I originally posted this in the Post-Game thread, but I thought it appropriate here, too:
"This defense is in a very, very bad place right now.
As in worse than 2005 or 2002 bad.
But at least those units still had a D-Line of $eymour & Jarvis Green, Bobby Hamilton & Anthony Pleasant (2002), and Wilfork & Warren (2005); LBs like Bruschi, Vrabel & Willie Mac, TJ & Phifer (2002), and TBC & Rosie (2005); and a D-Backfield of Law, O-t-i-s, Buckley, Milloy & Tebucky Jones (2002), and A$ante, Gay, Hobbs, Geno Wilson, Hank the Man Poteat & Artrell Hawkins (2005).
This unit has none of those players, exc. for Wilfork & TBC. Nor does it have - aside from Wilfork - any players with the aforementioned's combination of experience, talent, toughness & savvy. What it has instead is a toxic combination of the following:
- Wilfork, an island of quality unto himself;
(But a DL of Wilfork, Brace & GWarren is the slowest, most unathletic DL - even for a 34 - in football.)
- Undertalented, try-hard JAGs (Wright, TBC, Ninko, Guyton, Sanders, Arrington) who should never, ever be starters on even a PO-quality defense, never mind a SB-quality defense;
- Youth with promise but without any experience (McCourty, Cunningham, Spikes), or with very little experience (Chung, Brace), or with no promise at all (Wilhite);
- Recent high draft picks but also completely unknown quantities (Wheatley, Crable);
- A bottom of the roster limited in both experience & potential (Love, Deaderick, Pryor, Fletcher) or with experience but no potential (White, Page, GWarren);
- And perhaps worst of all, recent high draft picks (Meriweather, Mayo, Butler) who are allegedly the core of the defense going forward, but are instead the ones who consistently display the worst fundamentals, lack of production, and zero of the leadership qualities needed to be the long-term answers at their respective positions.
If Bill really wanted to make a statement to his D, he would not have started his defensive captain Mayo in addition to Stomper, Butler & TBC.
In conclusion, this is the worst combination of lack of talent, lack of experience, lack of leadership, and lack of tackling technique that I've seen from this team since the Bad Old Days of 1990-92. I do believe that the franchise record for points allowed in one 16-game season (446, almost 28 ppg) is about to be seriously threatened."