MORSE: 2024 Patriots Season Preview Part 2 – Defense
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This the 2nd of 3 Season Preview posts. We will concentrate on the Defense and Special Teams. Tomorrow I will complete the Preview with the Coaches and Season Projection. Look for a preview of their Opponent the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.
Defensive Line
The injury to Christian Barmore is a huge blow to the Defense. However, he was added to the IR with a designation to return. That indicates to me the Patriots feel he could possibly be back at some point this season. Davon Godchaux went about his business of seeking a new contract the right way and showed up every day. He was awarded with a contract extension. He is the lynchpin of the defense and the only player capable of playing the Nose Tackle position. I believe they are a little thin here and would like to see a Nose Tackle signed to the Practice Squad. It’s unreasonable to expect Godchaux to take the beating he does at the nose and last all season. He has played in 17 games in each of the last three season since joining the Pats and started all but one game. That is a remarkable streak. Deatrich Wise is a wily old veteran that may be coming to the end of the line. He doesn’t offer much in the pass rush and his production has slowed down. Wise is a leader on the team.
Daniel Ekuale is an undersized DT that relies on his quickness and guile. On the pass rush, he can put pressure on the QB. Jeremiah Pharms had a very good camp, especially against the Eagles in the joint practice. I feel good about him, and he could be the possible 3rd starter on the line. They picked up Eric Johnson from the Colts at the cutdown and everything I have read about him is they got a steal. He has the size at 6’5” and 300 pounds to be a very good DL. He likes to shoot the gaps with his 4.87 speed and cause havoc in the backfield. The former 5th round pick by the Colts needs to play with a lower pad level in order to not be blown off the line. Trysten Hill made the 53-man roster originally but was waived to make room for Johnson. The former 2nd round pick has never lived up to his high draft position. He was signed to the Practice Squad and adds depth to the position.
Edge
The trade of Matthew Judon did not make the Patriots better, but it was time for Judon to go, as his contract antics became a distraction for the team. He embarrassed his 1st year head Coach Jerod Mayo, and he was not going to get the contract that he thought he was worth. Interesting that he did not get a contract extension from Atlanta. He is playing on the revised contract he signed last year. Is he underpaid? Yes, but he pulled this same crap last year and the Patriots moved money from this year into last year. He is 32 years old and missed all but 4 games last year. I will miss the affable and colorful Judon. In his stead Anfernee Jennings plaid very well. The Patriots decided to go with Jennings who was signed to a contract extension this year.
The wild card on Defense is Keon White. He has all kinds of ability, and I expect to see a big bump in his play in year 2. Is he an Edge player or an undersized DE? On pass rushing downs he will be kicked in to DT where he wreaks havoc. Oshanae Ximines was a star of camp. The Free Agent signee was very good on the pass rush. Josh Uche gambled on himself signing a 1-year contract for less money than other teams were offering. He must feel good about his position with this team, he has been nicked up this preseason and didn’t get the reps. When playing opposite Judon he was able to get pressure and sacks. Once Judon was gone teams could concentrate on him and neutralize his pass rush abilities. The Patriots signed DE Brevin Allen to the Practice Squad. He played two games for the Chargers last season. In 2022 he was the Big South Defensive Player of the year with 11 sacks.
Linebackers
JaWhuan Bentley is what he is, a thumper and an old school downhill linebacker. One of the team Captains, he is a run stuffer. Because of that run first mentality he lacks coverage skills, especially on early downs. Jahlani Tavai played 70% of the defensive snaps and 70% of the Special Teams snaps last season, the only player in the league to do that. He was rewarded with a three-year contract extension. Raekwon McMillan has had injury issues with the Patriots missing the 2021 and 2023 seasons with a torn ACL and partially torn Achilles. The Patriots showed so much faith in him they re-signed him despite coming off the injuries. He is healthy now and he has returned to form having played an excellent preseason. Christian Ellis was a late season addition last year and excels on Special Teams. He also showed some pass rush and coverage ability in the preseason games.
The Patriots claimed Curtis Jacobs off waivers at the cutdown. You know the Patriots got a good player when you read about the Kansas City Chiefs bemoaning the loss of Jacobs. He was a 4-year starter at Penn State and has great 4.58 speed. At the very least he will be a good Special Teams player. Sione Takitaki is on PUP and should be able to help at some point in the season. He was a good offseason Free Agent acquisition. A smaller LB at 6’1” 241 pounds, he was expected to be in a rotation of linebackers and play Special Teams. Takitaki had a knee scope later in the offseason and since the extent is unknown, his timetable is unknown, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Joe Gilles-Harris was resigned to the Practice Squad after being release a 6 days earlier. Also added to the Practice Squad were Ochuan Mathis and Yvandy Rigby.
Cornerbacks
Another area of strength of the Defense. Second year player Christian Gonzalez was lost after just 4 games. However, in those first few games we got a glimpse of what could be a lock down cornerback. Gonzalez was awarded the Defensive Rookie of the Month for his play the 1st 4 weeks. This preseason Gonzalez didn’t play up to expectations. He did get better as the preseason went along, so perhaps, he was just ramping up for the season. Jon Jones also returned from injury. The 30-year-old is the veteran leader of the secondary and can play Safety as well. Marcus Jones is another returnee from injury and will man the slot corner. He will probably return to his Punt Return duties as he was a former All-Pro player at that the position.
Backups are veteran Marco Wilson, a 4- year vet and former starter for Arizona. Alex Austin was signed last November as injuries took their toll on the secondary. He played very well for a former 7th round selection of Buffalo in the 2023 draft. They both add depth at the CB position. The Patriots kept 6th round pick Marcellas Dial over Isaiah Bolden. As I stated earlier, the Front Office kept their draft choices over those made by Bill Belichick. Dial was flat out awful this preseason at corner. The only value I perceive in him is as a player on Special Teams. He can’t play DB in this league. Are we keeping more Special Teams only players? I must add that the Patriots Special Teams were ranked #1 this pre-season. Credit 1st year Special Teams coach Jeremy Springer. Isaiah Bolden passed through waivers and signed with the Practice Squad. Bolden missed all of his rookie 2023 season after a collision with a teammate that left him immobile. The 7th round pick played at Jackson State and was the only player drafted from an Historically Black College and University in 2023.
Safeties
Kyle Dugger signed a big contract extension. The perfect example of draft, develop and sign philosophy of the “Packer Way”. Dugger would not have received that offer from the Belichick regime. Last season Dugger was asked to play Free Safety. He doesn’t have the coverage skills to play there, and he was burned way too often. Dugger won’t play the Free Safety position often because Jaylinn Hawkins played himself into that position. In 2022 the 5th year player started 16 games at Free Safety for Atlanta. He finished that season with 84 tackles. Jabrill Peppers was also given an extension. Well-deserved for the 4th rated Safety by Pro Football Focus. Dugger and Peppers will be free to cause havoc as the roving LB/SS in nickel and dime packages. Both players have strong run stopping capabilities. The surprise of camp was the rise of UnDrafted Free Agent Dell Pettus. He improved each week and plays with a big chip on his shoulder because he was passed over by all the NFL teams. Safety AJ Thomas, the UFL Birmingham Stallions All-Star was signed to the Practice Squad.
Special Teams
Special Teams were the worst in the league last season. I couldn’t understand why Cam Achord wasn’t fired mid-season. They moved up in the draft to take Kicker Chad Ryland in the 4th round after Jake Moody was taken by San Francisco. Ryland was the worst kicker in the league. He lost the job to veteran Joey Slye. Rookie Punter Bryce Baringer was leading the league in punting the first few weeks of the season. He was consistently dropping punts inside the 20, many of which were inside the 10-yard line pinning opponents in their own zone. However, as the season went on, Baringer wore down and regressed. He finished 19th in yards per punt, 24th in Net Yardage, 12th in Percentage of Punts inside 20. He has a big leg and if he doesn’t have to punt so often, he should be better. Brendan Schooler takes over the mantel of Special Teams ace from the retired Matthew Slater. Schooler is a player that must be accounted for by opponents. It was announced last week that Schooler was selected as the Ron Burton Community Service Award winner. Joe Cardona returns as the Long Snapper. The team did bring in Tucker Addington who replaced Cardona when he was injured. Cardona’s snaps have not been as crisp as they were in previous years. He signed a 4-year extension in 2023.
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NBC Boston published an “NFL Week 1 power rankings” list with snippets from USA today etc where they all list the pats as near worst in the league. The interesting thing to me is they almost all said the reason Brissett is starting is the “o-line and supporting cast”, which is what the local Boston media decided. AVP is the voice on that offense and he came out and told the media the rationale is Brissett knows the offense and Maye is still learning it and is to green. AVP said nothing relative to the offense’s supporting cast….the media decided… Read more »
How did Judon “embarass” Jerod Mayo? Just cuz Mayo asked him to leave a practice field is the inverse of Mayo embarassing Judon no?