PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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New England Patriots (Original Pick: Dont’a HIghtower, LB) Re-do Pick: Michael Brockers, DT. Hightower did fine as a rookie, but the Patriots lacked any semblance of pass rush from their defensive interior. Brockers was a beast in some games, and he’d give New England the disruptive thrust at defensive tackle that it’s probably looking for in the 2013 draft.

NFL Draft: Taking a second look at 2012’s first round – NFL – Don Banks – SI.com

Ah yes, Brockers was the guy I wanted last year and for the reason Banks lays out. Hopefully we get someone like that this year…

https://www.patspropaganda.com/new-england-patriots-original-pick-donta/

Looking at the 2012 Patriots by the numbers – Patriots – Boston.com

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Looking at the 2012 Patriots by the numbers – Patriots – Boston.com

Regression in the pass rush certainly hurt this year, a Mark Anderson-type DPR could certainly help in 2013.

40: Sacks in 18 games by the Patriots (51 in 19 games 2011, 36 in 17 games in ’10). Here’s the breakdown, which will differ from official numbers because we give half-credit to a player that causes a quarterback to run into a sack: 10.5

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The Patriots also must work on their first-down defense. They were last in the league, at 48.8 percent, in allowing first-down rushes to go for 4 or more yards (30th at 48 percent in 2011). And they were 31st in allowing all first downs to go for 4 or more yards 51.7 percent of the time (also 31st at 53.3 percent in 2011).

Looking at the 2012 Patriots by the numbers – Patriots – Boston.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-patriots-also-must-work-on-their-first-down/

Spark the pass rush, shore up the secondary, and bring in a speedy receiver to take the top off opposing D’s; given that this has been the EXACT same off-season priority list since 2009, how much faith do you have that any of it gets addressed this time around? We’re an outstanding team with a few persistent (and fatal) warts we can’t seem to shake.

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This is true, but I think you have to look at both sides of the ball separately. On offense they tried a lot at wide receiver last year and Lloyd wasn’t Moss circa 2007 but he was the closest thing to an X receiver they’ve had since Moss. Personally I think they just need to continue to add talent at receiver via both the draft and free agency. It’s easy to get caught up in the exact kind of receiver they need, but ultimately they just need an influx of talent, preferably young talent, in any form.

As for the defense I really think Chandler Jones filled one of their biggest missing needs of the last few years. But the problem that arose is that they couldn’t get enough performance from their sub-rushers both inside and outside.

I really don’t get overly concerned with the secondary. I like McCourty and Dennard, and they’ll need to fill in the holes around them, but the defense will always live or die with their front seven so I continue to see that as the priority.

And really these are needs that every team tries to address. There’s not a single team out there that doesn’t need more pass rush. Slowly but surely they’ve been building their defense and it’s light years ahead of where it was in 2009. I think we’re just about at the point where this can be a defense that can win a championship.

Just need to keep adding players who are smart and physical.

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One of the areas where the Patriots improved dramatically was in third-down conversions, a very important category. Not only did they go from fifth in the league at 45.9 percent to first at 48.7 percent, they were better across the board relative to the rest of the league in every category: third-and-1 (12th to first), third-and-10-plus (18th to first), third-and-short (fifth to third), third-and-medium (seventh to first), and third-and-long (15th to fifth).

Looking at the 2012 Patriots by the numbers – Patriots – Boston.com

https://www.patspropaganda.com/one-of-the-areas-where-the-patriots-improved/

Are there any wide receivers you’d think we’d target in the first or second round of the draft? What about free agency?

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For free agency you have the names that are popping up a lot: Danny Amendola and Brian Hartline, but I’ll throw a random idea out there, how about bringing back Brandon Tate? They still need to replace his kickoff return ability, and he had some speed for the outside and he has experience in the system. He was a victim of numbers a couple years ago, but he could be an option.

As for the draft I’m still getting acquainted with the WR class, and where they take one will depend on how the board falls. Personally I think the DLs and DBs will be where the value is when the Pats are up in round one, but I think there’s a great chance they trade back as always.