in the mirror tonight and just look and realize. Are we doing enough to win? Are we doing enough to be good on defense? Are we doing enough to be a sound football team? Today we weren't, especially Samuel Fagemo Men Jersey  on defense."  McCourty said "you have to be concerned" about the way the defense is playing and cornerback Malcomn Butler talked about the "urgency" of correcting the problems with four games already behind them,  Trevor Lewis Jersey which makes it pretty clear where the focus should be as the Patriots prepare for a quick turnaround against the on Thursday. The Patriots have allowed 105 points in three home games this year, they allowed 124 points at Gillette all of last season. Kirk and Callahan (@KirkAndCallahan) Through four games, the Patriots have allowed 128 points. That's the most in Patriots franchise history. Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) If we've learned anything from Brady and Belichick is that it's silly to ever count the Patriots out. But this defense has the makings of a historically bad unit a month into the season -- and with a game in Tampa this Thursday, there isn't much time to fix it.