Just felt like tossing a few comments out there with regard to the 2011 team since that is the hyperbolic comparison most often used by concerned fans. Please allow me to borrow format from OTG.
01 ~ As several have said, the safety position is better than it was in 2011 by every conceivable standard. The starters are better, the depth is better and the skill sets and more diverse.
02 ~ After potentially making a mistake in the release of James Sanders (it was undoubtably negative to start the season, but I maintain it had no impact on the final game), the position was further challenged by Chung missing half the season.
Seriously, until McCourty moved over, Ihedigbo was the best safety on the field.... by a healthy margin. Would 2011 Iggy even make the roster this year? Does anyone think Slater or Edelman will play meaningful defensive snaps this year?
03 ~ The lack of an offseason was a major contributing factor to the team's issues. Whether it precipitated the switch in defense or simply inhibited it, only Bill can say, but had an undeniable negative impact.
04 ~ The top LBs on the team that year were Mayo, Spikes, Nink and Guyton.... and Spikes missed half the year.
05 ~ The DEs were solid that year, with Carter/Anderson putting together terrific seasons for cheap imports and Nink/Ellis as depth, but the DTs weren't nearly as dynamic. Wilfork was terrific (his AFCCG performance was the best I saw him play), but Love, Warren, Deaderick and Ellis didn't provide much aside from providing steady production. Not that each didn't have their moments, and this year's squad is admittedly missing a Vince, but it is a good bet that the DTs are more disruptive compared to their 2011 counterparts.
06 ~ And, of course, we have to touch on the CBs themselves. McCourty was terrible for the first month and then was secretly decent from that point on (so much so that many fans still don't realize this), Arrington led the league in picks, but he was secretly pretty lousy. Aside from that, the only other CB worth mentioning is Sterling Moore, who flashed a little in the middle of the year, was demoted to the PS and came back near the end to make the play of the game against Baltimore. Two of them, in fact.
Perhaps I'm being naive, but I have a hard time imaging squeezing less than that out of Butler, Fletcher, Ryan, Roberts and whatever flotsam and jetsam is currently floating around. Two guys who combine to have one lousy season and one OK one and another who was basically a poor man's 2014 Malcom Butler?
07 ~ So, doing a quick and dirty comparison
CB - The absolute worst case scenario is about the same as 2011
DT - Ditto the CB response
LB - Far too much top end talent for this area to even approach 2011, barring catastrophic injuries.
S - Ditto LB, except even injuries couldn't make this happen. Quite literally, you could trot out a starting duo of Tavon Wilson and Jordan Richards and still get more from the position.
DE - The only position on the field where it is even conceivable that you might get less production, though surpassing 2011 wouldn't exactly be a monumental feat.
****ty CBs or no, there appears to be little reason to fear a repeat of 2011. FWIW, that abomination still ended up 15th in points per game and held all three playoff opponents below their season averages.
