A new CB will decide this teams fate.

[Triumph]

The Pats need a lockdown CB, period.

The pass D is not good enough to win a championship and has been this teams Achilles heal for years. Other teams know it too. Bend dont break is a load of hogwash. Look at a few of the games where NE lost or hung on for dear life because of it:

(1) 2006 AFCC vs the Colts. The Pats were way up and Peyton Manning has his way in the 2nd half. The Pats would have killed the Bears for ring #4.

(2) The 2007 SB and 2007 season for that matter. How many times did Brady have to come back in a game during 2007 to score more points because the pass defense called in sick that day?

(3) 2010 AFCD vs Jets. Mark Sanchez actually looked like a QB.

(4) 2011 AFCC vs Ravens. Flacco drove down with ease at the end.

(5) 2012 SB. Eli Manning MVP and he wasnt chosen because he was handing the ball off.

If they do not go out and acquire a better CB through the draft or FA, its going to Groundhog Day for the foreseeable future. Watching the Pats have the lead only to sit there and witness other good QBs pick their passing defense apart like a plate of nachos.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Need a CB, need a pass rusher, need a WR, need a RB and most of all they need a MAJOR change in offensive philosophy if they are going to win another SB.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Back in 2005 BB planted a lockdown unfotunately, the tree doesn't seem to be producing the fruit he expected (i thing it takes 10 years for a tree to produce good fruit anyhow), so he'll keep trying to draft one instead. My apologies for the sarcasm, but every team wants a lockdown CB.

We have Ras-I coming back and it will be interesting to see McCourty next year. I don't put much energy into the draft because you absolutely never know what BB will do based on "expert" opinions.

 

[grandpajim]

Don't totally disagree with you, a shut-down corner is at the top of my wish list. But, you do realize we came real close to winning the championship & next year Carter, our best pass rusher will be back.

I put this loss on the Offense. 17 pts, none in the final 26 min. The much maligned defense did a good enough job to win, the offense didn't.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Free safety and corner are major needs. As far as Ras-I and the rest ...you can never have too many good corners

 

[letekro]

The Pats need a lockdown CB, period.

The pass D is not good enough to win a championship and has been this teams Achilles heal for years. Other teams know it too. Bend dont break is a load of hogwash. Look at a few of the games where NE lost because of it:

(1) 2006 AFCC vs the Colts. The Pats were way up and Peyton Manning has his way in the 2nd half. The Pats would have killed the Bears for ring #4.

(2) The 2007 SB and 2007 season for that manner. How many times did Brady have to come back in the game during 2007 to score more points because the pass defense called in sick that day?

(3) 2010 AFCD vs Jets. Mark Sanchez actually looked like a QB.

(4) 2011 AFCC vs Ravens. Flacco drove down with ease at the end.

(5) 2012 SB. Eli Manning MVP and he wasnt chosen because he was handing the ball off.

If they do not go out and acquire a better CB through the draft or FA, its going to Groundhog Day for the foreseeable future. Watching the Pats have the lead only to sit there and witness other good QBs pick their passing defense apart like a plate of nachos.

Sorry, there is no magic bullet. Ask the Eagles how Asomugha put them over the top. Football is a complimentary game. You're conveniently ignoring the fact that in all those games the defense gave the offense multiple chances to put away the game and the offense failed to do so. Do you really expect 14 or 17 points to be sufficient to win a Super Bowl?

Btw, Outside of Morris Claiborne, Ras I would probably be the top CB prospect in this year's draft, so don't expect to get anyone better than him in the offseason.

 

[FalconHeavy]

We need 2 good TALL wide outs with speed and agility. Its about time we take the pressure of TFB and give him some good weapons other than the midgets (sorry wes) . We really need some one who can work the side lines and the defenses respect. I guess we also need a CB / Safety combo in the shutdown variety.

BEFORE ALL THIS, WE F******** NEED GOOD SCOUTS WHO CAN REALLY SPOT A WIDE OUT / DB TALENT IN THE DRAFT AND BB BETTER DON'T START ACCUMULATING DRAFT PICKS !!

there rant done..

 

[Triumph]

Don't totally disagree with you, a shut-down corner is at the top of my wish list. But, you do realize we came real close to winning the championship & next year Carter, our best pass rusher will be back.

I put this loss on the Offense. 17 pts, none in the final 26 min. The much maligned defense did a good enough job to win, the offense didn't.

Thats the problem.

Its all on Bardys shoulders to win. Has been for years. He has bad games and every defense with a clue wants to beat him up. He cant play the Broncos defense every week.

 

[letekro]

Need a CB, need a pass rusher, need a WR, need a RB and most of all they need a MAJOR change in offensive philosophy if they are going to win another SB.

You do realize how silly this sounds seeing that they were one play away from winning the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, don't you?

 

[Triumph]

Sorry, there is no magic bullet. Ask the Eagles how Asomugha put them over the top. Football is a complimentary game. You're conveniently ignoring the fact that in all those games the defense gave the offense multiple chances to put away the game and the offense failed to do so. Do you really expect 14 or 17 points to be sufficient to win a Super Bowl?

Not when the defense cant stop the pass. No.

Btw, Outside of Morris Claiborne, Ras I would probably be the top CB prospect in this year's draft, so don't expect to get anyone better than him in the offseason.

Nobody knows if Dowling can even play. Reviews were mixed on him anyway.

Mcourty was supposed to be a great CB who now could be Saftey. Butler was supposed to shine too.

 

[Leemo]

I have issues with McCouty and Arrington, our only CB I truely like is Sterling Moore, but hes not a #1 or maybe not even a #2..

Here are some stats that prove arrington and mccourty are liabilities at corner from profootballfocus..

Cornerbacks: A Glance at the 2011 Numbers | ProFootballFocus.com

Covering Ground

And what about yardage … which corner gave up the most this year? It’s a little unfair since he has faced Calvin Johnson and does man up with a team’s top receiver, but the title-holder here is Tramon Williams who broke the 1,000-yard mark this season along with Devin McCourty. It should be noted that, while McCourty received a negative grade for his coverage, Williams didn’t, demonstrating his playmaking with four picks and 12 pass break ups. Other names in the Top 5 include Tillman and Peterson, along with DeAngelo Hall. The Redskin cornerback traditionally finishes high on this list and this year is no different. Here’s the Top 10 in receiving yards allowed:
Rank Name Team TA Rec Yds
1 Tramon Williams GB 108 61 1034
2 Devin McCourty NE 101 62 1004
3 Patrick Peterson ARZ 113 67 869
4 DeAngelo Hall WAS 94 63 858
5 Charles Tillman CHI 115 67 850
6 Eric Wright DET 120 75 842
7 Brandon Browner SEA 95 54 830
8 Cary Williams BLT 111 58 822
9 Aaron Ross NYG 84 57 811
10 Kyle Arrington NE 100 54 810

Basically we have 2 of the worst performing corners in terms of yards.... I'm all for moving Mccourty to FS and maybe rotating in multi cb formations. But he shouldn't be our starting corner. I personally hope Dowling can be our 2 corner and we can pick up a new #1 corner in free agency as well as taking a CB early in the draft if the right prospect is available... I think Arrington can stay for depth but as I said before hes a liability...

 

[letekro]

Not when the defense cant stop the pass. No.


Nobody knows if Dowling can even play. Reviews were mixed on him anyway.

Mcourty was supposed to be a great CB who now could be Saftey. Butler was supposed to shine too.

I don't what you mean by "stop the pass". That's just not happening in today's NFL. Did the Giants "stop the pass" against the Patriots? because Brady and Manning's numbers were similar, and Brady was cursed by multiple drops


We know more about Dowling than any CBs that will be available in this draft. What mixed reviews are you referring to exactly? There has never been any question that Ras I is an elite talent. There are injury questions, which he admittedly needs to answer next year.

 

[Triumph]

I have issues with McCouty and Arrington, our only CB I truely like is Sterling Moore, but hes not a #1 or maybe not even a #2..

Here are some stats that prove arrington and mccourty are liabilities at corner from profootballfocus..

Cornerbacks: A Glance at the 2011 Numbers | ProFootballFocus.com

Covering Ground

And what about yardage … which corner gave up the most this year? It’s a little unfair since he has faced Calvin Johnson and does man up with a team’s top receiver, but the title-holder here is Tramon Williams who broke the 1,000-yard mark this season along with Devin McCourty. It should be noted that, while McCourty received a negative grade for his coverage, Williams didn’t, demonstrating his playmaking with four picks and 12 pass break ups. Other names in the Top 5 include Tillman and Peterson, along with DeAngelo Hall. The Redskin cornerback traditionally finishes high on this list and this year is no different. Here’s the Top 10 in receiving yards allowed:
Rank Name Team TA Rec Yds
1 Tramon Williams GB 108 61 1034
2 Devin McCourty NE 101 62 1004
3 Patrick Peterson ARZ 113 67 869
4 DeAngelo Hall WAS 94 63 858
5 Charles Tillman CHI 115 67 850
6 Eric Wright DET 120 75 842
7 Brandon Browner SEA 95 54 830
8 Cary Williams BLT 111 58 822
9 Aaron Ross NYG 84 57 811
10 Kyle Arrington NE 100 54 810

Basically we have 2 of the worst performing corners in terms of yards.... I'm all for moving Mccourty to FS and maybe rotating in multi cb formations. But he shouldn't be our starting corner. I personally hope Dowling can be our 2 corner and we can pick up a new #1 corner in free agency as well as taking a CB early in the draft if the right prospect is available... I think Arrington can stay for depth but as I said before hes a liability...

Thank you.

We cannot say passing yards dont matter. They do. Teams can get in FG range fairly easy and win it or tie if the Pats leave too much time on the clock in a close game. The Giants were there. If they run the clock down instead of scoring a TD and boot the FG, Brady has to drive the length of the field in 20 or so seconds with no timeouts.

Was anybody else thinking "here we go again" watching Joe Flacco move the Ravesn offense down the field in the AFCC? I mean, if Reggie Wayne was Lee Evans were taking about how NE could blow another AFCC the last 2 weeks. If Cundiff makes the chip shot FG, there was no guarantee that the Pats would have won the way Brady was playing that day.

This offense wins Championship thing is not working out so well IMO.

 

[Sivy]

Tall fast WR, pass rusher..better defensive schemes...undefeated.

 

[patman12]

Are some people really giving up on BJGE, Ridley and Vareen? I can see using them more and relying on Brady less but those guys are decent backs. Vareen has to stay healthy and Ridley needs to hang onto the ball but I don't see that as a position of need right now.

 

[upstater1]

We had safety problems this year. That's the weak area. If the Pastriots can land someone like the Barron kid from Alabama, you take him. That would address so much about the CB problems. Plays like the one Chung made on Nicks were few and far between this year. The safeties never got there to provide help. That Nicks hit and drop would have been a catch on any other Sunday the way our safeties were playing. If you address safety, I imagine that 4 CBs like McCourty, Moore, Arrington, Dowling will be above the midline of secondaries in the NFL.

What am I looking for in the draft: big 290 pounders who can play DE. We need pressure up the middle. Deadrick and Pryor look fine. Wilfork needs to anchor the middle with Love backing him up. Warren and Ellis are long in the tooth and may soon be gone. We need one or two more DEs right now.

If Rutgers' WR Mohammed Sanu is available at #31, I seriously think of taking him.

So, in terms of needs:

1. Safety, but only if a kid like Barron is there. Otherwise the crop is weak.
2. DE
3. WR but only if Sanu is there.

The Patriots next year could be deadly if they utilize the RBs like Vereen in the passing game and also look to throw outside to a big WR like Sanu and Lloyd.

This team should improve next year IF they have a good draft/FA acquisitions and if they can stay healthy. Welker/Hernandez/Gronkowski all have to be healthy.

 

[Mike in 333]

I can't buy into "the defense did a good job, it's all the offense's fault". The only way this makes any sense is if the expectation is that the offense scores on every possession which is unrealistic. This defense gives us so few possessions that they're almost a part of the opposing teams offense. That may sound overly critical but as long as the other team is on the field we aren't scoring. We do score the occasional defensiv touchdown but only if we can force turnovers and that aspect of the defense all but disappeared in the big games.
Brady and the offense sitting on the bench for 37 minutes isn't going to get it done.

 

[StevePatsFan]

If I have learned anything from last off season is that paying an FA corner is the safest route to go along with the number of DBs we have selected lately… Its tough to project corners in the NFL, so stop trying!

Also, the common misnomer that we need a WR that can take the top off is BS, we need a WR that can beat Man coverage!

 

[JFK]

We don't need any CB. We need a FS. McCourty should be better next season. We shouldn't waste our draft picks.
Ridley should be our future RB.

 

[Leemo]

Are some people really giving up on BJGE, Ridley and Vareen? I can see using them more and relying on Brady less but those guys are decent backs. Vareen has to stay healthy and Ridley needs to hang onto the ball but I don't see that as a position of need right now.

Agreed 100%. Resign BJGE and with Ridley, Woodhead and Vereen we are great at RB, no need for anyone else.

We don't need any CB. We need a FS. McCourty should be better next season. We shouldn't waste our draft picks.
Ridley should be our future RB.

We don't need any CB... right are you serious? Mccourty and Arrington simply arent up to the task, Dowling may be but we don't know if he will just get injured again. Moore is decent but I think hes a #3 CB with Arrington @ #4 and mccourty at FS. We need a FA atleast and maybe even a first rounder if jenkins or fitzpatrick are available...