By: Tom Rowe

Since 2003, DE Ty Warren has been one of the Patriots great contributors during the Belichick era. Now after surprising acquisitions by the Team of the Decade, Warren is now looking for a new home; or is he? Warren along with veterans Alge Crumpler, Nick Kazcur, and Tully Banta-Cain were cut this morning by the Organizations with very little explanation other than making a new turn to win the Super Bowl. According to reports, Warren had failed his physical this season keeping him from officially joining the roster. TY had just recently recovered from a liberal tear in his hip that forced him to miss the entire 2010 season. Without Warren the Patriots went 14-2 and were the number 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, but suffered on both passing and running defense ranking in the bottom half of the league.
Warren’s contract may have something to do with his release or that he simply wasn’t in Belichick’s plans for the season. We’ve seen Bill cut guys unexpectedly before a season just because he didn’t feel that player would help the team (prime example: Lawyer Milloy in 2003). But that is hard to justify when Warren, though does not live up to the $7+ million per year contract he was cut from, has been a part of one of the most feared defensive lines in the late 2000’s and has the third highest sack total on the Patriots from 2004 on (20.5 for his Pats’ career).
Though players like Kazcur and Banta-Cain will not return to the Patriots, but it has to be thought that Ty Warren’s services will be back before the season starts. His contributions cannot go unrecognized, but this could be a way of restructuring his contract or this simply is showing fans and players that the defense will be relying on newly acquired DT Albert Haynesworth more than originally thought. Warren has a lot to say about his new, yet troubled, teammate yesterday. But when asked about the reasons he believes what caused Bill to pull the plug on number 94 he stated “I have nothing but respect for bill and Mr. Kraft, but I feel I’m not and never was in their plans for this season and I look forward to doing bigger and better things”. Haynesworth just went from being cornered by the organization to holding all the leverage he needs to gain his “comfortably”. Whatever the reason, I have always appreciated Warren’s service as a player and a New England Patriot. He fit the role as a True Patriot and showed great leadership, determination, and respect for all he played for and against. Let’s hope we can say the same for Big Albert Haynesworth after his service is over.

By: Tom Rowe

When you woke up on the morning of July 28th, I’m sure your reaction was just as surprised and confused has mine when you heard that former Defensive Player of the Year and Redskins DE Albert Haynesworth was being acquired by the Patriots. Haynesworth is another troubled yet talented player that the Patriots have taken in under their wing. Corey Dillon and Randy Moss are the most notable of the bunch, but those two and the rest do not deserve to be in the same group Haynesworth is in. When it comes to personalities, Haynesworth is the worst of the worst; he just a plan bad dude.

Haynesworth has been known for his dink-like attitude since his Pro Bowl days in Tennessee. From nearly blinding and wounding a lineman to off the field stuff like sexually abusing people close to him numerous times. His track record speaks for itself, but so does his talent as a Defensive lineman. Haynesworth in his time with Tennessee and the few games he played with Washington, he has recorded 30.5 sacks along with a huge presence known on the field when rushing the Quarterback. Between the 2007-2009 seasons, Haynesworth racked up 18.5 of his 30.5 career sacks. Though he is feared and known on the field as an elite pass rusher, the 30 year old lineman out of Tennessee has had his career tarnished by his arrogance and childish behaviors over the 2 years he played with the Redskins. His lack of respect, work ethic, and care for his teammates left his former Head Coach, Mike Shanahan, willing to take a measly 5th round pick for the grossly paid lineman. Haynesworth was given a 7-year $100 million dollar contract in 2009 after his 2008 Defensive Player of the Year season and it will be a contract Washington will always regret.

With the contract problems taken care of by the Redskins and coming into a system where his past behavior will not be tolerated, Haynesworth, I believe, will thrive under Bill Belichicks coaching and become a part of a great potential tag team with himself and Vince Wilfork. With Big V and Big Al playing the middle of that Patriots D-Line, not even an all pro Runningback like Adrian Peterson will find it easy to run the ball. But that can only happen if the 335lbs D-tackle can keep himself in check by coming clean and do what every Patriot is told to do in their service with New England; “Just do you job”.

By: Tom Rowe

Since Head Coach Bill Belichick took over the New England Patriots in 2000, the team has never drafted a Pass Rusher under their legendary coach’s rein, taking value over talent every year. If you count former defensive end Richard Seymour, then you’re just trying to make up excuses. Under Belichick’s era as head coach and GM, the Patriots have never gone out and obtained a Dwight Freeny or Julius Peppers caliber player for their defense. But, the Patriots did win 3 Super Bowls without this pure, explosive pass rusher on the team and people would make the argument that if they did it 3 times, then they could do it again; sadly it’s not so easy anymore.

The NFL as changed significantly since the last title was won in Jacksonville. The league has now become a pass happy one with some many talented Quarterbacks taking over the game they play and with all fans witnessing the season known now as “The Year of the Quarterback”, the need for a powerful and effective pass rusher like a Julius Peppers is a dire need for the Pats. Now until the Lockout is over, the teams cannot pursue free agent pass rushers like Cullen Jenkins or Shawn Ellis, but the Draft this year was full of young talented defensive players, more specifically pass rushers. Though the Patriots could have landed big time talent like Cameron Jordan from Cal or Da’Quan Bowers from Clemson, but instead went for OL Nate Solder, a CB who no one knows his name and 2 disappointing running backs.

We all had the same frustration with Bill when he drafted CB Devin McCourty last year in the first round, we were all wrong about that after seeing the former Rutgers star have the talent and skill that resembled Patriot great Ty Law. But, is Bill right again this year or will this be a repeat of the “Back Breaker’s Draft” of 2006 where the Patriots thought they struck gold for the future and instead got nothing but dirt. Nate Solder is a great talent and I have no doubt will be a Pro Bowl caliber Lineman for the Pats for years to come, but the other picks leave us all scratching our heads when this Draft was full of great pass rushing talent and once again Bill Belichick said no to all of them. Let’s hope that Jermaine Cunningham or some other Patriots vet steps up to be the pure pass rusher we all need, because after 11 years under Bill we know that he will never go with a talented guy who can get to the QB over a valued player who won’t be as feared by the opponents. We still have our faith in Bill and we saw him get criticized to no end over the decade for his system, but the Patriots have been engraved in NFL lore due to his system and we have no reason to question him and his decisions until we’ve seen a full season of his work, once February hits we can begin picking apart his system.

With the pre season in the books, the 2010 Patriots welcomed TO, Ochocinco, and the rest of the Bengals to town.  The pre season did not end well for the Pats, the defense looked like a young defense and the running game had some questions.  Let’s look at each phase of the game and see how I graded the Patriots.

Overall Offense Grade- A

The Pats looked great entering the game, moving right down the field and scoring on their first possession.  They were outgained by the Bengals, 428 to 376, but the Bengals played from behind the entire game.  They were great on third down, 9-13, and in the red zone, going 3-5 with three touchdowns.

Quarterback- A

You can’t get much better than a 120.9 passer rating as Brady carved up the much hyped Bengals defense.  Brady looked in mid season form, going 25-35 for 258 yards and three touchdowns.  As usual he spread the ball around hitting 7 different receivers and hitting Wes Welker for two TDs.  Brady will face a better defensive backfield in week 2, but these are players he is used to playing against, Revis and Cromartie, so he will make something happen.

Offensive Line- A

Logan who?  This was looking like a big weakness heading into week one, but they O line only let up two QB hits and no sacks allowed.  This will be a up and down season for the offensive line, so let’s not get too excited yet.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends- A

How could I not grade them with an A?  Welker came back and had 8 receptions, 64 yards, and two touchdowns in his return game.  Moss had an average game, 5 receptions for 58 yards, no TDs, but an 11.8 average and a 32 yard reception, which shows that he is still a big play WR.  The great thing to see was second year WR Brandon Tate, who missed the 09 season with an injury, had 4 receptions and 36 yards, and also made an impact in special teams.

Running Backs- B+

This is going to be a committee of backs and each week we could have a different guy stepping up.  Fred Taylor lead all backs with 14 carries, 71 yards, and a 5.1 average.  He is healthy now, and will continue to be the starting back until someone else steps up.  Kevin Faulk contributed as usual; the ageless back had 3 carries for 23 yards and four catches for 47 yards.

Overall Defense- B

Yea, I gave them a B.  They looked good at the start and some guys stepped up big and looked to be leaders out there, however, they did let up 24 points, 428 yards, 342 of them were passing yards.  Lastly, they were outscored 21-10 in the second half.  With a lead that big, the defense should have pinned their ears back and went for blood, which leads me to believe that Belichick still has some questions.

Defensive Line- B

We all know in a 3-4 defensive scheme, these guys do not get any glory, but they played well this week.  Vince Wilfork and Ron Brace chipped in with a few tackles and one pass deflected.  Mike Wright did not show up much in the box score, but that is what a true lineman does in the 3-4, take up space so the LBs can make plays.  They are thin at D-line, and will need to continue to improve each week.

Line Backers-B

The Pats have a young group of LBs this year and they will be up and down each game.  Jarod Mayo (12 tackles, 8 solo) will continue to be a rock in the middle of the field and is the leader of the front seven.  Against the Bengals, the LBs were steady, but they were outplayed by the secondary.

Secondary-A

The defensive backfield was the reason the Patriots won this game (and special teams).  Second year safety Patrick Chung was amazing having 16 tackles (12 solo) and seemed to be everywhere on the field.  Darius Butler did give up a TD to Chad Ochocinco, but he was solid as well with 8 solo tackles and a pass defended.  Brandon Meriweather, the most experienced Pat in the secondary chipped in with 7 tackles.  This is a young secondary and they will have their ups and downs, but it seems that they get what the coaches want them to do; we should see some steady improvement throughout the season.

Special Teams- B

Kicking Game-B

Stephen Gostkowski was 5 for 5 for extra points, but the usually solid kicker missed two field goal attempts missing two from 40 plus yards.  It is early in the season and he is a great kicker, so no reason to panic yet.

Rookie punter Zoltan Mesko had one punt for 43 yards.  Not much to discuss here.

Return Game-A

Second year receiver, Brandon Tate had a great first NFL game.  He missed all of last season after a knee injury in the preseason.  The speedy Tate had four returns for 184 yards, averaging 46 yards a return.  He had an electrifying 97 yard return to open up the second half and give the Pats a 31-3 lead.

Overall the Patriots had a great game, jumping out to an early lead and maintaining the lead throughout the game.  The Bengals got some yards and points in garbage time which is to be expected, but I would have liked Belichick to continue to be aggressive with his young defense.  We shall see how things work out next week against the hated Jets.

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The Patriots traveled to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan and the Falcons.  The Falcons are coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs and had many injuries.  The Falcons have many weapons on offense and would put some pressure on the young Patriots defense.  As I mentioned in the last post, the Pats have showed some swagger and look like they have something to prove with each snap.

Game two welcomed backed Wes Welker to the offense and Tom Brady threw to him right away.  Welker finished with 2 catches for 20 yards.  It was a dropped pass that made him feel like he was back; he took a hard hit as he was going down.  As many players say, it’s that first big hit that makes you feel back in the game.  Brady continued to impress, 10/12, 84 yards, and a TD.  He did take a big hit in which he fumbled but the Pats recovered.  Second year backup Brian Hoyer looked good as well, 8/15, 94 yards and a TD as well.

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I do not know if the Belichick “Jedi Mind Trick” has worked, but the Patriots seemed to come out fired up in their first game since the playoff loss to the Ravens.  Belichick has removed everything that reminds the team of prior success, pictures, clippings, whatever, it’s gone, like most of the players from that run.  I know the Saints had been on the road for a week before the game, but it was good for the Pats to come out the way they did against the Super Bowl Champs.

I still have not been able to look at Tom Brady with a straight face with his “Beiber” cut, but the man without a contract for next season looked in game shape throwing the ball down the field very easily against the Saints, connecting on 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards.  It is the first game, but he looked much better than he did a year ago.  Brian Hoyer was impressive as well, going 8/13 for 106 yards.

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According to Mike Reiss from www.espnboston.com the Patriots have placed WR Wes Welker on the Active PUP list for the start of training camp.  I originally wrote that he would be a full participant in camp, earlier than expected, which is still the case.  Once again, Belichick pulls a great move, by putting him on the Active PUP List, this allows Welker to participate in team activities and frees up a roster spot.  This is a loop hole that the Colts used two seasons ago when Manning had his knee surgery.

Everyone knows Welker will be back and on the team, the “active PUP list” tag allows the Pats to look at other receivers and players longer and determine what to do with them.  A position that was once thought of as a critical need has become a position that will have a lot of figuring out.  We all know that Moss and Welker are on the team, but there is going to be a fight for the last three or four roster spots.

Tory Holt is a good possession guy, but who knows if he can run the routes and create the space he needs as he has lost a step, the Pats do not want another Joey Galloway situation.  Holt has had two down years, but he was on bad teams and not Brady throwing to him. Julian Edelman looks like another Welker type guy and was productive last year, but needs to stay healthy.  David Patten was an odd sign this off season, I don’t know what he has left in the tank, and he hasn’t been productive since 2007.  That leaves Sam Aiken, Brandon Tate, Matt Slater, and their third round pick, Taylor Price.

Aiken (20 Rec, 326 yds, 2 TDs) had a decent numbers for being thrust in the third receiver role in the middle of last season, but he has been around for 8 seasons with various teams.  Tate, a third round pick from 2009 was only active for three games last year and did not have a catch.  He is more known for his KR/PR skills and with Kevin Faulk getting older, he may be valuable.  Matt Slater, listed as a WR, but he is a special teams wiz and we know how Belichick loves special teams guys and NFL pedigree (He is the son of HOF lineman, Jackie Slater).  Unless Tate or first round pick Devin McCourty steps up, there will be a place for him somewhere.  That leaves 2010 3^rd round pick, Taylor Price. I feel with his talent, he can be productive and he has an NFL build.  He needs to show what he can do right away with the opportunity he has.

All and all, they have a strength that looked like a weakness heading into the offseason.  They need to get younger and make sure Brady likes the younger guys, so I have a feeling that baring a crazy injury, Sam Aiken and David Patten may not make the roster and that will allow the young guys to step up and show us what they have!  It should make an interesting battle at training camp.

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In closing the 2009-2010 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens ripped apart the Patriots defense.  Ray Rice looked like a hall of famer and ran through everything that was thrown at him.  This past season was definitely a transition year for the vaunted Patriots defense, no Bruschi, no Harrison, no Seymour.  It was the first year I could remember saying, “who was that?”  2010-2011 may have a similar feel to it, but the master, Bill Belichick has taken back over the defense, there were some losses, but some good additions.

Defensive Line Losses

Jarvis Green- Signed with Broncos.  Green was primarily a reserve with the Patriots, until last year with the loss of Seymour.  He has always been productive eating up blockers and slowing down the running backs, as well as getting some sacks.  His sack totals have dropped, that may be due to losses on the D Line, or different schemes that made him hold blocks more that get to the QB.  He now joins “Patriots West” and the Denver Broncos.

Defensive Line Additions

Gerrard Warren- Free Agent from Oakland.  Warren has been on some bad teams, the Raiders, Browns, and a couple years with Denver, but has always been productive.  He is older, 31, but knows the 3-4 defense well and at 6-4 325 lbs, he will be able to assist Wilfork in holding the blockers and will break through for some coverage sacks.  He will also add some attitude to the team, similar to Rodney Harrison when he came to the Pats.  Warren has been somewhat of a “hot head” but brings some great energy on the field.

Vince Wilfork- Franchise Tag, then resigned to a long term deal.  This was a no brainer, but almost turned bad.  After the issues with Seymour and the trade to Oakland, the Pats had to come back and sign this massive force in the middle.  He is the most consistent player on the defense, he is still young (28), and has only missed 6 games in his 6 year career.

Derrick Burgess- Resigned.  As long as he can remain on Belichick’s good side and on the field, he should be productive this year.  He averaged double digit sacks with the Raiders a few years back with an aging Warren Sapp along side him, expect him to pile up some sacks with Warren and Wilfork taking up multiple blockers.

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“With the 27^th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the New England Patriots select……WHO?”  Let’s meet their first pick, Devin McCourty, cornerback from Rutgers University.  Many think that Bill Belichick made a mistake with this pick; they could have picked Dez Bryant, but traded down with Dallas and let them take the receiver.  I disagree that this pick was a stretch, to me, this pick shows the Belichick is back to taking his kinda guys.

During the draft they really did not do Devin McCourty justice when they were talking about him.  Yes, he is considered a “special teams demon,” but he also had 80 tackles last season.  His numbers are amazing, opponents completed just 35% of the passes that were thrown his way last year, and he shut down every receiver he faced, just letting up 2 touchdowns the entire year.  He may not pick off a ton of passes, but this kid is a drive killer, he recorded 94 third down stops and 33 fourth down stops, he accounted for killing 39% of the drives he faced.  He is capable of being a shut down corner, but he is also not afraid to get his nose dirty and stop the run, 91 of his 236 career tackles were inside the box.

He is a complete player, a former point guard in high school; he possesses great leadership skills and is considered “a coach on the field.”  He is a student of the game and studies film and can diagnose the plays before they happen.  This is the type of player that the Patriots have been missing since Harrion, Bruschi, and Samuel left.  Look for McCourty to step in and be a contributor right away.

Talking with several people after the first round, people were already questioning if the Pats have lost “it.”  What makes the Patriots so good, is the rest of the draft, and the “value picks.”

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