Will the Patriots suffer for Belichick's hubris?

[illmatic74]

Originally Posted by Geo

1. New England drafts two corners in Round 2 and Round 4, as indicated they would.

2. '08 Patriots' passing defense gives up 27 TDs, worst in the league except for Arizona (36). A poor secondary pretty much delivers as expected, ultimately keeping them from the playoffs. That and injuries to many of the defensive players, most of which are older guys as Belichick prefers.

3. To be fair to Belichick, he got the team as a whole to 11 wins. Just came shy of going back to the playoffs. Although that was mainly thanks to the offense, with Cassel filling in for Brady in and having a lot of talent around him.

And credit to Belichick for playing more youngsters this season than he ever has. The rookie corners didn't show much, but the rest did look promising. Mayo looks great, Guyton was a great pick-up in UDFA, and Meriweather is looking better than I thought he would.


The next Draft is coming, and people are starting to mock a first round cornerback to the Patriots again. Apparently Belichick is now going to start valuing corners in the first round? I don't buy it.

People said the same thing about him drafting LBS in the first round. Before Mayo the highest he drafted a LB was the 5th round.

[bored of education]

Originally Posted by illmatic74

People said the same thing about him drafting LBS in the first round. Before Mayo the highest he drafted a LB was the 5th round.

Becuase he had older guys that werent leaving yet or washed up. But he wil have to do it soon. Besides Mayo none that actually contribute are under 32. Bruschi and Vrable look so slow and washed up. Thomas is past his prime(may have a year or 2 left)

Guyton and Mayo(who is only legit LB now on that team) and who ever the else = not so good.

They may not draft 1st round but it is an immediate need.
But it does help having that front three which allows them to plug i alot of different players at LB

[bigbluedefense]

Originally Posted by Geo

1. New England drafts two corners in Round 2 and Round 4, as indicated they would.

2. '08 Patriots' passing defense gives up 27 TDs, worst in the league except for Arizona (36). A poor secondary pretty much delivers as expected, ultimately keeping them from the playoffs. That and injuries to many of the defensive players, most of which are older guys as Belichick prefers.

3. To be fair to Belichick, he got the team as a whole to 11 wins. Just came shy of going back to the playoffs. Although that was mainly thanks to the offense, with Cassel filling in for Brady in and having a lot of talent around him.

And credit to Belichick for playing more youngsters this season than he ever has. The rookie corners didn't show much, but the rest did look promising. Mayo looks great, Guyton was a great pick-up in UDFA, and Meriweather is looking better than I thought he would.


The next Draft is coming, and people are starting to mock a first round cornerback to the Patriots again. Some people never learn, I suppose. Apparently Belichick is now going to start valuing corners in the first round? We'll see.

as i eluded to in my original post in this thread, I don't think the secondary is as big of an issue as its made out to be. is it poor? of course, but thats not the main reason why their pass defense is so bad.

their pass defense is so bad bc they have ZERO pass rushers. their pass rush is terrible. i felt thats what they needed to address the most, but they surprised me and took an ILB instead.

granted, Mayo was a great pick, but it wasn't their biggest need. their biggest need is still a pass rusher, and I think they still need to address that before they address CB.

Merriweather is starting to grow into a solid SS, Sanders is a solid FS, they can address CB in round 2. I think they have to address OLB right away. They have a very good front 3, and their ILBs are starting to look better, but they are lacking talent on the edges. I think if you introduce some quality rushbackers to that defense, their pass D will improve at a much faster pace than adding a CB to the mix.

[Geo]

The 08 Patriots are 14th in the league in sacks, with 31.

(Even better than the Colts, lol.)

[Geo]

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

granted, Mayo was a great pick, but it wasn't their biggest need. their biggest need is still a pass rusher, and I think they still need to address that before they address CB.

That's been my thought for them in the first round this year. A young, potent pass rusher opposite Adalius Thomas, as Vrabel might not have more than one year or two years left.

I'd hate to see George Selvie go to the Pats, only because I really like him and whoever picks him up to be a 3-4 OLB is getting a stud. Clint Sintim also looks like a prime candidate.

[Smooth Criminal]

Pats have always been able to plug in anyone in the secondary because they have always had a great passrush. They have a damn good line but they dont have the linebackers to bring the pressure.

I think we're gonna see them get an OLB linebacker in round 1. Adding a young passrusher and getting Thomas back could make this defense a great unit again.

[bigbluedefense]

Originally Posted by Geo

The 08 Patriots are 14th in the league in sacks, with 31.

(Even better than the Colts, lol.)

without watching many games, my guess is bc Billy boy dialed up the blitz more than he wanted to, which lead to his secondary being exposed more.

Bill doesn't want to blitz that much, thats not the style of that scheme. only on 3rd and long does he like dialing up the blitz, and when he does, he loves bringing the safety, which is his only good player in that secondary this season.

the defense is complicated, but ultimately simple.

the theory behind it is this: a big strong front 7 that can stop the run which allows you to play 2 deep safety on all 3 downs, which puts less stress on your CBs. also allows you to come out with 3 safeties in 3 WR sets and still not lose too much in run support. theres no strongside/weakside, both sides of the defense are equal in their roles, which prevents motioning from effecting matchups.

Passive 4/5 man rushes on running downs, and occasionally pressure on 3rd down.

i can elaborate more, but i don't want to complicate it, its complex yet simple if that makes any sense.