Anyone agree with Riess?

[Brady to Brown]

Mike Reiss has listed the following positions in order of (importance - need) for the Patriots going forward. Do you agree with him?

1/ LB
2/ CB
3/ WR
4/ S
5/ RB
6/ P
7/TE's
8/ OL
9/ DL

 

[unoriginal]

With all the punters we have, I'd slide that position down the list past TE, as Graham is bound to be a tougher signing than, say, Sauerbrun. We got good production from two punters last year, Sauerbrun and Miller.

RB and OL are where they are because, while we might not have that Pro Bowl player (Matt Light notwithstanding), they are deep, deep, deep as rosters allow, and most everybody's under contract or badly wants to come back (Evans).

S I can understand being a lower "need" than WR since we have all those players on IR, even if at the end we were better off at WR than S. And you can never have too many young corners on a team. The last three years have demonstrated that admirably.

 

[sieglo]

I actually agree with Reiss 100% straight down the line.

 

[spacecrime]

I actually agree with Reiss 100% straight down the line.

Me, too. If I made any change, it would be to swap W and S. But then, I'm assuming Chad will come through so for today, I guess out WR up front.

I think LB and CB ae such big needs, I would leave them #1 and #2 even if we signed A Thomas and A Samuel prior to the draft.

I also agree with Reiss who says in his piece the Pats will be looking for a young DL to develop as Hill as done squat for the last three years. That will likely be a serendipitious value pick, though, should someone promising slip to them (This last thought is mine not Reiss's)

 

[mgteich]

He must be thinking that Graham will re-sign.

Mike Reiss has listed the following positions in order of (importance - need) for the Patriots going forward. Do you agree with him?

1/ LB
2/ CB
3/ WR
4/ S
5/ RB
6/ P
7/TE's
8/ OL
9/ DL

 

[PATRIOT64]

Ill put WR over CB in terms of importance - We have held up well in the past few years with Joe Shmoes out there and they played pretty decent - WR is an area where Tom needs better talent,IMO Caldwell and Gaffney are in and out 2nd and 3rd string receivers,regardless of how they played last year.

No way Tom can do another year without a game breaker WR,It would be very tough especially considering our division may be one of the best next year-All four teams should have at least 7 wins.

Maybe a rookie might not be the game breaker we need,maybe we get someone in FA but you never know who the next Colston will be this year,If there is one that is

 

[patsox23]

I agree with Reiss.

 

[RayClay]

I would put safety before WR. After that, BPA. Or value or whatever we don't really have "needs" after that.

Punter? I think we have 2 good ones and young competition.

 

[AirForcePatFan]

Riess's order:

1/ LB
2/ CB
3/ WR
4/ S
5/ RB
6/ P
7/TE's
8/ OL
9/ DL

My order:
1) ILB
2) S
3) CB
4) WR
5) OL
6) DL
7) TE
8) OLB
9) RB

 

[Mike the Brit]

I think that Josh Miller is just fine -- yes, he got injured and we had to scratch around a bit, but so what? -- and I'd by happy to see the Patriots draft a developmental quarterback in the later rounds (I don't think that they should need a Vinny/Jim Miller/Doug Flutie if Matt Cassel is really coming on as we all hope so there is room for a young third quarterback). Otherwise, I'm with Reiss.

 

[DarrylS]

Not much I would change here, only obvious thing is flip flopping the 3 & 4 slots, I think another safety is a bigger need than a WR.

 

[dtbrks]

For the most part, i agree with his top 1/2, and think the bottom half could be a little different.

 

[dhamz]

He must be thinking that Graham will re-sign.

Or like many others he thinks a TE duo of Watson and Thomas is pretty good - not as good as a trio of the two of them plus Graham but hardly a weakness.

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

For the most part I agree but I was surprised to see his slot for punter. I would also prioritize a safety over a WR. The WR's we have are coachable works in progress so I'd almost tend to concentrate on developing what we have rather than adding more,unless of course somebody pops onto the draft radar that's just too good to bypass.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

Mike Reiss has listed the following positions in order of (importance - need) for the Patriots going forward. Do you agree with him?

1/ LB
2/ CB
3/ WR
4/ S
5/ RB
6/ P
7/TE's
8/ OL
9/ DL

I would change it some:

1. LB
2. CB
3. S
4. RB (I don't feel comfortable with just Maroney/Dillon/Faulk considering this past year's injury, dinged up situation. I want a FA RB or a day 1 draft prospect.)

5. WR
6. TE

OL/DL/P.....I think we are set here for now and don't anticipate any day 1 picks unless someone just falls into our laps we don't expect.

 

[carolinatony]

the top 4 are critical to me

1) ILB...maybe 2 players here
2) S
3) WR
4) CB
*******************************
5) OL
6) DL
7) TE
8) OLB
9) RB

 

[DaBruinz]

With all the punters we have, I'd slide that position down the list past TE, as Graham is bound to be a tougher signing than, say, Sauerbrun. We got good production from two punters last year, Sauerbrun and Miller.

RB and OL are where they are because, while we might not have that Pro Bowl player (Matt Light notwithstanding), they are deep, deep, deep as rosters allow, and most everybody's under contract or badly wants to come back (Evans).

S I can understand being a lower "need" than WR since we have all those players on IR, even if at the end we were better off at WR than S. And you can never have too many young corners on a team. The last three years have demonstrated that admirably.

When did we get good production from Sauerbrun? Was it the 9 yards per return in the play-offs (on 16 punts) or the 25 yards per return during the season?

We all know that Miller`s stats went up because of his shoulder injury. What was Sauerbruns excuse?

 

[everlong]

Overall I agree here's my breakdown.

1/ LB

Without a doubt be it the draft or FA we need depth, youth and speed. Colvin and Vrabel are very good starters going into this season but we need some guys to bring along for future years. If TBC comes back he's a good back up and a great situational pash rusher. If not we need somebody to fill that role.

Inside we have Bruschi who needs to play more of the Ted Johnson role on going forward and that's it unless you plan on moving Vrabel inside permanently which doesn't make sense. Resigning Seau is a good first step but we need at least one solid ILB who can step in right now and play and we need some youth for the future.

I would love to see us add Thomas. He can play inside our outside which would give us so much flexibility especially against teams like Indy, Cincy and SD.


2/ CB

Depends a lot on Samuel. If he's signed long term we have two good starters but suspect depth. If he signs we can draft somebody in the middle rounds as a project and then sign an FA for solid depth.

Gay - Injury prone you cannot count on him.

Mickens - On the tail end of his career. Can still play the nickle but not much more.

Scott - Can play safety, nickle, cover the TE and bigger WRs. I think he still has value on this team but if Samuel or Hobbs go down he's not an every down CB.

Spann - Good on special teams but still developing.

Andrews - Good on special teams but still developing.

3/ WR

We need somebody to fill the Deion Branch / David Patten role. Be it a Kevin Curtis in FA or a Anthony Gonzalez in the draft we need the guy who can stretch the field and at the same time sit down in the zone over the middle on the deep to intermediate routes.

I think Caldwell and Gaffney can fill the roles of Brown and Givens going forward and Brown gives us a solid veteran who knows the system inside out, leads by example, and will do whatever it takes to win.

I'd love to see Childress get a shot but you have to ask why he seems to be right there and yet never makes it. I know injuries have played a role but there seems to be something else.

4/ S

I think this is a bigger need than most. When Rodney is out this is a different team because we don't have that intimidating force. Eugene Wilson hasn't played solid physical football since the 04 SB. For those who keep saying we'll just plug in Wilson at CB if Samuel get dealt I don't see where that faith is coming from. He cannot cover TEs one on one when he gets matched up playing safety so he certainly isn't going to cover a top WR.

When was the last time a Patriots safety laid out a WR like Tebucky did on Torry Holt in SB 36? Or Wilson on Wayne and Stokley in the AFC Championship game in 03?

I think Sanders is a average to good SS in the making but he still gets caught out of position too often. He's solid against the run, in the passing game he scares me still. Still young and the combination of Rodney and Sander is probably good enough at SS.

FS Hawkins isn't a good FS. He is out of position and takes bad angles. Between Scott and Hawkins there were a ton of big plays given up and there could have been a lot more that the other offense missed on. Wilson is in a contract year so maybe he'll be better but I think we need to bring in somebody to challenge him for the spot. I'd love to see them get Landry or Nelson in the draft. Both can cover some serious ground, hit and make big plays. Our defense lacks the big play ability that it has had in previous years.

I think the depth is good but the top end talent isn't there. A FS who can cover side line to side line and knock some heads would be huge.

5/ RB

I think Maroney will move up a level this year.

I look for him to have a

200-250 carry 1000-1200 yard rushing year

and

25-40 250-400 yard receiving year.

He can be huge in our passing game.

I think the biggest question is if Dillon comes back to play the Bettis role. If not then we can easily grab a Davenport or another big back. Faulk, Evans, Pass, and Mills can fill in the gaps.

6/ P

Miller was having a great year and in the top 5 in net yards before he was injured.


7/TE's

If Graham is resigned zero need. If he isn't I think Thomas will step in nicely and Mills can get some snaps. They can always draft somebody in the later rounds.

8/ OL

I think their pass blocking really came together as the year went on. The run blocking however not so much. It seemed like their was a LB or DL in the backfield every other running play. When they did block our RBs seem to bust one. Part of this can be written off to defenses stuffing the box to take away the run and short pass but I'd really like to see more pitch outs with Maroney and more zone blocking so that teams pay for aggressively trying to penetrate. We have good depth.

9/ DL

The only place I can see us lacking any depth is NT because as much as I like Wright he's really not a NT in the 3-4. Wilfork is a beast at that position. Tough to carry two top NTs however, maybe Smith will beef up some and take over some snaps.

 

[patchick]

...
8) OLB
9) RB

...
8) OLB
9) RB

Wow, neither of you see a need at OLB? You're ok with Pierre Woods as the primary backup to both Colvin and Vrabel?

.

 

[BradyManny]

As long as Chad Jackson is healthy and ready for training camp, I think WR moves down the list at least below Safety.

I think it's pretty encouraging to see that even some of our needs, such as safety, we already have a great amount of depth at, it's just a matter of upgrading or at the very least, getting guys healthy.

We were Super Bowl contenders this season, and we're going to acquire a lot of talent this offseason (via both free agency and the draft), we're not going to lose that much if anything (tagged Asante, should be able to keep TBC and maybe Graham), we have our talented rookies from this past season getting much better and more experienced, and we have key veterans on defense and special teams getting healthy (Rodney, T-Buck, Mel Mitchell). I think that makes us look in pretty good shape for next season.