by Ian TassoNot much surprises New England Patriots fans anymore. 50 Brady touchdowns, a 16-0 record and three Super Bowls in four years will do that to you. But 2009’s Patriot defense might buck the trend. Ranked sixth in the NFL in pass defense and third in points allowed, the New England defense deprived of big names and bright stars has officially shocked – and even surprised – the football world. Overall they’ve been tremendous. But how do they stack up individually? Grades are in once again, and class is back in session.
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Defensive Line: The loss of Richard Seymour is a little bit more apparent than New Englanders would have hoped. Even so, the Patriot defensive line is performing admirably, with Mike Wright stepping up in number 93’s stead. Wright leads the team with 4.0 sacks, but unfortunately is the only member of the D-Line with more than one. Vince Wilfork is yet to record his first. With Jarvis Green now out, the Patriot’s inability to apply pressure with just the front men will prove to be testing, but as evident by the defense’s success thus far, its not a hugely concerning issue.
Individual Grades: Wright, B+; Wilfork, B; Warren, B; Green, C+
Overall Midterm Grade: B+. Wilfork still eats up the run, and everything else for that matter, meanwhile Wright has been a pleasant surprise rushing from the outside. While they still don’t have that stud defensive end like they did with Seymour, the Patriots apply enough pressure with their front three/four to create issues for the opposition. Look for this to be a focal point as New England gears up for the high-octane offenses of Miami, Indy, and New Orleans.
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Linebackers: The core did a surprisingly nice job without stud Jerod Mayo through the first three-four weeks. However, the lack of contribution from Adalius Thomas and the other inside backer position is cause for a mild alarm. New England needs to get significantly better play from their outside linebacking positions if they want to have similar defensive success as against Tampa Bay when they go up against Indianapolis and New Orleans. Look for those teams to attack New England’s soft inner-core with quick slants, ins, and runs right up the gut.
Individual Grades: Mayo, A-; Banta-Cain, B+; Woods, B-; Thomas, B-; Alexander, C+; Seau, INC
Overall Midterm Grade: B. Thomas worries me. What’s wrong with him, we may never know, whether its an injury or an off-the field issue. Bottom line is without him at full strength and top potential, the Patriots lack an impact outside pass rusher. Banta-Cain has been nice, but it’s tough to expect him to have a big impact on an offense with complex blocking schemes like the Saints and Colts of the world. If Thomas continues to underachieve, this could be a glaring weakness in the New England defense.
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Cornerbacks: Surprisingly solid play thus far by the quartet of Springs, Bodden, Wilhite and Wheatley. Still, Randy Moss has the same amount of interceptions as the four of them combined, and without back-up Darius Butlers two-interception day, it would be a very bleak turnover outlook from the New England corners. Regardless, they combine to form half of the NFL’s 6th ranked pass defense, and you can’t argue with resultes. Will they be tested against Indy and New Orleans? Absolutely. But up until this point they’ve shown that as a unit, they prevent big plays, make tackles in the open field, and come up big when it counts. Can’t ask for much more.
Individual Grades: Bodden, B; Springs, B; Wilhite, B; Butler, B-; Wheatley, C+.
Overall Midterm Grade: B. The turnover issue remains a black mark. But sometimes a three-and out is just as effective. Wheatley and Wilhite show signs of becoming very solid NFL corners, and Butler has as high a ceiling as any of them. As long as Springs and Bodden can stay healthy, this no-name corner-backing core looks to continue its very solid 2009 season.
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Safetys: This has been New England’s defensive bread and butter. Both Brandon Meriweather and Branden McGowen have overachieved beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, and likewise have propelled a mediocre Patriot defense towards NFL excellence. The two lead their respective team in tackles, interceptions, forced fumble, and just about every other defensive statistic.
Individual Grades: Meriweather, A; McGowen, A; Sanders, B; Chung, C+
Overall Midterm Grade: A. It remains the strongpoint of the New England defense, and as long as Meriweather and McGowen continue to improve together, the final layer of the Patriot secondary looks to be promising for years to come.
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Special Teams: Stephen Gostkowski continues to push Adam Vinateiri further into the depths of Patriot’s fans memories. He has only missed three kicks thus far and remains one of the best kick-off legs in the game today. Meanwhile on the punting side, Chris Hanson ranks at the bottom of the NFL with 39.5 yards per punt. This has been for years and still remains a huge sore spot on the New England special teams. And though the return game still misses Ellis Hobbs, the team of Welker, Faulk, Maroney, Edleman and now Tate seem to get the job done with no real issues.
Individual Grades: Gostkowski, A; Welker/Faulk/Maroney/Edleman/Tate, B; Hanson, D+
Overall Midterm Grade: B+. No complaints here, really. Gostkowski proves to be one of the best kickers year in and year out, with 2009 no exception. Hanson is a pretty big issue that needs to be addressed, but its not as if the punting market is booming. For an offense as high-octane as the Patriots, punting isn’t the biggest concern anyway. I do hope to see Tate in an expanded special teams role as the year goes on – the kid has raw athletic skills that make Bethel Johnson look like Warren Sapp.
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Overall D/Special Teams Midterm Grade: A-. May be more of a reaction to the expectations rather than their actual performance, but there’s no denying the physicality and athletic ability of the defense that trots onto the field every Sunday. They are well coached, well disciplined, and much more importantly very young. They’ll only continue to get better, and again, it all comes back to Belichick.
As long as he is as the helm of this team, their talent combined with the schemes and formations he devises will continue to keep this defense at the top ranks of the NFL for the rest of the season. They'll step up in the coming weeks against Manning and Brees. Why? Because they have to. And Belichick wouldn't have it any other way.
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