Schefter: Burgess re-signed to one-year deal

captain stone said:

The Burgess re-signing is better than nothing, which is the number barely above which the talent level of our OLBs still sits.

If Bill had played his cards right, not one of these guys would even be on our roster except as camp competition/fodder.

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Wow, so the Pats should have had five OLBs better than Banta-Cain if only Bill had played his cards right? Cool, tell me who!

tanked_as_usual said:

at this point, all we have is hope

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Same as 31 other teams

This is BB creating competition in camp and geting depth. While most of us would feel far better if we had an OLB better than TBC as a pass rusher, it is what it is. Players get injured in camp, and I don't just mean my man The Crab at OLB.

Rob0729 said:

Burgess had a pretty good moth of December.

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I never knew Mr. Burgess was an aspiring Entomologist. The December Moth:

patchick said:

Wow, so the Pats should have had five OLBs better than Banta-Cain if only Bill had played his cards right? Cool, tell me who!

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I'm sure he means he would've drafted cushing, signed peppers to a 20m/yr deal and converted him, brought colvin back, drafted a pro bowler in the first this year instead of a corner, and.......hmmmm.......maybe a cousin?

To me, this is the TBC deal of last year.

One year, probably for veteran minimum of a guy who (now) knows the system.

Excellent. It's these kind of "pieces of the puzzle" deals (i.e. Roman Pfifer, Andruzzi, Ted Washington) that are as important in total as the big name deals.

Glad to have him back, showed improvement towards the end of the year, and a "bridge player" for some of our young'us...

AndyJohnson said:

Same as 31 other teams

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wrong......31 other teams at least have some expectation at OLB

shmessy said:

To me, this is the TBC deal of last year.

One year, probably for veteran minimum of a guy who (now) knows the system.

Excellent. It's these kind of "pieces of the puzzle" deals (i.e. Roman Pfifer, Andruzzi, Ted Washington) that are as important in total as the big name deals.

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roman phifer???? BAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!

you're funny

tanked_as_usual said:

wrong......31 other teams at least have some expectation at OLB

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So, you're saying by some miracle of statistics, the Patriots are the ONLY team in the NFL who has below average outside linebackers?

Good resigning. Definitely better than nothing.
Pats are having a really solid offseason.

tanked_as_usual said:

roman phifer???? BAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!

you're funny

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I don't get it.

Sicilian said:

So, you're saying by some miracle of statistics, the Patriots are the ONLY team in the NFL who has below average outside linebackers?

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Forgive tanked. He tries really hard to mask his "glass half full" approach to all things Patriots, and occasionally comes across as something of of an exaggerated pessimist.

I am glad to see Burgess return for depth. The Pats of recent years have really not had world-beater LBs talent-wise (more system players), and given the results with higher priced talent (Colvin with injuries and now Thomas) I am not opposed to the trial and error process with draft picks. Much of that result turns on the defensive line and its performance.

tanked_as_usual said:

wrong......31 other teams at least have some expectation at OLB

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But 31 other teams all have questions at positions.

The OLB position still needs to be improved IMO but the roster is better for having Burgess resigned.

Derrick Burgess has been on the sidelines, available to any team willing to give him a one-year deal in an uncapped year.

However, he clearly outperformed Rob Ninkovich, the presumed starter given this undistinguished group. As noted, his 18 tackles and three sacks in the final four regular-season games (did he not show up against Jacksonville?) dwarfed Ninkovich's 8 tackles and zero sacks. And he is dramatically more reliable than Shawn Crable.

Belichick has often pointed to the need for a full season to pick up the two-gap system the Patriots use.

At worst, this increases depth at the greatest area of need.
At best, this fills the last hole on a strong team.

Another way to look at it...

At worst, the linebacker corps will perform equally well as they did in 2009. Not world beaters, but not terrible.

At best, with Burgess and Ninkovich a year deep into the system, the youngsters a year more experienced and the drafting of Cunningham and Spikes, this group could be far better in 2010.

Regardless, we no longer have to worry about Belichick's hand being forced into starting inexperience by lack of depth.

It's a good signing in that it gives us depth and some stability. Better than not having him and he will be into year two of a tough system to master, by all accounts......................

However, I still want a Greg Ellis/Demarcus ware type so bad I can taste it!

All and all I am glad to see him brought back for another season.........

good re-sign by the pats he is 100 times better then Rob Ninkovich, he is a better pass rusher then Pierre Woods, let's just hope that Jermaine Cunningham, can bring something to the table as a rookie.

VJCPatriot said:

Pass rush SOLVED!

Hehe, well not entirely. But I could see Burgess becoming an 8 sack guy if he wins the starting job and really gets the system. Pats were never built on 1 dominant pass rusher anyways. As long as you can bring pressure from all parts of the field, DL/LB, DB blitz etc., this defense will work.

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I know you meant this as sarcasm, but I don't. Pass Rush is yesterday's problem,and has been solved. In the last 8 games, Burgess produced 5 of his 6 sacks, 6 of 6 QB hits, and 18 of his 23 QB pressures. It took a while, but now he knows what he is doing, in the Belichick read-and-react 3-4 D.

He didn't play in Jacksonville blowout, so than the numbers project to 11.5 sacks, 13.5 QB hits and 41 QB pressures. Is that enough from one position, and good enough for y'all?

I'm more concerned with what concerned Belichick so badly, aiding the pass rush by stopping the run, and creating more 3rd and long, obvious, passing situations. Those were few and far between last season.

Then the rushers can rush, and the secondary can prepare to cover. This Defense was not far from being extremely good last season, but also not far from being very poor too. Tightening up the Rush Defense was and is, the first order of the day,and am absolute imperative. The Pass Rush will take care of itself, then.

Your other comments are spot on. The Pats were never a dominant rusher team.