Patriots' Offseason Moves: Realistically, New England Fans!

17-14. Just like every other Patriots fan, for me thinking of those two numbers causes the onset of a massive headache.

Although the Super Bowl loss is still fresh in our minds, it is time to face the facts. We did lose. We lost because the Giants were more athletic, and we were exposed in many different areas.

Now, it is also time for Giants fans to face some facts.

Eli was very lucky on the last drive. The Patriots blew that game, and the Patriots are still the better team.

All that aside, the Giants are hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and the Patriots are not.

It's time to look into the offseason and see what the Patriots should realistically do.

I viewed an article the other day talking about every single player that the Raiders should get. Normally this is fine, but every single player this guy wrote about was a Pro Bowler and just very unlikely to move.

It is wishful thinking, but I am about to offer a very realistic look into what moves the Patriots should make.

The first step in deciding what should be done is to look into what the Patriots weaknesses are.

The first, and most obvious, weakness is the secondary, namely the cornerback positions. The offseason was not kind to the Patriots with the loss of Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson, and the much under-rated Randall Gay.

The Pats have tried to remedy this with the signings of Fernando Bryant, Lewis Sanders, Tank Williams, and Jason Webster but none of these players appear to be the long-term solution.

The draft may be coming up soon, but it is good to look into free agency and trades to try and build up talent. The free agent cornerback pool is almost empty though.

The only names that appear of any interest to the Pats are players like Ty Law and Domonique Foxworth.

Law still has something left in the tank, and can still be very helpful at corner, tallying two INTs and 47 tackles last year for the Chiefs. Foxworth, on the other hand, is a very young corner who played mainly in the nickel last year, but is very intriguing.

Most of the other corner prospects are little more than special teamers, or added nickel and dime depth. The next place to look for a cornerback is the trade market. Four teams appear to be able for a cornerback trade.

The first is the Oakland Raiders.

With the addition of DeAngelo Hall, many of Oakland’s young corners have become expendable. The most intriguing of these corners is Fabian Washington, the former first round pick out of Nebraska.

In 2006, Washington pulled in four interceptions, and was then moved to nickel duties last season. He is an extremely talented player who could be acquired for a third or fourth round draft pick.

The other corner is Stanford Routt who burst onto the scene last year with three interceptions. He showed good coverage skills for a player who few people knew before last year. He can also be acquired for a mid-to-late-round pick.

Other possible trades could include the Eagles and Lito Sheppard, the Bears and Charles Tillman or Danieal Manning, the Panthers and Richard Marshall or Chris Gamble, and Pacman Jones.

The draft will be very important for this team at the cornerback position. The early rounds will be extremely important because cornerback is very deep in this draft.

The problem is that the Pats hold a pick that may be a reach for the corners in this draft.

I expect them to bite the bullet and draft Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Troy State’s Leodis McKelvin. I could also see them trading down and getting even more picks.

I also see them adding depth in the secondary by the third round by adding a safety like Notre Dame’s Tom Zbikowski, who I think is an extremely talented prospect.

The next weakness the Patriots appear to have is at linebacker.

The current group consists of Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas, and Mike Vrabel. It would be very surprising to me to not see Junior Seau come back to try and win the Super Bowl.

We need to make something perfectly clear at this point: Seau and Bruschi can still play at a high level. The problem is that they cannot both be the starting middle linebackers for the entire game.

If Thomas were on the inside, they would be much stronger and wouldn’t require as much out of Bruschi or Seau. With this in mind, youth must be added to this group.

The release of Roosevelt Colvin does hurt and trading at this position is very unlikely this late in the offseason, so the Pats must look to free agency and the draft.

There are still some talented linebackers available in the free agency market. Players like Takeo Spikes, Ian Gold, Jeremiah Trotter, and Al Wilson are still available.

Gold may be the best fit out of all these prospects because he is a freak athlete who could play in or outside in the 3-4 set. Spikes or Wilson would also be great fits at inside linebacker.

This is a tricky position to determine in the draft.

The Pats are notorious for not drafting linebackers very high, but if a versatile player like Vernon Gholston fell to them, they wouldn't pass him up. If they don’t take a linebacker in the first round, they will most likely take one in the second.

Players like Xavier Adibi, Eric Henderson, or Curtis Lofton would all make sense with these picks. Also, look for the Pats to snag a late round gem in Illinois' J Leman.

Other positions of need can mainly be filled up in the draft.

Positions such as tight end and offensive line depth can be covered in the draft. Wide receiver depth is a small issue that can be addressed with this very deep receiver class, or free agency.

What needs to be kept in mind is that the Patriots are in great shape and many positions need some bolstering through the draft.

Please leave me any comments. I will write about other teams, so leave a post telling me what you think another team should do this offseason.

I will be adding another article soon showing my mock draft. Stay tuned!