Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
The Patriots defense scares the living heck out of me. I live by the old cliche that defense wins championships. If that is the case, than the Patriots have no chance of winning the Super Bowl. Before any of you out there start yelling at me, I know the Patriots played a "vanilla", or base 3-4 defense throughout the majority of the preseason. I know that, and that's not what I'm basing my opinion on. I'm basing my opinion on several important factors.
1. Proven starters on defense - Vince Wilfork is the only proven starter on defense for the Patriots. You can say what you want about Brandon Merriweather, but if anything he's been a very inconsistent player. He shouldn't have made the pro bowl last year, and I really think he's a bit overrated at this point. That doesn't mean I don't like him, or think he can be a very good player in the NFL. Same thing goes for Jerod Mayo. He showed great promise his rookie season, but was injured a good portion of last season. I'd actually say he's their 2nd best player on defense, but he's still young and untested for the most part.
2. Lack of Pass Rush - I'm not talking about sacks here. I am talking about the ability to put pressure on the quarterback. You don't necessarily have to sack the quarterback, and agree with BB that sacks numbers are overrated. Besides Tully Banta-Cain, who had 5 of his team leading 10 sacks against the Bills last year, who else will provide the pass rush? Derrick Burgess maybe, but don't count on the likes of Gerard Warren, Mike Wright or Ron Brace from the defensive line position.
3. Defensive Secondary - Long term I love the Pats secondary. After hating the Devin McCourty pick, I think he looks like a legit NFL corner. I love his size, his toughness and nose for the ball. I also realize how hard it is to play corner in the NFL as a rookie. I like Darius Butler, but having a rookie and 2nd year man at the corners scares me. Merriweather is a good safety, but needs to be consistent with his play. After struggling to start his rookie season, I really like the strides Patrick, don't call me Eugene, Chung has made. Ultimately the lack of pass rush will lead to struggles for the secondary. I do expect them to improve as the season goes on and they learn to play together.
Even with all that, I predict the Patriots to go 10-6 this season and narrowly win the AFC East yet again. I'm not sold on the Jets, and actually think the Dolphins may be a bigger threat in the division. The offense will be so good they'll help win games when the defense lets them down. Unfortunately, you might see the same thing happen in the playoffs as last years debacle against the Ravens. Because I try to be a positive guy, I want to end on a high note. The Pats have made some very good draft picks on defense in the past two years. I like Butler, Chung, McCourty and Spikes. I look forward to seeing what Jermaine Cunningham can do when he gets healthy. He may be able to add some help to the pass rush. Ron Brace, after being a disaster his rookie season, really showed us something this preseason. Just like the secondary, the Pats defense could return to their glory days in the years to come, especially since they have 2 first round and 2 second round picks next season.
All we can do now is hold on for the wild ride of the NFL season.
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