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Patriots Defense Off-season Review.
NT – Vince Wilfork, Michael Wright, Dan Klecko, Santonio Thomas– I listed Klecko here because I couldn’t figure out where else to put him. I think the Pats could still try and move him inside to LB, but there may not be a place on the team for him anymore.
Vince had a bad start to the year, but corrected his technique by lining up farther off the line. Doing so forced him to hold the gaps and stop trying to collapse the pocket and taking himself out of position on runs. Michael Wright was average in spot duty. The Pats could bring in a veteran like Grady Jackson or they could let Wright continue to develop. Santonio Thomas could return for another stint on the Practice squad. I’m not sure the Pats will look for a NT in the draft, but Babatunde Oshinowo and Montavius Stanley have played the NT position in the 3-4 in college. Other potential prospects here are Orien Harris and John McCargo.
DE – Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Marquise Hill - With these four, I really don’t see the Pats bringing in another 3-4 DE/4-3 DT, unless they feel it’s a great value late in the draft. Hill was a project when drafted and didn’t get a lot of playing time last year because of the injuries to the LBs and secondary, forcing the Pats to keep more of those players on the game roster while relying on a shorter rotation for the DEs. Barry Cofield or Jason Hatcher could be potential players.
OLB – Rosie Colvin, Tully Banta-Cain – Vrabel and Bruschi can play here as well. However, TBC hasn’t yet shown he can play the position with any regularity. That an extension for McGinest wasn’t reached and he was cut took many of us by surprise and it leaves a big gap to fill. I see a DE/OLB type player being drafted by the Pats. Someone like Manny Lawson, Tamba Hali, Mathias Kiwanuka, or Stanley McGlover. Mark Anderson early in the 3rd round could be better value as well. Other later round picks could include Mike Kudla, Ryan LaCasse, Brandon Guillory and Chris Gocong.
ILB - Ted Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Mike Vrabel, Eric Alexander, Ryan Claridge, Monty Beisel, Don Davis–
The unexpected retirement of Ted Johnson, Bruschi’s stroke, Vrabel’s pre-season injury and Claridge’s TC injury left the Pats scrambling to find someone to man the ILB position. Izzo wasn’t the best special teamer by far and the Special Teams coverage units were average this year. I though Izzo was gone last year, but he got to stick around. Speculation amongst us fans was that Chad Brown wouldn’t be back and we were correct. That could be the case if the Pats take another ILB during this very deep LB draft. Someone like Kai Parham or Spencer Havener, or Tim Dobbins. Bobby Carpenter and Chad Greenway have also been touted as 1st round possibilities for the Pats.
CB - Asante Samuel, Randall Gay, Ellis Hobbs, Eric Warfield, Chad Scott, Hank Poteat, Antwain Spann - Everyone was correct about Ty Poole being cut. I was wrong about Starks and he was cut as well. Chad Scott and Hank Poteat were re-signed by the Pats. Randall Gay was also re-signed. The starting CB jobs, in my opinion, are both up for grabs with Hobbs, Gay, Samuel and Warfield battling it out. I hear people clamoring for a “play-maker” here, but this draft is not that deep at CB. Some people are clamoring for Antonio Cromartie because of his measurables. However, he has very little starting experience and is a 2-3 year project. I used to think that the following were guys who could interest the Pats include: Ashton Youboty, Anwar Phillips, Jonathan Joseph, Will Blackmon, and Marcus Maxey. However, I have moved away from all but Marcus Maxey and added Richard Marshall to my list. However, Will Blackmon could still interest the Patriots in the 4th round, but I don’t believe he is of value before that.
Safety - Rodney Harrison, Eugene Wilson, Guss Scott, James Sanders, Artrell Hawkins, Mel Mitchell, Tebucky Jones, Ray Ventrone- Rodney is a big question mark because of his injury. Reports are bery good and it looks like he will be ready for the start of the season, if not training camp. Wilson looked lost at times and tried to do too much. His poor play led to many people blaming Starks for some of the long plays the Pats gave up, though Wilson was the one truly out of position. BB seems to be very high on Guss Scott while Rodney was singing the praises of James Sanders. Artrell Hawkins also held his own as the veteran in the secondary once he got here and was re-signed. Mel Mitchell was signed to replace Michael Stone (arguably the Pats best special teams tackler last year). Tebuckey Jones was also signed this off-season. I think he was also signed to push for a spot on special teams. I originally thought that since the Patriots have 4 picks in the 1st 3 rounds and they could, potentially, take either a corner or a safety to help the team out. Many people are already clamoring for guys like Darnell Bing, Michael Huff, Bernard Pollard and Greg Blue. My question is which one of them has experience calling out defensive changes in the secondary and was a proven leader on their team. However, With the re-signing of Hawkins and the additions of Mitchell and Jones, I don’t see the Pats drafting a DB (CB or S) unless they feel that the player will come in and start right away. Anthony Smith could be one who could come in and start on special teams right away and push for a spot as a back-up safety over Scott or Sanders.
NT – Vince Wilfork, Michael Wright, Dan Klecko, Santonio Thomas– I listed Klecko here because I couldn’t figure out where else to put him. I think the Pats could still try and move him inside to LB, but there may not be a place on the team for him anymore.
Vince had a bad start to the year, but corrected his technique by lining up farther off the line. Doing so forced him to hold the gaps and stop trying to collapse the pocket and taking himself out of position on runs. Michael Wright was average in spot duty. The Pats could bring in a veteran like Grady Jackson or they could let Wright continue to develop. Santonio Thomas could return for another stint on the Practice squad. I’m not sure the Pats will look for a NT in the draft, but Babatunde Oshinowo and Montavius Stanley have played the NT position in the 3-4 in college. Other potential prospects here are Orien Harris and John McCargo.
DE – Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Marquise Hill - With these four, I really don’t see the Pats bringing in another 3-4 DE/4-3 DT, unless they feel it’s a great value late in the draft. Hill was a project when drafted and didn’t get a lot of playing time last year because of the injuries to the LBs and secondary, forcing the Pats to keep more of those players on the game roster while relying on a shorter rotation for the DEs. Barry Cofield or Jason Hatcher could be potential players.
OLB – Rosie Colvin, Tully Banta-Cain – Vrabel and Bruschi can play here as well. However, TBC hasn’t yet shown he can play the position with any regularity. That an extension for McGinest wasn’t reached and he was cut took many of us by surprise and it leaves a big gap to fill. I see a DE/OLB type player being drafted by the Pats. Someone like Manny Lawson, Tamba Hali, Mathias Kiwanuka, or Stanley McGlover. Mark Anderson early in the 3rd round could be better value as well. Other later round picks could include Mike Kudla, Ryan LaCasse, Brandon Guillory and Chris Gocong.
ILB - Ted Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Mike Vrabel, Eric Alexander, Ryan Claridge, Monty Beisel, Don Davis–
The unexpected retirement of Ted Johnson, Bruschi’s stroke, Vrabel’s pre-season injury and Claridge’s TC injury left the Pats scrambling to find someone to man the ILB position. Izzo wasn’t the best special teamer by far and the Special Teams coverage units were average this year. I though Izzo was gone last year, but he got to stick around. Speculation amongst us fans was that Chad Brown wouldn’t be back and we were correct. That could be the case if the Pats take another ILB during this very deep LB draft. Someone like Kai Parham or Spencer Havener, or Tim Dobbins. Bobby Carpenter and Chad Greenway have also been touted as 1st round possibilities for the Pats.
CB - Asante Samuel, Randall Gay, Ellis Hobbs, Eric Warfield, Chad Scott, Hank Poteat, Antwain Spann - Everyone was correct about Ty Poole being cut. I was wrong about Starks and he was cut as well. Chad Scott and Hank Poteat were re-signed by the Pats. Randall Gay was also re-signed. The starting CB jobs, in my opinion, are both up for grabs with Hobbs, Gay, Samuel and Warfield battling it out. I hear people clamoring for a “play-maker” here, but this draft is not that deep at CB. Some people are clamoring for Antonio Cromartie because of his measurables. However, he has very little starting experience and is a 2-3 year project. I used to think that the following were guys who could interest the Pats include: Ashton Youboty, Anwar Phillips, Jonathan Joseph, Will Blackmon, and Marcus Maxey. However, I have moved away from all but Marcus Maxey and added Richard Marshall to my list. However, Will Blackmon could still interest the Patriots in the 4th round, but I don’t believe he is of value before that.
Safety - Rodney Harrison, Eugene Wilson, Guss Scott, James Sanders, Artrell Hawkins, Mel Mitchell, Tebucky Jones, Ray Ventrone- Rodney is a big question mark because of his injury. Reports are bery good and it looks like he will be ready for the start of the season, if not training camp. Wilson looked lost at times and tried to do too much. His poor play led to many people blaming Starks for some of the long plays the Pats gave up, though Wilson was the one truly out of position. BB seems to be very high on Guss Scott while Rodney was singing the praises of James Sanders. Artrell Hawkins also held his own as the veteran in the secondary once he got here and was re-signed. Mel Mitchell was signed to replace Michael Stone (arguably the Pats best special teams tackler last year). Tebuckey Jones was also signed this off-season. I think he was also signed to push for a spot on special teams. I originally thought that since the Patriots have 4 picks in the 1st 3 rounds and they could, potentially, take either a corner or a safety to help the team out. Many people are already clamoring for guys like Darnell Bing, Michael Huff, Bernard Pollard and Greg Blue. My question is which one of them has experience calling out defensive changes in the secondary and was a proven leader on their team. However, With the re-signing of Hawkins and the additions of Mitchell and Jones, I don’t see the Pats drafting a DB (CB or S) unless they feel that the player will come in and start right away. Anthony Smith could be one who could come in and start on special teams right away and push for a spot as a back-up safety over Scott or Sanders.
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