Super Bowl 2012: New England Patriots Must Address Defense in NFL Draft

You can look at the New England Patriots' 21-17 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI and pin it on the receivers, as Gisele Bundchen did.

And, certainly, Patriots receivers dropped their fair share of balls.

But the fact remains after Eli Manning's glorious performance that the Patriots have to get better on defense, and they need to start in the 2012 NFL draft.

It's easy to see Manning getting sacked three times on Sunday and say the Patriots' pass-rush did its job. But you look at how many times Brady was pressured compared to Manning, and it was astounding.

Brady had a far superior offensive line coming into Super Bowl XLVI. It's one of the reasons why some people thought the Giants' vaunted pass-rush would be subdued. But the Giants showed the Patriots what it's like to have supreme talent in the pass-rushing department.

The Patriots have an opportunity to learn from their loss. In last year's draft, they failed to address their defensive line or linebacking corps, instead traded away draft picks at an astounding rate. In the entire draft, with nine picks at their disposal, they drafted a grand total of three defensive prospects, including two cornerbacks and one outside linebacker in the sixth round.

This year, barring any changes, the Patriots have six picks in the draft, but they have two first-rounders and two second-rounders. Grabbing pass rushers with those picks will be absolutely critical for them to move forward.

What Bill Belichick did this season with the defensive talent he had on the line and at linebacker was commendable. With his various defensive schemes, he was able to get 40 sacks out of the team in the regular season despite the lack of talent.

But defensive end Andre Carter, who had 10 of those sacks, is a free agent and you can only imagine how much better the Patriots' pass-rush would be with some difference makers.

This is the time for the Patriots to make their move. The days of simply getting by because of Belichick's brilliance are over. The Patriots need a high-impact pass-rusher.