Addressing Weaknesses

I have said for a very long time that the fatal flaw in the Patriots over the last 5 years has been the inability to cover when the other team is put in obvious passing situations.
It cost us the AFCC in 2006, the SB in 2007. It was not much better in 2008, but was disguised by the lack of Brady. Last year, we uncharacteristically blew more late leads in a season that we have in a decade. (Although the coverage issues appeared to be less severe)

So, what have we done about it?
Meriwhether
Chung
McCourty
Butler
Wheatley
all drafted in the first 2 rounds in the past 3 years.
Plus we added Bodden, and McGowan

We have overturned the entire secondary in the last 3 years primarily with young players with much, much more athleticism that anyone who was here before.

What it turns into is to be determined but the spped, quickness, athleticism and coverage abilty of our secondary is BY far the best it has been in many years.
If they realize their potential and mesh, we will have the best secondary play we have had here since 2003.
Sorry to interupt, lets go back to talking about Bill Belichick being an idiot.

2 picks in 2 years.. LOL

how do you pass on Wilson??

A Dark Day in NE said:

2 picks in 2 years.. LOL

how do you pass on Wilson??

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Because we took the better player.

AndyJohnson said:

Because we took the better player.

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That is an opinion, not a fact at this point.

AndyJohnson said:

Because we took the better player.

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Where did you get that crystal ball AJ?

slash83 said:

That is an opinion, not a fact at this point.

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exactly and by the way Browns were seriously contemplating taking Wilson over Hading at 7 overall..

It is just mindboggling to even try and understand where BB and staff is coming from with this pick. With so many needs that the team has going into next season, they use their 1st round pick on one of the few areas, the secondary that you could actually say was a strength.

I can understand the first trade at 22, moving down 3 picks, I didnt mind that. But why make the 2nd trade? I really want to know what BB didnt like in Dez Bryant. You could have made certain the WR position was solitified for the start of the season without Welker and even when Welker returned you have WRs that include Moss, Welker, Bryant, Holt, Edleman and even Tate. Doesnt get much better than that. With all the talk of Moss leaving after next season, Bryant is his replacement. BB must have really seen something he didnt like.

I will be very disappointed if we dont get Kindle. If we see that he will go before we pick then we need to move up and get one of them. We definitely have the picks to move up. I would hope to get Kindle with our first 2nd round pick. With the 2nd I would look at Golden Tate and our 3rd 2nd I would look at the TE position and hopefully Pitta or Gronkowski will still be available.

In BB's biggest draft as a Patriot, so far it has been a disappointment. Teams are drafting impact players that can make a difference right away and we use our first round pick on a guy that will excell on special teams. Hopefully tomorrow is a lot better than today

The Dynasty said:

It is just mindboggling to even try and understand where BB and staff is coming from with this pick. With so many needs that the team has going into next season, they use their 1st round pick on one of the few areas, the secondary that you could actually say was a strength.

I can understand the first trade at 22, moving down 3 picks, I didnt mind that. But why make the 2nd trade? I really want to know what BB didnt like in Dez Bryant. You could have made certain the WR position was solitified for the start of the season without Welker and even when Welker returned you have WRs that include Moss, Welker, Bryant, Holt, Edleman and even Tate. Doesnt get much better than that. With all the talk of Moss leaving after next season, Bryant is his replacement. BB must have really seen something he didnt like.

I will be very disappointed if we dont get Odwick or Kindle. If we see that any of them will go before we pick then we need to move up and get one of them. We definitely have the picks to move up. I would hope to get Odwick or Kindle with our first 2nd round pick. With the 2nd I would look at Golden Tate and our 3rd 2nd I would look at the TE position and hopefully Pitta or Gronkowski will still be available.

In BB's biggest draft as a Patriot, so far it has been a disappointment. Teams are drafting impact players that can make a difference right away and we use our first round pick on a guy that will excell on special teams. Hopefully tomorrow is a lot better than today

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But the teams stacked with playmakers and game changers so we can draft CB's who are more known for their special teams abilities rather than his coverage skills.

The Dynasty said:

It is just mindboggling to even try and understand where BB and staff is coming from with this pick. With so many needs that the team has going into next season, they use their 1st round pick on one of the few areas, the secondary that you could actually say was a strength.

I can understand the first trade at 22, moving down 3 picks, I didnt mind that. But why make the 2nd trade? I really want to know what BB didnt like in Dez Bryant. You could have made certain the WR position was solitified for the start of the season without Welker and even when Welker returned you have WRs that include Moss, Welker, Bryant, Holt, Edleman and even Tate. Doesnt get much better than that. With all the talk of Moss leaving after next season, Bryant is his replacement. BB must have really seen something he didnt like.

I will be very disappointed if we dont get Odwick or Kindle. If we see that any of them will go before we pick then we need to move up and get one of them. We definitely have the picks to move up. I would hope to get Odwick or Kindle with our first 2nd round pick. With the 2nd I would look at Golden Tate and our 3rd 2nd I would look at the TE position and hopefully Pitta or Gronkowski will still be available.

In BB's biggest draft as a Patriot, so far it has been a disappointment. Teams are drafting impact players that can make a difference right away and we use our first round pick on a guy that will excell on special teams. Hopefully tomorrow is a lot better than today

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Who's Odwick? I can't find him on my board...

No the real weakness was the Pass rush. IMO drafting McCourty signifies the fails that were/are Wheatly and Wilhite, unless 4-5 corners are necessary. The third round for the patriots has been a classic throw sh*t on the wall and see what sticks. Not counting last year Kaczur and Crable have been the only things that have stuck.

Why would we presume to believe that we are better able to choose between Wilson and McCurty than Belichick?

They were close in value. Belichick made his choice.

Now, if you all didn't think we needed top help at corner that is another matter. Some of us would prefer not to depend on Wilhite, Springs and Wheatley as our nickel, dime and emergency backups.

slash83 said:

But the teams stacked with playmakers and game changers so we can draft CB's who are more known for their special teams abilities rather than his coverage skills.

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Last year it was Chung and Butler..."great special team players"...this year its Devin McCourty...BB must really want to have the best special team in the League!

Oh well...In Bill We Trust!

cubedoggy said:

Who's Odwick? I can't find him on my board...

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Odrick, he went to the Dolphins at 28. Sorry I thought he was still available

A Dark Day in NE said:

2 picks in 2 years.. LOL

how do you pass on Wilson??

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So Nnamdi Asomugha sucks? You know how many picks he has had in the last two years? Yes, it would be two. In fact, he has only three picks in the last three years. Actually, he has only 11 INTs for his career and he has been in the league since 2003. That is a whopping 1.57 picks per year average.

If you look at the completion percentage and yards of the guys he covered in college, he is pretty shutdown. I don't know if he is or isn't better than Wilson, but judging him just based on INTs is pretty silly.

A Dark Day in NE said:

how do you pass on Wilson??

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You mean the guy who showed up at the senior bowl in a bus with a picture of himself on the side?

miDeuce said:

You mean the guy who showed up at the senior bowl in a bus with a picture of himself on the side?

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Did he really do that? Well, now I know why the Jets drafted him.

AndyJohnson said:

I have said for a very long time that the fatal flaw in the Patriots over the last 5 years has been the inability to cover when the other team is put in obvious passing situations.
It cost us the AFCC in 2006, the SB in 2007. It was not much better in 2008, but was disguised by the lack of Brady. Last year, we uncharacteristically blew more late leads in a season that we have in a decade. (Although the coverage issues appeared to be less severe)

So, what have we done about it?
Meriwhether
Chung
McCourty
Butler
Wheatley
all drafted in the first 2 rounds in the past 3 years.
Plus we added Bodden, and McGowan

We have overturned the entire secondary in the last 3 years primarily with young players with much, much more athleticism that anyone who was here before.

What it turns into is to be determined but the spped, quickness, athleticism and coverage abilty of our secondary is BY far the best it has been in many years.
If they realize their potential and mesh, we will have the best secondary play we have had here since 2003.
Sorry to interupt, lets go back to talking about Bill Belichick being an idiot.

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Great post. You can't have everything. You can't overhaul an entire defense by losing Bruschi, Harrison, Vrabel, Samuel, and Seymour and then expect to have a great team right away. The Pats are committed to rebuilding their secondary. It makes sense considering the developing passing games from NYJ and Miami, as well as the obvious contenders every year like Indy, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Baltimore. Do you really think it's possible to beat those teams consistently without a great pass defense?

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but we had a little trouble stopping the passing game last season when it counted. I was as surprised as anyone that we drafted another cornerback, but I highly doubt this will end up being a disastrous pick.

Do I think this was a good pick? I have no idea, since training camp is still pretty far away. Yet I do know that the Patriots passed on Dez Bryant for a reason, which was the same that 23 other teams passed. Do you want a guy who can't understand the playbook and has tons of character issues?

I'm getting really sick of hearing that we need a pass rusher. We all know that wasn't our strong suit last year, but how many elite pass rushers for the 3-4 defense will pan out? None of them played that position in college. For every Shawn Merriman (who, by the way, can't defend the run), there are a lot of busts. The fact is the Patriots have tried to fill Vrabel's position for quite some time. They drafted Crable, who unfortunately got injured right away. They made a push for Jason Taylor in '09, and he burned them. Rampant rumors swirled that they had been trying to sign Julius Peppers, but ultimately he was too expensive. The one move they did make, the Derrick Burgess debacle, was universally hailed as a great move, since we "needed him." Need an desperation is not a good way to do business, as proven by that mistake last season. You can convince yourself that a player is good if you really need production at that position, but the reality is, how good is this player and how likely will he succeed in New England?

The only thing that concerns me is the big picture. The Pats used to be able to find guys like Seymour, Warren, and Wilfork in the draft. Now, with so many teams switching to the 3-4, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get these elite linemen. I was surprised they passed on Jared Odrick, because I thought replacing Seymour would be the #1 priority. Maybe they didn't like something about him.

Everyone keeps talking about the need for a Million Mediocre cornerbacks because of the league getting pass happy.
Let me tell you all a story, ya may have heard of it......it involves a team that had a ferocius pass-rush vs the ALL-TIME PASSING Offense in the HISTORY of the NFL.

muzz said:

Everyone keeps talking about the need for a Million Mediocre cornerbacks because of the league getting pass happy.
Let me tell you all a story, ya may have heard of it......it involves a team that had a ferocius pass-rush vs the ALL-TIME PASSING Offense in the HISTORY of the NFL.

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You do realize that the Jets had the best defense last year and they couldn't pressure the QB at all without blitzing all the time. You know why they blitzed all the time, because they could put Darrelle Revis on an island with the opposing team's best WR and they knew Revis would win the battle 9 times out of 10. Kinda goes agains your argument now doesn't it.

TriplecHamp said:

No the real weakness was the Pass rush. IMO drafting McCourty signifies the fails that were/are Wheatly and Wilhite, unless 4-5 corners are necessary. The third round for the patriots has been a classic throw sh*t on the wall and see what sticks. Not counting last year Kaczur and Crable have been the only things that have stuck.

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So the corners failed but the pass rush is the weakness?
None of those guys were 3rd rounders by the way.
But Hobbs was and he stuck.