Lombardi: A New Course For Brady

The more I think about it the more impressive the Pats winning the AFC East was last season. Brady was rusty, Moss was hurt, and they lost arguably their four biggest leaders on defense in the offseason (50,37, 54, 93), including Bruschi and Seymour just prior to the opening game.

I’ve heard Coach Belichick talk about how he admires what the 49ers did with two different quarterbacks in the 80s/90s and I think that enjoys the similar challenge of building a new defense from scratch. Last year there were a lot of growing pains, which has to be expected when you lose the key leaders of your defense. How many NFL defenses could replace 7 starters on defense and still win their division?

From the article above it’s clear that Brady recognizes the challenge ahead of them. I fully expect the offense to be better this year, even before Welker returns. With the free agent and rookie additions on the defensive side of the ball I expect continued growth, new leaders coming into their own, and the foundation to solidify.

Let’s not forget that while this young defense was scorched by the Saints, they held Peyton Manning in check for much of the game before folding like a lawn chair. The potential and talent is there, it will just take a little experience to return this defense to the “elite” conversation.