Probably the best way for us to assess Beisel is to look at the last games of last year in slo-mo where he got a significant number of reps - so that was after a whole season of coaching and Belichick practices and game reps.
He made one decent play. When Willie got sealed inside on an outside run around the offensive right side, Beisel slid over from his inside spot and made the tackle after a gain of 4 yards. Since there was no block to interfere with Beisel's movement, my suspicion is that Ted J or Tedy would have slid over and stopped the run for little gain or even a loss. Just my impression.
On the first play that Beisel was in he was late getting to a gang tackle on the defensive right side - but he threw his hands up in celebration.
On the couple times when a blocker got into the backfield and took on Beisel, he was basically blocked back 5 yards out of the play and just stopped without even trying to shed off of the block and or even head toward the runner..
On one play on a run around the left side of the O-line, Beisel got to the runner as Colvin hooked around behind the end and caught the runner by the foot. As the runner is stretching out to get an extra yard, Beisel actually stands up straight and HOPS behind the runner in order to avoid contact. I've never seen anything so ridiculous even in Pop Warner football.
On one play where Beisel moved on the snap up behind Wilfork, the runner hit the gap right beside Wilfork. Beisel not only did not ram sideways and tackle, he just stood there as the runner went thru the gap and was finally brought down after a couple yards. Beisel never even tried to tackle the runner at any time.
On a goal line stand, the runner hit the line just to the right side of Beisel. Not only didn't he ram over to hit the runner (he had a chancer to force the guy sideways short of the goal line), he actually moved parallel to the runner while the runner crossed the goal line. I'm hard put to remember a greater dud of a non-effort. There was another play almost exactly the same in the middle of the field on another drive.
I slo-mo'd all of his plays in that game and other than the one tackle I mentioned first, he was an absolute bust as far as any contribution.
I can't imagine, after a season of coaching and practices, that if he was so fundamentally opposite to what a linebacker is all about (much less a Belichick one), that any additional amount of time could ever get him even close to being even a marginal linebacker.
