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Well, we were exposed on national TV last night, and got a good old-fashioned butt whuppin' on both sides of the ball. Not pretty. But teams that learn from their painful experiences can turn it around quickly in the NFL. The Saints were the last place team in the NFC South last year at 8-8. Now they're 11 and 0 and looking like a SB team.
After the Colts game I posted a thread looking at what I saw as I our offseason priorities:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/13/293497-after-colts-game.html
After the Saints game, I see our priorities as being fairly similar:
1. The pass rush, the pass rush, the pass rush. You just can't beat elite QB's in the NFL with no pressure. We got no pressure on Brees, and he destroyed us. We got no pressure on Manning, and he destroyed us in the 4th quarter.
2. The offensive line. With Vollmer out, our OL was exposed. I'm tired of trying to win with journeymen on the line. Vollmer is a future pro bowler at LT. Mankins is a stud OG. We need similar players on the other side of the line. Kaczur and Koppen just don't cut it, and Neal can't be relied on for the long term.
3. The run defense. The loss of Seymour has definitely hurt. The Saints didn't run for that many yards against us (they were too busy shredding us with the passing game), but they got to the 2nd level too easily too many times.
I'm much less concerned with the running backs than previously. Maroney was our best player on offense last night, running with authority (when we let him) and punishing the Saints defense. We need a better oline for him, and more commitment to the running game. Yes, we need some more youth at RB to build around him, but I don't see it being the same priority compared to those other needs.
After the Colts game I posted a thread looking at what I saw as I our offseason priorities:
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/13/293497-after-colts-game.html
After the Saints game, I see our priorities as being fairly similar:
1. The pass rush, the pass rush, the pass rush. You just can't beat elite QB's in the NFL with no pressure. We got no pressure on Brees, and he destroyed us. We got no pressure on Manning, and he destroyed us in the 4th quarter.
2. The offensive line. With Vollmer out, our OL was exposed. I'm tired of trying to win with journeymen on the line. Vollmer is a future pro bowler at LT. Mankins is a stud OG. We need similar players on the other side of the line. Kaczur and Koppen just don't cut it, and Neal can't be relied on for the long term.
3. The run defense. The loss of Seymour has definitely hurt. The Saints didn't run for that many yards against us (they were too busy shredding us with the passing game), but they got to the 2nd level too easily too many times.
I'm much less concerned with the running backs than previously. Maroney was our best player on offense last night, running with authority (when we let him) and punishing the Saints defense. We need a better oline for him, and more commitment to the running game. Yes, we need some more youth at RB to build around him, but I don't see it being the same priority compared to those other needs.