If you want to win you had best plug the holes in the interior Offensive line. You can't win with Brady on IR.
The Pats got to two AFCCGs and a Super Bowl with much worse Defenses than they now possess, without any additions in 2011 and 2012. But the interior OL is Old, 32->33, 31->32 and 29. with only Mankins with any great ability, backed up by nothing but scrubs. Ominously, Brady was sacked 40 times this past season, a number that would be three years worth at other times.
FIX the damn line!
Stop wishing for a Gronk or Chandler Jones. The draft is barren of them, but has plenty of very talented interior Offensive linemen. Pick up a couple; and convert one to C and the other to RG.
I know its easy to complain about any shortcomings that might seem obvious to you, AZ, but reality is often much more complicated.
1. Its easy to think that "all" you have to do is pick a guy in the draft and you problems are solved. It just doesn't work that way. Even if we do pick interior OLmen that early there is no guarantee that they will be any better than what we have THIS year. David DeCastro was as sure a bet for an interior OLman as you could get in 2012, and going into his 3rd season he might even be as good as everyone hoped. But the fact remains its taken him time to get from here to there.
If you are drafting for the future, by all means use top picks to get players who will upgrade the OL in 2015. But if you are looking to improve the the team for THIS year, there are other places that could use the depth and talent that picks in the first 2 rounds generally get you.
2. You make it seem that all 40 of those sacks were the responsibility of the interior OL. Don't you think a health DA, and a more experienced and healthy trio of rookie WR's won't make a big difference in Brady's sack total. Not to mention a healthy and improved TE group, which includes the single most impactful non-QB player in the league.
AZ, by the end of last year our receiver corps was an epic mess. Boyce was on IR. Thompkins was trying to playing on a bad hip. Dobson was playing on a bad foot. DA had his Groin, Gronk was on IR, Vareen was trying to catch with a bad hand, and Hernandez in jail. So essentially all Brady was left to throw to was Hooman, Edelman, and no man.
It is going to be a LOT harder for defenses to attack Brady when he has a deeper, healthier, skillful and more experienced receiver corps. If you think about it. How many games did Brady even have this season where he threw to a healthy group of receivers. But even though I think we will be fine at WR, this team would benefit greatly if we used the first or 2nd pick on a top 4 TE.
3. Is there anyone the Pats could get at 29 or 62 who is going to be better than Marcus Cannon at RG. Don't you think that it would be a waste to draft a player that high when you already have an upgrade on the roster?
4. After the 2nd round, feel free to draft who you want. I'd welcome an offensive lineman in the 3rd or below. But what this team needs are high end additions to the DL and TE, and those players are more likely to be had in the first 2 rounds
