Patriots Defense Primed to be as Good as They Were in 2008
Since the Patriots lost Vrabel, Bruschi, Seymour, Samuel, Harrison and Hobbs in the span of three years, they have had to basically start over and rebuild their defense through the draft and free agency. Since these players have left, the Patriots have been nothing better than the 25th ranked defense for three years and counting. In 2009, (the Patriots last successful defensive season) the Patriots ranked number 11 in total NFL defensive yards allowed.
Allowing over 350+ yards per game is a stat that could be overlooked, but really it shouldn’t. Can we agree that the best player on the entire team is Brady? If we can, then you are effectively neutralizing him as he sits on the sideline while the defense struggles to get off the field. The Patriots haven’t been as bad letting up scores, but the yards they allow has been brutal and has lead directly to losses.
The Patriots remained above water for a year or two after losing all those impact players, but it soon caught up to them when in 2009 they ranked 11th but then fell to 25th in 2010. Now, looking at all the draft capital and free agency pick-ups we can see the Patriots defense is moving in the right direction to be as good, or better than they were in 2008 and 2009.
Bruschi has been eventually replaced by the maturing Mayo, who has led the team in tackles a few years in a row. Vrabel has been replaced by Hightower, who struggles in coverage, but with his second year in the league coming he is sure to make some strides. Seymour’s production has been replaced by Wilfork who was on the 2008 roster, but at a more limited capacity. Not to mention we picked up Chandler Jones, who started the year with a few sacks, but then injured himself and fell off the map a bit.
Let’s face it, the secondary was the biggest issue in these past few years, so what about that? Asante Samuel has now been replaced by Aqib Talib, who minus some injuries looked like a good cornerback. Rodney Harrison has been replaced by Devin McCourty, who seems like more of a natural at safety than a cornerback. Hobbs, who was a second cornerback, has been replaced by Dennard who looked great in his first year playing opposite of Talib. With all the young talent and high draft capital, I expect this team to gel as a unit and communicate better this season. With more experience this defense will finally be able to win the Patriots a few games.
Injuries are going to be a huge storyline on the offense this season with Gronkowski, Amendola and Hernandez all with a history of injury. I truly believe this defense will rank in the top ten this season as the Patriots ride their defense and Brady to another Championship.
Josh Brown
@TitleTownTalkSB
