The Patriot’s defense is a mess right now, and it has been a topic of discussion on ESPN and NFL Network.  Most people attribute the struggling defense to the departure of most of the veterans that helped them win three championships (Seymour, Vrabel, Bruschi, Harrison, and Samuel).  I disagree with these remarks and believe the Patriot’s struggles are more-so due to their low success in the draft.   Belichick wouldn’t have been in this position if he was able to do a better job in the drafts, specifically in the recent years.

2008

Belichick’s defense was aging fast and many of the players were at the end of their career.  The Patriots started addressing their defense with the 2008 draft which was a year too late.   Out of the Patriot’s seven 2008 draft choices, six of them were on the defensive side of the ball.  This draft class included 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Jerod Mayo, but the other five players didn’t turn out as well.   The Patriot’s two cornerback picks were Terrence Wheatley who has been a complete bust and hardly sees the field, and 4th round pick Jonathan Wilhite sits at 3rd on the depth chart.  Third round pick outside linebacker, Shawn Crable, was rated as having tremendous upside as a pass rusher, but was placed on injured reserve for both the 2008 and 2009 seasons and has yet to play a down in a regular season game.     On a bright note, undrafted inside linebacker Gary Guyton has been a very pleasant surprise and is the other starting inside linebacker with Mayo.

2009

Again, in the 2009 draft, the Patriot’s focus on defense was evident in their 2009 draft class and their first three picks were defensive players.  Even though it’s not fair to be overly critical of rookies in the NFL, there haven’t been any superstars and none of the defensive rookies have earned a starting spot on the roster.   Chung and Butler have seen regular playing time, but they still have room for improvement.  Defensive tackle Ron Brace has been the target of many questions because he is a second round pick that has barely seen playing time and is behind sixth round pick Myron Pryor on the depth chart.  Fourth round pick, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, was another highly rated player but a preseason ACL injury sent him to IR.

Veterans

Now, was Belichick foolish by clearing the roster of the veterans and Pro-Bowlers this defense used to carry?  In my opinion, no he wasn’t.  Harrison and Bruschi needed to retire and they both had very successful careers.  Mayo and Brandon Meriweather have stepped into their shoes and filled in admirably.  Asante Samuel continues to be a shut down corner for the Eagles and he would have made a substantial difference in the Patriot’s secondary.   However, it would have been nice to see Wheatley, Wilhite, or Butler come in and earn a starting corner spot.   Furthermore, Richard Seymour was unexpectedly traded to the Raiders for a 2011 1st round pick.  It was his contract year, which he shared with Vince Wilfork, and it would have been very unlikely for the Patriots to resign both defensive linemen.  Also, the 2011 1st round pick should be under the rumored “rookie salary cap” system which would make a 1st round pick very valuable.   The Patriot’s pass rush was pedestrian in 2008 with Seymour on the roster and I don’t think he would have made a very big difference.  Given the scenario, I agree with this trade completely.  The one move that I don’t completely agree with is the trade of Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs as part of the Matt Cassel deal.  It wasn’t in the best interest of the Patriots and I believe it was more of a favor to give GM Scott Pioli a veteran player on the abysmal Chief’s Defense.

Future

I can’t blame Belichick for most of the moves he made with the personnel.  Would Vrabel have helped the defense? Probably.  But, on the flip-side, injuries and poor play from draft choices have just exposed the restructured defense.   The Patriot’s defense finished with a respectable 11th best in yards per game.  However, when your team leads the NFL in time of possession (as the Patriots do), your defense isn’t on the field often and should be ranked highly.  The Patriots are transitioning to a younger squad and we may be seeing the next wave of a Pro-bowl laden team, but it’s as if it’s still a few years away.  If the Patriots had hits on their draft picks the defense could be in a different situation.  They saw these holes developing and tried addressing them with the draft but didn’t get success they wanted.  The Patriots found two starters (Mayo and Meriweather) from the last 17 defensive players they’ve drafted since 2007.  They have four picks in the first two rounds of the 2010 draft and I will say with no exaggeration, the Patriots need to draft well.  There are holes on this defense that need filling, the most obvious being the lack of a pass rush.   Winning games starts in April; Remember, the Draft Matters.