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When Bill took over in 2000, the team was a mess. It was in salary cap hell and he knew it. Between 2000 and 2001 he brought in low budget guys like Anthony Pleasant, Bobby Hamilton, Bryan Cox, Mike Vrabel, etc. The Pats defense for those 2 years was a 4-3.
As everyone knows, the Pats won the 2001 SB in the 4-3 and a starting line of :
Hamilton, Brandon Mitchell, Richard Seymour, Anthony Pleasant. They had Vrabel, Bruschi and Phifer as the LBs. Ty Law, Otis Smith, Lawyer Milloy, and Tebuckey Jones in the Secondary.
NOW, lets looks at today's Pats, but from the secondary to the Line.
The secondary now has Revis, Browner/Dennard as the Starters. Ryan, Arrington as the back-ups. Browner could very well see time as the Big Nickel or even the starting Safety opposite McCourty. At Safety, the Pats have McCourty on one side and either Browner/Harmon/Draftee on the other side.
For linebackers, the Pats have Mayo, Collins, and Hightower with some questions behind them in Beauharnais and Ja'Gared Davis.
Up front is where the questions are. At DE, they have Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. Ninkovich can be moved back to OLB in a pinch. They also have Michael Buchanon, who showed some stuff early, but was replaced by Andre Carter as the season went on. They also have Jake Bequette who has underwhelmed since being drafted. There is definite need here.
The inside gets even more convoluted with the rumor that Big Vince has asked for his release after the Patriots supposedly approached him about an extension and restructure of his contract. The Pats do have some depth here, though. They have Tommy Kelly, Chris Jones, Sealver Siliga and Joe Vellano. They also have the untested Armond Armstead and Marcus Forston.
Chris Jones proved he is a good pass rusher, but the opposing team doubled him up on many rushing plays last year, opening gaping holes. Joe Vellano just didn't have what it took to be a NT and was taken out with a single blocker more often than not. Sealver Siliga is a good guy at NT when singled, but can't handle the double teams.
Seeing Wilfork go is going to hurt, no matter what. But it's not the end of the world if the Pats switch back to the traditional 4-3 instead of the 4-3 "Under" which relies on having a true Nose Tackle. All the Pats need is someone like an Alex Carrington to take the DT spot next to Kelly or Armond Armstead to step up and play at a level close to what Brandon Mitchell provided us those many years ago and I think this defense could be easily as good as the 2001 defense.
As everyone knows, the Pats won the 2001 SB in the 4-3 and a starting line of :
Hamilton, Brandon Mitchell, Richard Seymour, Anthony Pleasant. They had Vrabel, Bruschi and Phifer as the LBs. Ty Law, Otis Smith, Lawyer Milloy, and Tebuckey Jones in the Secondary.
NOW, lets looks at today's Pats, but from the secondary to the Line.
The secondary now has Revis, Browner/Dennard as the Starters. Ryan, Arrington as the back-ups. Browner could very well see time as the Big Nickel or even the starting Safety opposite McCourty. At Safety, the Pats have McCourty on one side and either Browner/Harmon/Draftee on the other side.
For linebackers, the Pats have Mayo, Collins, and Hightower with some questions behind them in Beauharnais and Ja'Gared Davis.
Up front is where the questions are. At DE, they have Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. Ninkovich can be moved back to OLB in a pinch. They also have Michael Buchanon, who showed some stuff early, but was replaced by Andre Carter as the season went on. They also have Jake Bequette who has underwhelmed since being drafted. There is definite need here.
The inside gets even more convoluted with the rumor that Big Vince has asked for his release after the Patriots supposedly approached him about an extension and restructure of his contract. The Pats do have some depth here, though. They have Tommy Kelly, Chris Jones, Sealver Siliga and Joe Vellano. They also have the untested Armond Armstead and Marcus Forston.
Chris Jones proved he is a good pass rusher, but the opposing team doubled him up on many rushing plays last year, opening gaping holes. Joe Vellano just didn't have what it took to be a NT and was taken out with a single blocker more often than not. Sealver Siliga is a good guy at NT when singled, but can't handle the double teams.
Seeing Wilfork go is going to hurt, no matter what. But it's not the end of the world if the Pats switch back to the traditional 4-3 instead of the 4-3 "Under" which relies on having a true Nose Tackle. All the Pats need is someone like an Alex Carrington to take the DT spot next to Kelly or Armond Armstead to step up and play at a level close to what Brandon Mitchell provided us those many years ago and I think this defense could be easily as good as the 2001 defense.