Positional Battles to Watch In Foxborough: 'Backers and D'Backs

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

So Mayo, Thomas, and Bruschi are definite contributors, but two of the three are aging and one is coming off a season cut short by injury. Beyond that, the Patriots have a group of six or seven linebackers who possess varying degrees of skill, experience, and risk, yet who will be relied upon this season to make substantial contributions. It will be highly intriguing to see who wins the battles and impresses the coaches most during summer camps. If I had to guess, I would say Mayo, Bruschi, Thomas, and Woods will be the starting four, with Crable, Banta-Cain, and Guyton as the primary backups on the depth chart.

Defensive Backs:

This group is a little more solidified than the previous one. Unlike the ‘backers group, the Patriots made several transactions in the off-season to address what has been an achilles heal of the team for several years; dependable down field pass coverage. Starter Ellis Hobbs is out, while free agents Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden and draft picks Darius Butler and Patrick Chung are in. The Pats will also depend upon promising second year cornerbacks Jonathan Wilhite and Terrance Wheatley, as well as the continued maturation of safeties Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders.

All in all, it’s maybe the deepest, youngest group Bill Belichick has ever had to coach in New England. Aside from Springs, there is really no veteran leader at the back end. With Rodney Harrison likely retiring from football, the Patriots will be looking to Meriweather and Sanders- both returning starters from a year ago- to assume a good amount of the communication burden that is so crucial at the last level of defense.

In my eyes, the development and effectiveness of this group hinges on the younger players and the battles they endure during summer training. That is a tenuous position to take according to legendary coach/executive Bill Parcells, however. When coaching the Patriots, Parcells assertively verbalized his belief that any NFL team would lose one game for every rookie they started on the defensive side of the ball. Looking at the Patriots secondary, they may very well be starting, or at least frequently rotating in, two rookies in Chung and Butler, while second year players Wilhite and Wheatley had limited exposure a year ago and should be thought of as rookies, at least in the cognitive sense. That is a lot of losses, if you follow Parcells’ line of thinking.

The battles this summer will mainly be at cornerback, where uncertainty is the theme of the current roster as it stands today. Springs is a veteran producer, but he’s had trouble staying on the field throughout his career. Bodden is a talented, athletic player with high upside tools, but he may not latch on right away in Belichick’s system. Butler was thought to be maybe the most athletic, freakishly explosive corner in the draft, but asking him to do too much in his first year is likely a mistake Belichick is looking to avoid. Wheatley and Wilhite, while promising, have not proven they can produce as durable, intelligent cogs of the grander defensive machine. Again, there is just a lot hanging in the balance and even more to watch during summer workouts at the cornerback position.

And while safety seemingly is secure with two starters returning, the personnel behind Meriweather and Sanders is something to keep a close watch on this summer. The Patriots first pick of the draft at #34, Patrick Chung, has promise and could add ball skills and an element of size to the position, but again, he’ll be learning on the job. Free agent signee Brandon McGowan does not inspire much confidence in this writer. Reliable depth could emerge out of the backup group consisting of Antwain Spann, Mike Richardson, and Tank Williams, but in recent years the Patriots have been burned for relying on such players to produce. Ideally, someone will emerge this summer as a player Belichick feels he can trust, and if I had to guess I’d slot either Chung or Williams into the primary backup slot on the safety depth chart.

There will be considerable grappling for position within the depths of the Patriots DB pool, and the degree to which Belichick can depend upon guys such as Wilhite, Wheatley, Chung, and Butler will likely reflect the effectiveness and dependability of a unit in flux.

Keep a close watch on the positional trends developing this summer at linebacker and defensive back; they may just yet determine how far Brady and Co. advance this post-season.

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