Re: A simple question...ascention or decline
It's hard to say. Injuries can quickly make one area much weaker. Coming into last season, we appeared to be absolutely stacked at wide receiver. Look what happened.
Moss- separated shoulder most of the year
Welker- Banged up for first four weeks, then seriously injured in last week
Tate- Knee injury (he was the reason why we thought Galloway loss minimal)
Edelman- Broke his arm early on and didn't come back until the end of the year
Meanwhile, the "sieve" defense that everyone talked about was actually pretty darn good. They only allowed 285 points, for second best in the AFC. The problem was putting teams away and making big stops late in road games. Had the Patriots taken care of business like in the past and not blown 10+ point leads (that almost NEVER happened before last year), I think people would not be lamenting our talent. Do people realize that our point differential was better than the Colts, even before the Colts packed it in? The question is: what caused the team to play so poorly late in games and against Baltimore? Is it just one of those statistical flukes, lack of leadership, or something else? I think that most people would agree that we are still a very good team and there's no reason to blow it up just yet.
It seems that Belichick thinks the team is much better than their last game, as he has decided to bring back the core of the team rather than try to rebuild through free agency. But as Reiss wrote this week, this draft is absolutely KEY. We can no longer afford to strike out in the draft. Personally, I don't think the Patriots have done anything wrong in letting players go. Samuel wanted too much. Seymour wanted too much. The problem is, in the past we've been able to plug these holes by savvy drafting and player development. When players stop panning out, everyone looks at the former players. Did we forget that Samuel was drafted and developed as a cheap but productive alternative to Ty Law, who wanted too much?
In closing this rather long essay, I think we are still in a good position to contend for a Super Bowl, but the draft is absolutely key. Free agency has typically been a time for the Patriots to bring in some low-profile veterans. The Patriots continue to do business the exact same way they've done for ten years, and it's just a matter of finding players in April that will pay off and remind us why getting rid of price-hungry stars is the best policy.
