Tom Brady taking a beating in Denver has prompted changes already in New England, and the first axe fell on Monday night.
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots have opted to part ways with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo, one day removed from seeing Tom Brady get absolutely annihilated out in Denver after the Broncos’ defense hit him 20 times. That number, according to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, is the most hits on a QB since 2006 when the Baltimore Ravens hit Browns quarterback Charlie Frye 20 times in their meeting.
The frustrating part is the fact that despite all the success Denver continually had, the Patriots never came up with an answer to deal with it. As a result, it looks like Bill Belichick and the powers-that-be have decided to go in a different direction.
Tom Brady also dealt with his fair share of pressure this season, having absorbed 38 sacks in the regular season, the third highest total of his career. However, in fairness to DeGuglielmo, he was sacked 21 times last season, tying for the second lowest total of his career, matching the 21 he was sacked in 2007. His lowest career total was 16 back in 2009.
The bigger issue is really the fact that the team didn’t really ever get much of a push up front, which obviously starts with personnel but also with attitude. Granted the team battled through injuries all season, but the lack of progress as a whole likely played a part as the problems persisted and ultimately made them one-dimensional.
For now it’s obviously the start of changes that will be coming in the months ahead, and there will likely also include personnel changes. Many people are frustrated with the play of Marcus Cannon on Sunday, but it’s tough to just give up on him. He’s a player who has been good in rotational situations to provide quality depth, but clearly he’s not yet ready to be a starter who can battle elite pass rushers like Von Miller, which very few people obviously can. The absence of left tackle Nate Solder loomed large and had he been healthy, the game could have gone differently.
But either way DeGuglielmo’s departure paves the way for changes, and hopefully whoever moves in to replace him is able to get more physicality and attitude out of a group that appeared to regress a bit this season.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
