- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
- Messages
- 15,208
- Reaction score
- 12,977
Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.It's early yet, but looking ahead to mock season...do you know any halfway-decent sources for team needs analysis? I was just reminded of this, looking at thehuddlereport's 2009 Patriots top-5 needs list (RB #1, Safety not listed ).
If you are looking for analysis of the patriots, this site has the best analysis. I also find articles by Curran, Reiss and Felger add information, but no one else.
Reiss points out two statistical categories that are strongly affected by youth and inexperience. Mayo, Meriweather, Wheatley, Wilhite, Woods, Richardson, Guyton, Smith, Slater, Spann, and Redd all saw playing reps. That is a lot of inexperience, which really hurts the most in shortfield situations where hesitation is fatal. BB stayed true to his philosophy, building this team for the long term and taking his lumps (including a couple-three close losses).Reiss mentions in his mailbag a need to address the secondary.
Ask Reiss: Moving parts - The Boston Globe
Mike, it was difficult to watch football this past weekend with the Pats out. Obviously, the major offseason question will be Tom Brady. After Tom, What do you see as the top three or four priorities for this offseason? What might be some names out there? Are they all on the defensive side of the ball?
Jim, Seminole, Fla.
A: Jim, my answer would be: Defense, defense, defense. I think as Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli and Co., go through their postseason evaluation, two statistics will stand out to them: 26th in third-down defense; 31st in the red zone. I think those statistics speak to two areas – pass coverage and pass rush. I know how much Belichick respects defensive football and I can’t imagine he felt too good at what unfolded at times this season, and I believe he’d now acknowledge the team made a mistake with its 2006-based analysis regarding Asante Samuel (they should have locked him up to an extension when the price was more reasonable before he hit the open market in 2007). So I think the offseason priority has to be not just personnel-based, but also scheme-based. How can the Patriots become a better coverage team and a bit more of an attacking unit? Obviously, they have offensive needs (I’d put tight end up there, maybe a third receiver), but I think the main focus will be on defense. I don’t have any names at this point, as I’m still digging out from the 2008 season itself.
Reiss points out two statistical categories that are strongly affected by youth and inexperience. Mayo, Meriweather, Wheatley, Wilhite, Woods, Richardson, Guyton, Smith, Slater, Spann, and Redd all saw playing reps. That is a lot of inexperience, which really hurts the most in shortfield situations where hesitation is fatal. BB stayed true to his philosophy, building this team for the long term and taking his lumps (including a couple-three close losses).