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With a couple depth additions in the draft on the line, a sparkling new secondary and underappreciated LBs I think the pats defense is going to be truly competitive for the first season in years. My question concerns how offenses tend to respond to defensive success. Does having a dependable D make QBs more confident/relaxed or does it threaten the sense of urgency/pressure that TB seems to thrive on?

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I think that’s more an in-game thing than a seasonal thing. Does some amount of pressure build over the season if the defense can’t get off the field on third down or make the key stops? Yes, I think there’s validity to that, but TB and the Patriots offense are so good on focusing on themselves and their jobs, I wouldn’t say that they’re concerning themselves with what their defense is doing, or saying “this isn’t good enough with our defense”.

I do think we saw some potential out of this defense last year, that they could win games when TB and the offense were off. I expect more of that this season. They should be better on both sides of the ball this year.

Boston Hot Button Topic of the week – Boston – ESPN Boston

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Boston Hot Button Topic of the week – Boston – ESPN Boston

I’m with Reiss on this one…

The Patriots haven’t drafted an offensive lineman in either of the last two drafts and when I think of how teams are built in today’s NFL, it’s risky to not feed the pipeline for three years in a row, both from a high-end talent and salary-cap perspective. The Patriots look OK in the short-term along the offensive line but as is often the case, drafts are about looking ahead to the following year. A look at the offensive line through the lens of contract length highlights in part why it’s a need.

I was hoping you could tell me why your so high on Dominique Easley since I know nothing about him

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He’s an explosive interior defensive linemen. In recent years, one of my biggest problems with the Pats defense was their lack of pressure up the gut. Part of this was a reliance on Wilfork and other space-eating defensive tackles inside that were great at occupying blockers, but not-so-great and getting upfield and disrupting the pocket.

In the Pats’ defense, they’ve tried to find these kind of guys, but injuries/concussions derailed guys like Myron Pryor and Mike Wright. For all the talk of never replacing Richard Seymour, they’ve never really replaced Jarvis Green either.

So, I think Easley would singlehandedly be a great addition because he would fill this role and give them more flexibility and ability to attack on passing downs. 

In short, he would instantly upgrade the pass rush and make the entire front seven better.

You don’t need to be a trained scout to see how quickly he gets off the ball and the kind of problems he causes:

Between Connolly and Wendell who would you want replaced first and why

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Wendell, but it’s not like I think he’s terrible. You can certainly win with him and he’s got a nice mean streak. But I think we’ve seen his ceiling and they can find a young guy who can be better.

Connolly might be best served as the interior swing back-up, but they’re paying him as a starter so it’s likely he’ll remain one, even if he slides back to center.

I believe the Marcus Cannon to guard full time ship has sailed. He’s a versatile backup, but better as a tackle.

I am expecting multiple interior line draftees. 

If a SS is taken in the draft should we assume that he will start

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No, he’ll be given a chance to compete to start but no jobs are handed to anyone. I have plenty of safeties on my big board and I really think it’s one of the wild card positions this year. I could see them taking one as high as the second round or not at all. 

I liked what I saw out of Duron Harmon last year and am curious how he develops in year two. But I felt similarly about Tavon Wilson last offseason and he was a special teamer only in his second year.

And if it all falls apart I don’t think Chung would be a total disaster if he has to fill in. Better him than Ebner.