Setting Realistic Expectations for Each New England Patriots Signing
Kicking off Tuesday with one of my weekly pieces over at Bleacher Report, taking a closer look at each of the Pats’ signings thus far and just how they might fit into the equation.
New England Patriots Roller Coaster Ride | Bob Snowdon – CLNSRadio.com
New England Patriots Roller Coaster Ride | Bob Snowdon – CLNSRadio.com
Fun read from Bob Snowdon and this is why I love following the Pats so much. Always entertaining and surprising and always plenty of people kicking and screaming the whole way to countless victories and fleece jobs.
“Strong safety is still a humongous hole on this team. Adrian Wilson didn’t look like the answer in training camp last year – he is very long in the tooth. If there’s some concerns with the Patriots that I have it’s strong safety and they’re driving me crazy not getting more edge rushers.
“I understand that Bill Belichick loves his ends to be versatile and play the run and all that stuff, but sometimes you just gotta send guys out on the field who just know to get after the quarterback. I still think that they’re very light there.”
https://www.patspropaganda.com/strong-safety-is-still-a-humongous-hole-on-this/
Patriots Mock Draft 1.0, The Defense Never Rests :Pats Pub
Patriots Mock Draft 1.0, The Defense Never Rests :Pats Pub
Round 1, Pick 29 — Dee Ford, DE/OLB Auburn:
Ford turned a lot of heads at the Senior Bowl and at 6’2, 252 is not the proto-typical edge rusher that the Patriots have targeted in the past. But there is no over-looking his motor, and burst off the perimeter. With broad shoulders and long arms, Ford possesses great burst at the point of attack and while isn’t great at setting the edge in the running game, is a bit underrated in that aspect, showing better than average strength.
Nice mock from Steve and I think I really need to start taking an even closer look at the high end defensive ends. The question is whether or not a designated pass rusher is worthy of a first round pick.
Again, they’re in sub at least 60% of the time. Maybe a guy can’t do much more than rush off the edge at first, but if he has elite burst he can make an impact while he develops.
Just something to think about. Nice overall mock with some players I really like.
With Revis and Browner coming in along with a reliable slot corner in Kyle Arrington plus a rising star in Logan Ryan how do you project Dennards role?
First and foremost I don’t think we can get too carried away trying to put the whole puzzle together right now. Let’s remember Browner is out the first four games and who knows how injuries will pile up. You ALWAYS need depth in the secondary and the Pats are lucky to have it heading into the training camp (hopefully).
Dennard has really been an outside corner since he got here. I know a lot of people projected him to the slot simply given his size, but we have yet to see him there at all unless I missed something.
Dennard also had a ton of issues last season dealing with his constantly-moving court dates and a number of injuries. He’s super tough though and kept playing through it all.
Now that he’s doing his jail time and can put that behind him and hopefully get healthy, he should be ready to go for 2014. I liked what we’ve seen out of him in his first two years, but he might have to develop some versatility to keep his job, i.e. playing inside and maybe even giving it a go on special teams.
But if you have Arrington and Ryan who can both play inside and outside and Dennard, Revis and Browner who are all primarily outside guys (Revis can play anywhere obvs) it’s a great place to start.
I’d guess weeks one through four we’re like seeing Dennard start on the right side opposite Revis with Arrington in the slot, assuming they all make it out of camp healthy, which is no given.
New England Patriots scout’s view: Brandon Browner – ESPN Boston
New England Patriots scout’s view: Brandon Browner – ESPN Boston
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Browner is perhaps the most imposing and physical cornerback in the NFL. He can swallow up wide receivers at the line of scrimmage with his length and power, while he can also be an impact tackler in the running game and open field. He has a large catch radius and sufficient ball skills. He can play press-man coverage and hold his own against split out tight ends, too.
Interesting stuff here on Browner and I think it’s safe to say we can rule him out for moving to strong safety or even playing in the slot against tight ends. He likely needs the sideline to keep his from having to move horizontally.
The real question is do the Pats play matchup with Revis and Browner or do they let them stay on each side like Seattle did with Browner? Because if they’re playing matchup and I’m an offensive coordinator, I’m putting Browner’s guy in the slot as much as possible and making him chase my guy across the field.
And if they’re playing sides I’m putting my best receiver away from Revis. Pats still have a number of options, but it will be interesting to see what they do each week (which of course, will change constantly).
Update: Browner just dropped this on his conference call. Clearly he has a lot to learn about how things are done in New England. Ssssssh!
Browner on pairing w/ Revis: “From what I understand, they’re going to have us matching up with guys. Our strong suit is man to man.”
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 17, 2014
if wilfork goes, do they try to replace him with a similar rookie DT? if said rookie is taken, and who else would value a run stuffing dt in this pass happy league, does it change what they try to do on defense? essentially, the defense has been wilfork centric, do you see it continue to be so?
Wrote about this last week in depth, check it out here.
Maybe you pick up a big fat nose tackle later in the draft, but I don’t see the value it taking someone like Louis Nix III in the first round just because he has similar dimension to Wilfork.
Wilfork was a one-of-a-kind player, not just a nose tackle.
My whole philosophy on defense now is that it has to be geared to stopping the pass. If a player can’t cover or rush the passer, his impact will be limited.
So far it seems like the Pats have stuck to this philosophy this offseason -> Revis/Browner, letting Spikes go. I just think we really need that third defense end and it’s becoming less and less likely they find a real impact guy in free agency. This does worry me a bit, but there’s a lot of time left.
Assume they add a mid-range vet defensive end (which I’m sure they will), then I think defensive end becomes more and more of a draft need and serious round one consideration, over defensive tackle for sure.
And I’m still hopeful that Wilfork sees the market out there for him isn’t all that intriguing and he comes back to the Pats. That would be ideal.
