FOXBORO -- No matter how many different ways he was asked yesterday -- and there were four -- Bill Belichick wouldn't say this year's New England defense is the best of the three units (offense, defense and special teams) the Patriots put on the field.

He wouldn't say he was happy with the defense, even though it ranks second in the NFL -- by six-tenths of a point -- in points allowed, a stat Belichick has said is the only one that really matters.

He wouldn't say it because, to Belichick, a football team is just that: a team, and he doesn't go much for singling out players or, for that matter, groups of players.

But regardless of what Belichick will or won't say publicly, it's hard to argue against the defense being the strength of the team this season. And it has even showed flashes, on a more and more frequent basis, of the big-play dominance displayed by its last two championship defenses.

As Artrell Hawkins noted Sunday night, don't crown the Patriots yet. But the unit has become a formidable one, and may have been helped out this season by the very thing that did it in last year: injuries.

In 2005, as player after player -- Rodney Harrison, Chad Scott, Tyrone Poole, Duane Starks, Randall Gay -- in the secondary went out with injuries, players like Hawkins (who was by no means inexperienced but was signed in mid-November), Ellis Hobbs and James Sanders saw their playing time increase.

That has paid off this year, as once again the defensive backfield has been beset by injuries, yet hasn't seemed to miss a beat.

The Pats played their game against Cincinnati -- which at the time was 3-0 and a potent offensive team -- without starters Hobbs and Eugene Wilson, and fared just fine. Against Green Bay two weeks ago, Troy Brown was back in as a nickle back and did an admirable job on Donald Driver.

But as well as the secondary has held up, the strength of the defensive is the front seven, an experienced bunch that has enjoyed a fair amount of stability this season, though that will change a bit with Junior Seau missing the rest of the year.

While Belichick may want to eschew most stats, it seems fair to give them a look now that we're 12 weeks into the season.

New England is allowing just 13.1 points per game, second to Chicago, which gives up 12.5.

Perhaps almost as importantly, the Pats are third in red-zone defense. Opponents have gotten inside the 20 a league-low 21 times, putting a touchdown on the board in eight of those trips (plus seven field goals).

Only one opposing running back has totaled more than 100 rushing yards: Denver's Tatum Bell.

Just three opposing quarterbacks have recorded quarterback ratings of 90 or better: the Broncos' Jake Plummer (101.5), the Colts' Peyton Manning (93.1) and the Jets' Chad Pennington (92.8) in New York's first game against New England.

The Patriots have allowed the fifth-fewest first downs in the league (181), given up just 2 of 8 fourth-down conversions and turned back third-down tries nearly 63 percent of the time (93-for-148).

And while their giveaway/takeaway differential is just plus-1, the Pats were on their game in that area against the Bears. Asante Samuel had three interceptions, the final one to seal the win, and Richard Seymour had a key fumble recovery in the red zone.

Keep in mind that it is now after Thanksgiving, the time when New England has made great strides in recent seasons ("There's a lot at stake" in November and December, Belichick said), and those numbers could get even better.

smanza@projo.com / (401) 277-7340