New England Patriots Post Draft Commentary

The Patriots had a successful season, but were unable to make the playoffs after failing to win the division. The team played through an injury that would have left many other teams searching for ways to win 5 games as they lost Tom Brady for the season with a torn ACL in week 1. The Patriots continue to amaze with the way in which the team manages to succeed despite injuries and depth is one reason why this is possible. The Patriots did come into the 2009 off season with some questions still needing to be answered, some will be harder to fill than others; such as replacing Mike Vrabel.

The Patriots came into the off season needing to continue to bring youth into their defense and along the offensive line. The Patriots have not developed a young defensive lineman in some time and could use to bring someone along to backup Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour. The Patriots did select two defensive linemen; Daryl Richard and Myron Pryor that may vie for time at defensive end. Both players will have their work cut out for them as neither was ever known as a very forceful player whilst in college. The bigger acquisition may be Ron Brace as it in all likelihood means that Vince Wilfork will be on his way out of Foxboro next season. The Patriots hope Brace can anchor the middle of the line effectively. I do wonder about Brace’s ability to slide down the line and make plays, but he can hold up against the double team well enough. Having Wilfork to ease Brace’s transition to the pro game should pay off for the Pats.

Curiously, the team neglected to find a viable replacement for Mike Vrabel opting instead to select more of a coverage player in Tyronne McKenzie from USF. McKenzie would be an asset in pass defense as he is athletic and rangy, but does not take on blockers well making him a bit of a odd fit to some degree. I would have thought that grabbing a replacement for Teddy Bruschi would be high on the agenda for the front office, but apparently I was mistaken. The team did look to find a replacement for Rodney Harrison by bringing Patrick Chung; a hard hitting player. Chung will have to answer questions regarding his range in coverage, but he is a good run defender. The

The offensive line also saw the front office bring in two players that should be able to contribute as the core of this unit is aging and on the decline. Matt Light and Steven Neal are probably the best examples of age catching up to a player as their productivity has gone down. Rich Ohrnberger and George Bussey will be seen as the future and hopefully be allowed to grow this upcoming season. The team will continue to need new blockers is it looks to replace aging veterans and backups. One surprising area of neglect is running back. The team did sign Fred Taylor, but he has never been able to stay healthy. The team has not seen Lawrence Maroney blossom the way they hoped and figured to be in the market for a replacement for the future. Taylor is a stop gap measure, leaving the team still looking for an upgrade at the position for the long term.

The Patriots will once again be the team to beat in the AFC East with the return of Tom Brady, but the other teams in the division have also gotten better and it should be a dog fight to the end again this year. I think the patriots should have done more to bring in more pass rushers but obviously the front office feels differently. I figured that the defensive end position would receive more attention earlier than it did. The starters are not faltering, but waiting until the end of the draft to bring in talent in this area is a recipe for success not often seen. Regardless, the Patriots will once again be the deepest team in the division except for the linebacker position, which probably will not hold the team back unless injuries strike.

Pre Draft Needs: DL, OL, S, RB