BTW- this is a great debate. Here is my 2 cents
Here we have an analysis that makes certain value judgements based on uncertain perameters, THEN we have fans who are making value judgements BASED on these uncertain perameters. The result: UNCERTAIN.
A good case can be clearly made by BOTH sides. Vince is a deteriorating asset, or Vince was a victim of mediocre LB play, statistical anomonlies, or both. Personally I think the problem was not in the DL or LBs, but in the secondary. One thing the analysis COULDN'T show was what kind of defense was in place when the run occurred. I contend that because the Pats secondary was in such disarray, whether through injury or bad play, that Pats were hamstrung in how they played defense. The were limited in what they could play and how flexible they could be. They often couldn't take advantage of match ups they might have had with the front 7, because they had to protect a weak back end. Bottom line, you just rarely saw the true Pats D, that BB envisioned at the start of the season.
Why do I think that? Just look at what BB did in the off season. Sure he added a top pick at DL, but he'd do that anyway. He has ALWAYS prioritized the DL. However he didn't just add a young player or two to the secondary mix, he DISMANTLED the secondary and completely rebuilt it. And the result, IMHO is (on paper) the most talented, deepest, and biggest secondary in BB's reign. Don't forget that over the last few years we have been forced to START with JAGS like Mike Richardson, Hank Potete, and Louis Sanders, etc due to injuries, and bad signings. This season they will probably start 2 guys who were their team's best CB(Springs/Bodin), backed up by 2 guys with enough talent to press for those starting positions (Willhite/Wheatley) backed up a guy who might be eventually be better than all 4 of them (Butler) When were we looking at anything better than that. Safety is less deep, but comparitively more talented than last year. It is younger, faster, and more athletic. Granted it only goes 3 deep, before you get into the JAGs, but its a lot better than last season.
What does it mean? Well IF it works out. If Springs can remain healthy. IF Bodin returns to his Cleveland production playing in the Pats D. IF Wilhite and Wheatley have made the quantum leap from rookies to 2nd year men and start to meet their potential. IF Butler and Chung are the guys we hoped for when they were drafted. Well IF most of those IFS become reality, it will reflect well on the ENTIRE defense. A better secondary means a better pass rush. A better secondary means a better run defense. A better secondary means that BB can return to the multiple agressive sets we've seen in the past. A more flexible defense week to week is a better defense, and it all starts with the rebuilt secondary
BTW we all sometimes forget that despite the bad defense last season, and the loss of Brady; the Pats DID win ELEVEN GAMES, which for 95% of the NFL is a huge season.
As to who is a more valuable asset, Seymour or Wilfolk, and which should you sign? I'm split. IMHO, clearly Seymour is the more valuable. First he's a full 3 down player who not only is a great run stuffer, he CAN, when given the opportunity, rush the passer. He also can play all 3 DL positions. This, IMO, trumps the arguement that a great NT is so rare, that he must be cherished. On the other hand, if I had to sign one, it would be Wilfolk, for the simple reason that I think the day his contract ends, Seymour is out of here. We all know at BEST the Pats will give him an offer equal to the highest offer he would see in FA. and that's unlikely....and if thats the case, Richard would simply rather go down south. In fact perhaps the best solution would be some kind of Peppers for Seymour swap with the Panthers, and then signing Wilfork to an extention.
We still have to remember that the first rule of capology is that for every dollar you give one player there is one less dollar for everyone else. You simply CANNOT sign everyone, because for every high end salary made, there are 4 end and middle of the roster players who are affected, and we should all know by now how important the back end of your roster is. This is especially true since you never know when a player is going to be lost for the season. Having a roster full of high end salaries is really unproductive. You can do in Basketball, but not football.