With the Patriots being the toast of the town for 18 games of the season, they must have a bad taste in their mouth from their Superbowl loss to the Giants. Although New England always seems to replenish their roster with inexpensive players that flourish in their system, this year the Patriots' coaching staff will have some serious work to do.
With the loss of Asante Samuel to the Philadelphia Eagles, the team seems to be in a serious transition at cornerback. With small free-agent signings like Jason Webster, Fernando Bryant, and Lewis Sanders, the Patriots hope they can at least fill some of the void left when Samuels flew to Philly. If they so decide, New England could always move safety Brandon Meriweather to cornerback, a position that he rotated in and out of during his time at Miami.
The problems with New England's secondary, however, don't end there. With Eugene Wilson bolting for the Buccaneers, and Randall Gay slipping away to the Saints, the Patriots have to hope that their veteran free-agent pickups and recent draft picks can pick up some of the slack.
The other notable weakness of the Patriots going into the draft was the lack of youth and speed in their linebacking core. With retirement approaching for Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau, the Patriots didn't have the line-to-line playmaker who has been a huge proponent of their defense. The biggest loss may come with the Patriots cutting Roosevelt Colvin. When Colvin was injured last year, Bill Belichek's defense took a serious hit.
With their starting linebackers getting older, and running backs from other teams getting younger and faster, the combination seems deadly for the Pats. With only Adalius Thomas and the free-agent signing of former New York Jet Victor Hobson as their young proven linebackers, New England was more than ready to get younger and quicker with their draft picks.
The only other notable loss in free agency was Donte Stallworth. Yet as everyone saw last year, Stallworth didn't play a huge role in an offense centered around Randy Moss and Wes Welker. The Pats should be able to utilize Jabar Gaffney as a third receiver with no difficulty. If not, they still have Chad Jackson, a former second-round pick, still waiting for his chance to play a role in what should again be a heavy pass-first offense.
With their involvement in the notorious Spygate scandal, the Patriots lost their first-round pick, 31st overall. Yet with the Patriots, that of course matters absolutely nothing. As with every year, the Patriots go into the draft with multiple first-round picks. The front office and General Manager Scott Pioli always finds a way to trade back, acquire more future draft picks, and still manage to garner the player they wanted all along. As a result, this year the Patriots were in possession of the 49ers first-round pick as a result of the Niners movement up to draft offensive lineman Joe Staley last year. Now, equipped with the seventh pick overall, New England was able to bringing in an impact player that most teams in the Superbowl would never have a chance of drafting.
That player was none other than Tennessee linebacker, Jerod Mayo. With over 140 tackles last year in the rugged SEC conference, Mayo dominated. In my humble opinion, he's one of the best true "playmakers" in the 2008 draft. He is more than willing to fly to the ball and deliver the big hit.
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