Defense - old, slow, bad

[Biffins]

Wow Hightower................. wow!

 

[203Pat]

What the hell went wrong with Winovich. He went from promising freshman season and full of confidence, to gadget player with limited snaps, to inactive on our most important game. No idea what happened here. Did he piss Belichick Jnr off or something?

I think Bill is set on this 2003 idea of a linebacking core. Big physical guys who are north and south guys and can't really go sideline to sideline. With that being said I don't know why he drafted two smaller more athletic guys in Winovich, and Uche to hardly play them. I was hoping they would usher in a LB core that was focusing more on speed and less on size but then he re-signed Van Noy and Collins and Wino and Uche got buried. Winovich to me is the most the most curious of the two as his snaps drastically decreased since the beginning of 2020 when he started out really well as a pass rusher. I know there was the moment on the sideline last year where he and Bill seemed to have a heated discussion and it seems like that was the catalyst for the lessened playing time. At this point I would be surprised if Winovich is on the team by the end of next season but he seems like a guy who can go to another system and be a 10 sack guy with his pass rushing skillset. Sometimes I wish Bill would utilize these guys natural skills and not try to make them an all around LB at the detriment of what makes them special.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I'm being overly negative but I honestly thing this defense needs a near complete overhaul.

It’s probably going to happen with the aging vets and Jackson a FA. He’s a goner.

What the hell went wrong with Winovich. He went from promising freshman season and full of confidence, to gadget player with limited snaps, to inactive on our most important game. No idea what happened here. Did he piss Belichick Jnr off or something?

Aside from being the rumor “locker room Lawyer”, which I think they are passed that, he’s just not very good. Him and Uche are easily defended by O-lineman and have no counters.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Wow Hightower................. wow!

Coming back was a mistake

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

The reality is McCourty is gone.. probably going to retire. Jalen mills is going to take his spot and another cb is coming on via free agency and/or draft

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Both guys were speed rush edge guys at Michigan. In a defense that was very blitz/attack oriented. I think both have shown some small flashes of production, but I don't think either is stout enough against the run. Throw Jennings in there's and it's disappointing that not one of them has been carve out some serious playing time.

If playing time is a barometer for what the coaches think of him, Winovich doesn’t have a chance getting re-signed. He’ll be a $1.2 million cap hit next year and was on the field for just 14% of the snaps this past one. He would just be another overpriced, not so talented, special teamer

 

[Pape]

Coming back was a mistake

Taking a year off was the mistake.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

The reality is McCourty is gone.. probably going to retire. Jalen mills is going to take his spot and another cb is coming on via free agency and/or draft

I think this is very plausible given that we have no other free safety type on the roster.

this upcoming daft is deep in corners and we need at least two.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I think this is very plausible given that we have no other free safety type on the roster.

this upcoming daft is deep in corners and we need at least two.

Joshua Bledsoe - Bledsoe was a 3-year starter at free safety in Ryan Walters' 4-2-5 scheme (at Missouri).

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Joshua Bledsoe - Bledsoe was a 3-year starter at free safety in Ryan Walters' 4-2-5 scheme (at Missouri).

“Nfl quality” free safety is implied!

 

[RobertWeathers]

The reality is McCourty is gone.. probably going to retire. Jalen mills is going to take his spot and another cb is coming on via free agency and/or draft

Thats my preference.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Unfortunately there have been a number of plays like that this year.

 

[Sciz]

I think this is very plausible given that we have no other free safety type on the roster.

I wouldn’t rule out Dugger. That’s mostly what he did in college, and he’s probably faster than McCourty right now. It’s just easy to exclude him from the discussion because he looks like he should be playing in the box.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I wouldn’t rule out Dugger. That’s mostly what he did in college, and he’s probably faster than McCourty right now. It’s just easy to exclude him from the discussion because he looks like he should be playing in the box.

I know a lot of guys like Duggar, but when I watch him, I see a guy that sucks in coverage. He looks like a box safety.

duggar at free safety is a scary proposition for me.

 

[mgteich]

OFFENSE

OL
Onewnu is a great value in his roles as the 6th OL, a backup OG, and backup RT. I would re-sign Karras. The much more difficult issue is OT. We need two healthy starters and a backup LT. This year those players were Wynn, Brown and Herron. This is a major weakness.

THE DRAFT
The two positions that you mention for high draft picks are CB and WR, the two positions that the patriots do worst at drafting. We do much better at drafting linemen, and we do need linemen. I have zero confident that the patriots would find one of the players that you mention on the 2nd round.

RB
I see another 4th round RB in our future to replace White on the roster. Bolden is still valuable on special teams and as a backup RB.

I also agree that the offense still needs a good amount of help too. I would like to see Karras back but they may make Onwenu a full time starter. I also am not sure what they do with Shaq Mason as his cap number is pretty high. Brown is another one who I would only take on a short term deal as he seems like the type to get fat and happy (literally) but who knows what his market will look like at this point in his career. I love James White but I think it may be the end of the road for him here. I would guess either him or Bolden come back but both are aging and shouldn't be viewed as the long term solution in the receiving back role. I think Meyers is a RFA but I may be wrong so hopefully he won't be too expensive for next year at least. Receiver is a spot I think we need to look at early in the draft as well. At this point there seems to be dynamic players at that position outside the first round with Metcalf, McLaurin, Deebo, and Brown all going in round 2 in recent years.

BOTTOM LINE
Re-sign Karras.
Draft an OT (early rounds).
Draft a RB (mid-rounds).
Find a veteran WR.
Find a veteran OT.

I don't think that these are big asks.

 

[mgteich]

I know a lot of guys like Duggar, but when I watch him, I see a guy that sucks in coverage. He looks like a box safety.

duggar at free safety is a scary proposition for me.

I agree. Mills is a better choice.

 

[mgteich]

I agree that some of those guys are going to have to contribute. At this point the defense was pretty bad already with the higher paid vets so lets see some of the young guys in the linebacking core. McMillian is under contract already and there were reports he looked pretty good in his brief time in camp before the injury so maybe he is a cheap Bentley replacement. Pair him with Uche and have Judon and Winovich on the outside then draft some depth along with some cheaper free agents.

As for NT Draft a guy and kick the tires on old friend Akiem Hicks. He is aging and coming off an injury so he may be cheap enough to take a look at and work into a rotation. Maurice Hurst is another guy who has bounced around a bit and isn't a stud but for the right price could be brought in to help fill the gap as well. Fatukasi, if the Jets don't pay him, would be worth taking a look at too. He is young enough where he would be worth signing to a better than "kick the tires" deal but to be honest I don't know what type of market he will have so he may be out of our price range.

Corner is a spot I hope we use a high pick on. I am no draft expert by any means but from what I have read the depth at corner should be pretty good in this draft so maybe we get lucky. I wouldn't mind keeping Myles Bryant for a depth player but giving him extended playing time has been pretty up and down. I don't know where they see Mills next year. Maybe he slides into that McCourty role at safety and they use some tandem of him, Dugger, and Phillips in the safety spots. Regardless we are going to need some help at corner no matter what happens.

DEFENSE
Barmore, Guy, Wise, Judon, Phillips, Jones, Dugger, Mills and QUESTION MARKS. Of course, Perkins and McGrone will make the team.

DL
We need another stout inside DT/NT or two. We MIGHT replace Godchaux. Yes, I hope he finds a vet in his last year or two.

LB
Right on McMillan. If he is healthy, he is our starting ILB. I see Van Noy coming back. We have lots of kids. If Van Noy isn't coming back, I see us signing another veteran to replace him.

S (3)
My choice is Mills if McCourty doesn't come back.

Nickel/Slot Back (2)
Jones with Bryant as a backup. Of course, Dugger is often helping out.

CB (3)
This is a major weakness.
CB #1 - ???
CB #2 - ???
CB #3 (backup) - ???
If Mills is one of these, we need a starting free safety.
==========
MY BOTTOM LINE IS
that our major issues for the off-season are at CB and OT.

 

[jdlboot14]

The answer on D is:
1. swallow the nepatism pride and put a legit, respected DC in place. (Mayo, Matty P, Josh Boyer?)
2. send the old guys off on an ice floe (JMac, HT, Collins, KVN?, Guy?)
3. keep/build around the new talent (JC, Phillips, Judon, Mcmillan, Barmore)
4. Let the young guys play (Bledsoe, Wade, Uche, Perkins, Jennings?)
5. Find a few new pieces to complement (athletic LB, Edge, CB, NT)

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

“Nfl quality” free safety is implied!

There is no way to know everything that you are implying. Too funny.

 

[BigPeteG]

Pats need to revamp their entire D.. They are so slow compared to other teams - they are the slowest defense I have every seen. None of the guys can move outside of maybe JC Jackson - and even he is more of a ball hawk then a burner. McCourty is slow and can't change direction any more. Hightower is useless.

I don't know who we have on the practice squad - but they are bound to be better athleticism wise. They are going to have to go crazy in the draft. Maybe Mac gets a WR stud - but other then that its got to be all D. Once teams figured out the Patriots defense it was all over.

They are all smarts and zero physicality. When you watch other teams its - like a different sport on D. Guys get in there and tackle dudes in the backfield. Then slam down wide recievers before they can make a move. They launch themselves at QBs even when the QB is faster..

I am reminded of Tom Brady's quote about defense. Defense is like dogs chasing cars. Everyone took that as an insult - but if you have seen a young healthy dog chasing a car - they really can move. We need guys like that - experience and wisdom is not everything. We basically have coaches out there instead of actual athletic men. It might make things easy scheme wise - but they just don't have the wheels to compete in the NFL.

Josh Allen made those guys look like they were stuck in mud.. BB needs to suck it up - get some young athletic guys and coach them up so that at the end of the season they know how to play. Even if at the start of the season they get outsmarted.