What Patriot made the biggest improvement this year

[SalemPats]

1. Hightower - Last year he looked lost. He seemed stiff in coverage and his tackling was just ok. This year with a better secondary and a bigger role he blossomed into a LB who should have made the pro-bowl. Very smart pass rusher, great against the run and looked faster
2. Stork - wathcing him progress into a very good C was fun to watch
3. Wendell - He moved positions and started slowly. He got better at the right time
4. Collins - I put him at 4 only because in the playoffs last year he broke out and looked like a star. He was our defensive MVP this year (or at least co-mvp with Revis).
5. Patrick Chung - We brought him back after being cut. The knock on him was that he was not a smart player. He played aggressive this year and made some great plays

 

[fourhour]

All 53, plus Coach Bill.

 

[BradyManny]

Hard to argue with any of those. Wendell I would say was the biggest improvement. Here's hoping 2013 was just some off-year and that what we saw last year can continue in 2015.

 

[mgteich]

Wendell went from most here wanting him cut to being a solid starter. I suppose that Chung did also.

 

[shmessy]

Patrick Chung.

Best improvement over the 2nd half of the season - Danny Amendola.

 

[Oswlek]

Collins is probably the best choice just considering how much he grew, but Tavon Wilson and Harmon now look like competent safeties. I'm not sure Stork belongs on there because he was pretty damn good right from the start. Wendell's 2013 now looks more like an anomaly than a baseline, so I'd probably not include him either.

 

[shmessy]

Non player?: BB's press conference consultant.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

even brady got better - he got back some of his old running skills.

 

[BlueThunder]

Malcolm Butler hands down !

 

[libra957]

even brady got better - he got back some of his old running skills.

He also had excellent pocket presence.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Chung by far. Mostly invisible and that is a good thing.

Next would be Chris Jones. Was not nearly the liability as last year in the run game.

 

[Guts]

The GOAT in my opinion improved tremendously he had a few bad picks but overall his play reminded me of his epic 2010 season without the playoff loss of course

 

[PatCat]

Coin flip between Wendy and Chung

 

[Ivan]

Hightower.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Wendell, at least from a fan perception from should be cut to adequate RG
Hightower, a force whom some had thought him just OK at best with Collins' breakout late in 2013
NOT Collins only because of late 2013, otherwise he'd be up there
Chung, because some of us fools lamented his wasted spot on the 53, yet he actually covered people

But this superficial analysis ignores Jake Bequette who has been a force in practice and is poised to become a dominant pass rusher once Chandler Jones leaves for the big $

 

[SebertJr]

Gotta go with Hightower, last year he scared me

 

[Oswlek]

NOT Collins only because of late 2013, otherwise he'd be up there

He really only had one good game in 2013 and didn't start the year anywhere near the level. I think he takes this by a few lengths.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

I vote Collins

 

[hambone1818]

Did Chung improve, or was he given a role (with the CB's necessary to make it happen) he could perform successfully? I don't know, kudos to him for sticking with it and the Patriots for finding a niche for him, I'm just not sure he 'improved' as much as they maximized his talents while hiding his weaknesses.

For me it's Collins, though Hightower's right there with him. Collins showed flashes in the past, and I think he still has room to grow and improve, but he really rounded out his game this season and became a beast in both coverage, pass rushing and run blocking. If he keeps progressing the way he has he'll be damn-near unstoppable.

 

[Tom_Montana12]

My vote for the biggest improvement from last season to this season would be Collins, considering he barely played at all until the last quarter of the season. Now he's a top 3/4 impact player for our defense.

From the beginning of the season to the very end, I'm going to say Solder.

*This is based on my very uneducated eye test. Solder seemed like he was getting beat a lot early/mid-season and I was beginning to wonder what was going on with him. I also realize that continuity among the OL had something to do with this, but I just assumed Solder would be our rock (along with Seabass).

But by the end of the year he seemed to regain his top-level form.