The Patriots on a downward spiral.
- From: "MZ" <mark@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:58:22 -0400
It's inevitable, considering they put together an all-star cast last year
and lost only one game. I don't think anyone here thinks they'll lose only
1 game again in '08. So, yes, I will concede that the Pats will "decline"
next year as opposed to this one.
So what are the differences between this year's team and last year's?
In terms of coaching, the only major shakeup is the addition of Dom Capers.
It remains to be seen how positive an impact this will have, but it's hard
to imagine it being a downgrade.
On offense, the team loses Donte Stallworth and Kyle Brady. And that's
about it. Reiss has speculated that Stephen Neal may miss camp, but he
missed most of last season anyway, so you can't really count that as a
downgrade. That should be a good reason to try to add a guard on the second
day of the draft though. So the most prolific offense in NFL history loses
its 4th best receiver and its blocking TE. Big deal. I think Chad Jackson
will be a definite possibility to take over for Donte as what I call the
"gimmicky" receiver; the one you might run a reverse with or a quick out
and let him get some yardage. Kyle Brady will be a tough loss, but David
Thomas will return as the #2 TE. He obviously doesn't have Brady's blocking
skill, but he's certainly a better receiver. The running game will take a
hit with the loss of Kyle Brady, but hopefully Sammy Morris can contribute a
whole season this year.
Basically, on offense I think the team will be prepared to again "run up the
score" a lot. The starting lineup is intact. There's very little "decline"
there.
On special teams, they've lost nobody. In fact, they've added Sam Aiken,
who's pretty good. I think they need to address their KR spot though. Or
just use Maroney back there. I'm not sold on Hobbs or Andrews or Jackson as
kick returners. They may also consider upgrading the punter, but this team
relies less on the punter than any other.
Defensively is where they've been hit. But let's look at the losses: Rosie
Colvin, Asante Samuel, Junior Seau (maybe), Randall Gay, and Eugene Wilson.
Well, Wilson doesn't matter -- he barely played anyway. Randall Gay spent
practically all of last season as the nickel corner, a role that he wasn't
particularly good at, IMO. Personally, I've seen enough from Mike
Richardson to know that he can fill those shoes. Also, they picked up Jason
Webster for depth and may return Chad Scott, so I'm not particularly worried
about the nickel corner position.
Therefore, the major losses will be the (possible) loss of the third down
ILB, the starting ROLB (who was gone for a significant portion of last year
anyway), and starting CB. And this is supposedly going to transform the 2nd
best defense in football last year into a bad unit? If they don't make any
more moves, then there's no way they make it to #2 again. But if they're
able to land two starters in the draft and with whatever free agent money
they have remaining, then there's no reason to believe the D will be much
worse.
An LB and a starting CB are the only "needs" this team has right now.
Everything else is a "want".
.
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