Get it shawtaay
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
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Hint: its not a total makeover.
Look back at the '00-'01 offseason. The team as constructed then wasn't star studded, but Coach Belichick went out and got two missing ingredients, that helped the defense come into its own as a reliable and playmaking unit.
1) He brought in a stabilizing core of depth players. Not superstars, but guys who make the right play more often and not and weren't in high demand. Roman Phifer, Mike Vrabel, Anthony Pleasant, Otis Smith (well he was the previous offseason), Larry Izzo, guys like that (you can include Cox and Buckley if you want).
2) He got a "missing-piece" type player up front who could disrupt a play in a million ways in Richard Seymour.
Suddenly, the defense was pretty good. They made a lot of timely plays, stiffened at the right times, allowed few points, and ultimately went on to frustrate Kurt Warner and the high-flying Rams offense. Not because they were uber-talented, but they had the right mix.
Looking at this off-season, with the salary crunch that is about to go down, a lot of veteran defenders will be available. Some of them will get big contracts, but some will fly under the radar or wish to sign for a chance at a title. The Pats have much less cap space than they did in 2000, but also have a draw for free agents they did not have back then. If they can pull off a similar coup in free agent (acquire reliable veteran talent at a good value) and grab a penetrating presence in the draft, I will be very optimistic about the unit in 2013.
Addendum: Here's a list of guys with big cap hits, who could conceivably become available. All it takes is one guy to leave some money on the table and sign here, and all are players who could potentially be of use IMO. Some pipe-dreaming, but why not.
DT: Jonathan Babineaux, Kevin Williams, Domata Peko, Antonio Smith, Will Smith, Chris Canty, Tommy Kelly, Antonio Garay
LB: Jonathan Vilma, James Harrison, Quincy Black
LB/S hybrid role: Adrian Wilson, Roman Harper
SS: Charles Woodson, Antoine Bethea
CB/S "star": Antrel Rolle, Michael Huff
CB: Champ Bailey, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dunta Robinson, Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, Josh Wilson, Jason Allen
Look back at the '00-'01 offseason. The team as constructed then wasn't star studded, but Coach Belichick went out and got two missing ingredients, that helped the defense come into its own as a reliable and playmaking unit.
1) He brought in a stabilizing core of depth players. Not superstars, but guys who make the right play more often and not and weren't in high demand. Roman Phifer, Mike Vrabel, Anthony Pleasant, Otis Smith (well he was the previous offseason), Larry Izzo, guys like that (you can include Cox and Buckley if you want).
2) He got a "missing-piece" type player up front who could disrupt a play in a million ways in Richard Seymour.
Suddenly, the defense was pretty good. They made a lot of timely plays, stiffened at the right times, allowed few points, and ultimately went on to frustrate Kurt Warner and the high-flying Rams offense. Not because they were uber-talented, but they had the right mix.
Looking at this off-season, with the salary crunch that is about to go down, a lot of veteran defenders will be available. Some of them will get big contracts, but some will fly under the radar or wish to sign for a chance at a title. The Pats have much less cap space than they did in 2000, but also have a draw for free agents they did not have back then. If they can pull off a similar coup in free agent (acquire reliable veteran talent at a good value) and grab a penetrating presence in the draft, I will be very optimistic about the unit in 2013.
Addendum: Here's a list of guys with big cap hits, who could conceivably become available. All it takes is one guy to leave some money on the table and sign here, and all are players who could potentially be of use IMO. Some pipe-dreaming, but why not.
DT: Jonathan Babineaux, Kevin Williams, Domata Peko, Antonio Smith, Will Smith, Chris Canty, Tommy Kelly, Antonio Garay
LB: Jonathan Vilma, James Harrison, Quincy Black
LB/S hybrid role: Adrian Wilson, Roman Harper
SS: Charles Woodson, Antoine Bethea
CB/S "star": Antrel Rolle, Michael Huff
CB: Champ Bailey, Nnamdi Asomugha, Dunta Robinson, Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, Josh Wilson, Jason Allen