Secondary 2009 World Tour

[VJCPatriot]

Meriweather is our Free Safety. He would be undersized for SS. So we need a SS with bulk that can lay the lumber and occasionally cover the tight end/middle pass route. I'm sick and tired of seeing 8-15 yard routes over the middle completed on our defense with ease. It's like our safeties are allergic to tight ends or something.

Can Kam Chancellor convert to SS or is he strictly a FS? He could be around in round 2, so he might be a viable pick if that's the case. I haven't seen him play personally though. All I have to work with are a few clips on youtube.
YouTube - Virginia Tech's Kam Chancellor

Compare that to the Taylor Mays clip below. I don't know, I just think Mays looks bulkier and a harder hitter. He's a guy that will really punish receivers and would look great playing close to the line as a '5th' linebacker/SS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6sQh5bGyg&feature=related

 

[D-Money]

Does this team have money to sign up a FA CB or will we go through the draft again?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Does this team have money to sign up a FA CB or will we go through the draft again?

For some reason, I think that the Patriots don't put quite as high a premium on the secondary as they do the other D positions. That's not to say they won't pay anything, but rather that they'd rather frontload the D, so to speak, than backload it.

 

[cstjohn17]

For some reason, I think that the Patriots don't put quite as high a premium on the secondary as they do the other D positions. That's not to say they won't pay anything, but rather that they'd rather frontload the D, so to speak, than backload it.

It is easy to place blame, the pass rush has been weak so the CBs have been exposed.. but the CB can't cover so the pass rush doesn't matter... plus a big hole at Safety after this season.... not too mention 2/3 of the defensive line are free agents after the 09 season...

The could conceiveably target all the defensive units in the draft except LB which is on paper their deepest unit.

After watching O'Neal this year it is obvious they need an upgrade at CB, you just can't have that big of the weakness outside on an island. The CB class looks weak at the top with good depth, the DE/OLB class looks very deep at the top. The Safety class looks very weak, DLine looks ok..

Damn if I know what they will do...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

It is easy to place blame, the pass rush has been weak so the CBs have been exposed..

I wasn't trying to lay blame. What I was trying to point out is that, given the salary cap, teams have to decide where to allocate their $ on defense, and the Pats have decided that, in general, they need to concentrate the $ close to the LOS. If they had an extra $10M or $20M on top of the salary cap $ (e.g., what might happen in 2010), they'd probably spend that on the backfield.

 

[cstjohn17]

I wasn't trying to lay blame. What I was trying to point out is that, given the salary cap, teams have to decide where to allocate their $ on defense, and the Pats have decided that, in general, they need to concentrate the $ close to the LOS. If they had an extra $10M or $20M on top of the salary cap $ (e.g., what might happen in 2010), they'd probably spend that on the backfield.

I wasn't calling you out, promise. I was just lamenting on the number of decisions the FO has entering 2009.

for now lets just enjoy an 8 game winning streak and the next Superbowl victory.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I wasn't calling you out, promise. I was just lamenting on the number of decisions the FO has entering 2009.

for now lets just enjoy an 8 game winning streak and the next Superbowl victory.

'So many positive waves, like, we can't lose! Your on!'


Assuming I quoted this correctly from Kelly's Heros...

This draft from a defensive perspective is certainly a head scratcher with so many directions the team could go to get good value or address "needs" real or perceived. From the outside looking in, I find the injuries have really muddied the water:
- Wheatley looked like he was about to take the same step Hobbs took as a rookie and assume a starting role over a veteran stopgap...
- Woods looked like he was ready to step-up and be the third man in an OLB rotation...
- Williams looked like he was developing well to be Rodney's veteran heir as a Nickel/Rover and perhaps be the SS to Meriweather's FS if Sanders left in Free Agency...

Where any of these three fit in BB's 2009 team building plans would give us some idea as to team needs in the draft, but I'd bet BB/SP only have an outline themselves - we live in interesting times!