Donaldson: Don't expect much improvement from the Patriots defense

[unoriginal]

Patriots: Don’t expect much improvement from Jim Donaldson's writing

He's just a system writer.

 

[BradyFTW!]

No one seems to be mentioning MacKenzie. I know it's a long shot for a rookie to come in and contribute from the get go, but this kid sounds like he has a solid head on his shoulders and has experience in multiple systems, which could help him in terms of his uptake speed. He seems like a solid candidate to eventually platoon with Guyton in the middle.

I agree that linebackers are a question mark, but they must really like some of the strides the youngsters are making. I do agree that the depth isn't ideal, at least on paper.



Deltha O'Neal won't be starting. For that reason alone, I can't possibly fathom how the DBs could be any worse.

Barring another season of ridiculous injuries, this defense should be better. JMO.

Especially since there is precedent for ILBs contributing as rookie in this offense (see: 2008)

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

I'm starting to hate Twitter less.

I guess I'm not the only 1 that isn't a big Twitter fan...

 

[BradyFTW!]

Let me give it a shot:

AD - another year older
Missed half the year with a broken arm last year anyways. Even if he is a half-step slower, he's better than rosevelt colvin...
Woods - nothing special when playing and a step down from Vrabel, to be kind
2008 Vrabel? Care to explain to me what Vrabel did that was so special in 2008? And even Woods was IRed, so just by being on the roster he's *still* an upgrade.
Crable - tinkertoy calves
man, the Pats must really suck at talent evaluation not to have noticed that. If it was that open-and-shut a case, why the hell would they spend a third round pick on him?
Harrison - gone
Wasn't good anymore, and was IRed for most of the season anyways.
Williams - useless
then he won't play, and it won't matter
Wheatley - rookie who lost time
And now he's not a rook. He's had time to learn, and therefore, it stands to reason that he'll be better, yeah? Unless you think that a broken wrist means he just stopped practicing for a year
Hobbs - gone
probably the one legitimate point you've made, although Bodden alone more than offsets it
Rudd or Redd - neither did anything
They didn't do anything last year either- even if they do nothing this year, it'll be a wash at worst
Wilhite - not exactly stellar during his time
Will he be better this year than he was last year? Even if not, he went from a starter to a 4th-5th string guy, so that's an improvement
Oh yeah- and they had an UDFA starting at ILB last year, so the argument that a third round pick won't be ready to contribute doesn't exactly hold. One way or the other, ILB will be improved.

The pessimist can make some valid points right now. OTAs, training camp and the exhibition games will shake things out and give us a better sense of what the team has. Until that happens, though, there are plenty of question marks on the squad, at least for those who don't get to see the team on a daily basis.

Epic fail all around, Deus. Gotta say, I expect better from you.

 

[PATRIOT64]

Injuries which WILL happen along the way and age from Bruschi,Thomas and Springs may all play a role of whether our defense will suck to high heaven or will it be a good unit - The veterans will play a BIG role in the success or demise of this defense.

NOTHING will be certain before a few games are done and the defense is ranked up or down in the league - We should know by mid October if we will suck on D or be a good one,especially in a secondary that is almost totally redone and reshaped and re-assembled from top to bottom from where it was years ago.

I will say this,A near totally new secondary will usually be one of two things - Really good or really bad,usually its not somewhere in the middle,its usually one or the other - We will be either top 10 or bottom 10 in the league on defense as a whole when all is said and done - Bank on it!

 

[eom]

I'm starting to hate Twitter less.

poty


.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Didn't read the article. Probably won't read it. Donaldson is a hack and has been for as long as I can remember. I'm surprised he still has a job.

 

[Deus Irae]

Epic fail all around, Deus. Gotta say, I expect better from you.

Given your terrible analysis of, and response to, my post, I'll just say that I feel the same way about your effort.

 

[Joker]

I'm originally from Providence and I know Jim on a casual level...used to hang out at Murphy's downtown where most of the ProJo writers used to hang out in the 80s and 90's...he's a Notre dame grad and he lets anyone who wants to listen, know it...he feels slighted by BB because of the way BB treats the press in general...that's his ego...which is prodigious...he's written more than a few Borges type screeds over the years since BB took over,but nobody really takes him seriously anymore.

 

[eom]

yeah, I've noticed that most of the media, and writers in general, are incredibly disproportionately fatheaded considering what they contribute to society --- which is pretty much parasiting off other peoples' hard work.
and that's not to say they're all like that --- some guys, like reiss, actually just put in the work and provide a service w/o getting their head all puffed up about it.

I think what it boils down to is that by their very nature writers only exist as attention whores --- w/o that audience hanging on their every blog they cease to exist as writers.

 

[Wildo7]

This defense could be dominant

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

This defense could be dominant

Or, it could be filled with injuries again, and might suck. I'm gonna reserve judgement until November. Hopefully, they will be dominate by then

 

[DarrylS]

Jim Donaldson is a fool, who is an embarassment to the newspaper industry, never does his homework and is a very lazy writer.. his articles usually range from the ridiculous to complete idiocy.

 

[mayoclinic]

Lots of good points. I think the article is a joke. I think the Pats D will be the best since 2003 for several reasons:

1. Depth. We have tremendous depth in all 3 areas of the defense - the DL, the LBs, and the secondary. Remember starting rookie UDFA CB Randall Gay in the because of all of our injuries at CB? Well we have 5 quality CBs on the roster right now, and 4 quality safeties. We may be lacking star punch at OLB opposite Thomas, but Wood/Crable/Redd/TBC gives us a lot more depth than we've had in the past (including the year of experience for Crable and Redd). And Ron Brace gives us to big bodies at DT for the first time since 2003, when we had the best defense in the BB tenure. I think that will be key.

2. Youth and speed. It's fine to rhapsodize over Bruschi, Vrabel and Harrison, but the fact is we weren't going to win any more SBs with them - maybe in spite of them, but not with them. We needed to move on, and to get younger and faster. Younger also means less injury prone.

3. Our secondary should be the best since 2003. I think Bodden and Butler will end up our starting CBs by mid season, with Springs playing significant time at both FS and CB, and Wheatley/Wilhite as the nickel. I think Chung will be a quick learner and will push JS by the end of the season. I think that better coverage in the secondary will allow Meriweather to roam more and be more of a playmaker. We are a world removed from needing to bring Deltha O'Neal because we had no one at starting CB.

4. Seymour, Wilfork, and Green are in contract years. Players in those years generally go all out.

5. AD is back healthy, with enough experience in the defense to finally be comfortable and do all the things he can do. Mayo has another year under his belt, and has been working like a fiend. I think he will attack more and make more impact plays, and be the captain of the defense. I think McKenzie/Guyton will be a terrific combo oposite Mayo by the end of the year. I think Woods is underrated and Crable has big time potential that will emerge over the season. And I don't think BB is done with the OLB position.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Didn't read Donaldson but read the comments here. My take is this. With the FA and draft moves BB made PLUS the expected maturation of last season's potentially talented LB corps (Mayo of course, Crable, Redd and maybe Rudd) the 2009 D has the potential to be a serious upgrade over the past years. BB's good defenses when fueled by capable talent tend to mature and develop as the season goes along.

On the other hand, should the worst case scenario of one or more defensive FAs proving to be EPIC FAILS as has happened before, and should injuries subsequently strike the D just right, then we could suffer from a porous D again this season. Those undertalented defenses become progressively weaker as the season attrits starting players to IR.

I'm optimistic about the development of the young talent and this season's FAs. Can't wait for camp to start in late July. I'll be there.

 

[JoeShmoe]

Agree with Mayo (as usual). The article is a crock

- We are *much* younger now on D which was the criticism levelled at us constantly

_ We are an order of magnitude better at CB - even if Bodden and Springs are both busts we could still go with Butler and Wheatley and be better than last year

- Seymour, Warren, Green, AD etc wont be playing hurt

- We have Rodney and Brushci replacements in Chung/McKenzie

- Brace gives us more options for different looks

I would expect improvement this year and for the group to much better the year after when the rookies mature

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

D-line: unchanged
Linebackers: 3 of 4 are the same, 1 will be different (2 if the team pulls Bruschi completely)

So, 6 of 7 will be returning players. The D-Line likely won't improve, although depth might lessen the drop off during substitutions. At LB, Bruschi and Thomas will be older and possibly lesser, Mayo should be better the other OLB spot is still a mystery and Guyton had a long way to go. The argument that this bunch won't be better isn't one that can be dismissed out of hand.

DBs: really who the hell knows? I expect there will be improvement here, because I think Meriweather will continue improving, but Springs gets injured, Bodden didn't exactly set the world on fire and Hobbs is gone. Despite the seemingly 9 million moves here, this group could be better, the same or even worse than last season. It's just too soon to tell at at this point.

Mayo, Guyton, and A.Thomas all played well last year IMO. I understand that Woods/TBC is a bit of a question at OLB to replace Vrabel, but overall I would be more worried about how the young guys do as backups and when subbing then I am worried about the actual starters. Bruschi is the lone "seasoned" backup in that group.

The DLine is not better? What a shame! We should always get better every year despite the fact that there are already 3 excellent 1st rounders on the line backed up by solid vets (Green & Wright). Note the irony please. We did add Brace to possibly mitigate any future losses in FA.

The DBs can't be any worse can they? I like Hobbs, but he is not Asante. Deltha was pretty bad last year. Wheatley looked good before getting hurt and Wilhite also was promissing. We have add Springs and Bodden as vet FAs... are you seriously suggesting that that the two of them will be WORSE than Hobbs and Oneal? If you are suggesting that, then I have nothing more to say... we simply disagree by miles.

Adding Butler to the group was an added bonus. J.Sanders, B.Merriweather, T.Williams, Harrison, and Chung are a solid group of safeties. I was more displeased with the CBs than Safeties last year.

All in all, you post was about as pessimistic as any fan could be.

 

[unoriginal]

It really is amazing how much better we are on paper every offseason before injuries happen and 1 or 2 players turn out to be stop-gaps.

 

[mgteich]

I tend to agree with you. The DL couldn't be a much better as a 3-4 line, and we have solid backups. Our defensive backs are better than any have been since Ty left.

Linebackers used to be our strength. Manning used to vote for all for the Probowl. We now have Thomas, Mayo, Bruschi and Woods. This group may be adequate, but it is not great. It is when we look at our linebacker depth that we should be more concerned. How would do if Thomas were injured. Our depth is Banta-Cain, Vrabel, Redd, Guyton and McKenzie.

I think that the linebackers will be more aggressive now that there is a competent secondary. I'm not sure why Woods wasn't signed long-term if Belichick thinks he is good enough to start for the patriots.

Mayo, Guyton, and A.Thomas all played well last year IMO. I understand that Woods/TBC is a bit of a question at OLB to replace Vrabel, but overall I would be more worried about how the young guys do as backups and when subbing then I am worried about the actual starters. Bruschi is the lone "seasoned" backup in that group.

The DLine is not better? What a shame! We should always get better every year despite the fact that there are already 3 excellent 1st rounders on the line backed up by solid vets (Green & Wright). Note the irony please. We did add Brace to possibly mitigate any future losses in FA.

The DBs can't be any worse can they? I like Hobbs, but he is not Asante. Deltha was pretty bad last year. Wheatley looked good before getting hurt and Wilhite also was promissing. We have add Springs and Bodden as vet FAs... are you seriously suggesting that that the two of them will be WORSE than Hobbs and Oneal? If you are suggesting that, then I have nothing more to say... we simply disagree by miles.

Adding Butler to the group was an added bonus. J.Sanders, B.Merriweather, T.Williams, Harrison, and Chung are a solid group of safeties. I was more displeased with the CBs than Safeties last year.

All in all, you post was about as pessimistic as any fan could be.

 

[mgteich]

I would like a pair of your rose-colored glasses.

Bruschi and Woods will start. Isn't that an awesome pair that strikes fear into offenses?

Even without injuries, our backup linebackers include Guyton, McKenzie, Banta-Cain, Crable and Redd. How does this group give anyone comfort?

In the end, the best we can say about the linebackers is that this group is among our worst units and that it is in transition.

Lots of good points. I think the article is a joke. I think the Pats D will be the best since 2003 for several reasons:

1. Depth. We have tremendous depth in all 3 areas of the defense - the DL, the LBs, and the secondary. Remember starting rookie UDFA CB Randall Gay in the because of all of our injuries at CB? Well we have 5 quality CBs on the roster right now, and 4 quality safeties. We may be lacking star punch at OLB opposite Thomas, but Wood/Crable/Redd/TBC gives us a lot more depth than we've had in the past (including the year of experience for Crable and Redd). And Ron Brace gives us to big bodies at DT for the first time since 2003, when we had the best defense in the BB tenure. I think that will be key.

2. Youth and speed. It's fine to rhapsodize over Bruschi, Vrabel and Harrison, but the fact is we weren't going to win any more SBs with them - maybe in spite of them, but not with them. We needed to move on, and to get younger and faster. Younger also means less injury prone.

3. Our secondary should be the best since 2003. I think Bodden and Butler will end up our starting CBs by mid season, with Springs playing significant time at both FS and CB, and Wheatley/Wilhite as the nickel. I think Chung will be a quick learner and will push JS by the end of the season. I think that better coverage in the secondary will allow Meriweather to roam more and be more of a playmaker. We are a world removed from needing to bring Deltha O'Neal because we had no one at starting CB.

4. Seymour, Wilfork, and Green are in contract years. Players in those years generally go all out.

5. AD is back healthy, with enough experience in the defense to finally be comfortable and do all the things he can do. Mayo has another year under his belt, and has been working like a fiend. I think he will attack more and make more impact plays, and be the captain of the defense. I think McKenzie/Guyton will be a terrific combo oposite Mayo by the end of the year. I think Woods is underrated and Crable has big time potential that will emerge over the season. And I don't think BB is done with the OLB position.