bill belichick

The Patriots had an offseason that resulted in a great deal of turnover, and the turnover has grown over the last couple of days. This offseason the Patriots lost Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, Danny Shelton, and of course Tom Brady in free agency. They traded Duron Harmon to the Lions. They lost James Develin to retirement, and now they notably have lost Branden Bolden Patrick Chung, Marcus Cannon, and Dont’a Hightower to COVID opt-outs.

So, that’s a total of 11 impact guys on the field as well as in the locker room. In total, those 11 players have a combined 30 Super Bowl rings. Losing Tom Brady would have been a monumental loss in itself, but losing all those pieces defensively sets up a difficult challenge ahead for Bill Belichick. On top of having a major roster turnover, the pandemic has forced the NFL to cancel the preseason, which will make it difficult for Bill Belichick to fully assess his roster. Training camp will surely look different this season with all of the COVID restrictions.

Bill Belichick has pulled rabbits out of his hat before, but overcoming all of this is a new challenge in itself. This season was supposed to be the season in which Belichick proves that he was not a product of Tom Brady. But, at this point, the loss of Tom Brady isn’t even Bill Belichick’s biggest concern moving forward. The Patriots of course added former MVP quarterback Cam Newton, and they still have Julian Edelman, James White, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Sony Michel, and are getting David Andrews back at center.

As crazy as it sounds, I think the offense is in decent shape heading into training camp. If Cam Newton is indeed healthy, the offense will look different, but it should still be effective.

But, when it comes to the defense, Bill Belichick will have work cut out for him.

The Patriots defense was one of the best units in the NFL last season. The defense was the dominate unit for them last season, but it’s unlikely that they can get the same level of production for the unit in 2020. Losing substantial talent on all three levels of the defense will make it really difficult for the Patriots to overcome.

Starting with the defensive line, the Patriots lost Danny Shelton in free agency, as he reunited with former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in Detroit. One of the few weaknesses, the 2019 Patriots defense had was stopping the run. Everyone remembers how Derrick Henry ran all over them in the wild card round last season. Shelton was the best run defender the Patriots had, and I believe that they will in fact miss him.

The Patriots added former Tampa Bay Bucs nose tackle Beau Allen in free agency, and he is the logical replacement for Shelton. Belichick can even move Lawrence Guy inside as a run stopper. With Adam Butler being primarily used as a pass-rusher. Getting the run defense figured out should be one of the biggest concerns for Bill Belichick.

However, when it comes to the linebackers, it won’t be as simple. In particular, replacing Van Noy, Collins, and Hightower is something that is not realistic. According to Pro Football Reference, Kyle Van Noy has played more than 80% of the defensive snaps over the last two seasons. Collins played 81% of the defensive snaps in 2019, and Hightower has been a part of three Super Bowl teams, and has been an anchor on Bill Belichick’s defense for almost a decade. Hightower wears the green dot on defense and is often considered to be the quarterback of the defense. So, the Patriots are basically entering the 2020 season with a whole new group of linebackers. A group that will depend on the jump of second year linebacker Chase Winovich, the emergence of Ja’Whaun Bentley, the readiness of rookies Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, and the hope that Brandon Copeland will pick up the Bill Belichick’s complex defensive system.

The linebackers will likely be the Patriots’ biggest weakness of defense, but the secondary which is considered to be the biggest strength of the team took a massive hit when Patrick Chung opted out of the 2020 season. Chung has been a staple for the Patriots’ defense since 2014, and is the most versatile player in that secondary. The Patriots drafted safety Kyle Dugger in the second round of the draft, and he seems to be the logical replacement for Chung on the defense. But, it is far from a perfect fit. Dugger’s potential is clearly unknown, but a jump from NCAA Division II football to a starting safety in the NFL doesn’t seem very plausible. The Patriots also signed safety Adrian Philips in the offseason, and still have Terrance Brooks on the roster. I could see a situation in which the Patriots convert a cornerback to safety. The Patriots are very deep at cornerback and maybe can move a guy like Joejuan Williams to safety. But, they will miss Chung’s leadership and his grit as being one of the toughest guys on the field.

If you add up all the departures on defense, it’s obvious that this defense will go through a serious makeover. With a plethora of question marks, it’s tough to project who will even be on the field come week 1. Bill Belichick has certainly dealt with adversity when it comes to building a defense, but losing all of this talent days ahead of training camp is setting up a great challenge for him.

The hoodie will have his hands full when he begins to craft this Patriots defense…