Diner Morning New: Pats Load Up On Defense

National Football Post

QUOTE: “The seat of my office chair in use for twenty-five years is wearing out, my office rug is wearing out and I am wearing out, as the Chinese say, ‘It’s later than you think.’”—H.L. Mencken

It’s later than some clubs think, and the season hasn’t even started...

Derrick Burgess and the Pats…

On paper, before Thursday afternoon, the Patriots looked like an amazing team, with one glaring weakness—no pass rushers. Last season, they looked a tad slow on defense, and even slower when it got to third down. They lacked the ability to win with players, so they had to rely on the mind of head coach Bill Belichick to create ways to get to the passer.

They won 11 games with a quarterback who had never started before, pro or college, and did it without a pass rush.

They were ranked 32nd in the NFL in allowing third-and-long conversions, allowing them at a 26.7 clip while the league average hovered around 18. That doesn’t sound like the Patriots we’ve come to know.

They had only 22 takeaways for the season because they didn’t have the speed or athletic talent on defense to force offenses into mistakes. If opponents broke down on offense, it was because of the scheme or an unforced error, not the pass rush.

So this offseason, the Patriots had to ask themselves a fundamental question: Do we improve the corners, or do we improve the rush?

They started the offseason by addressing the corners, signing Leigh Bodden, an outside corner who specializes in Cover 2, and a inside corner in Springs, who can help cover the tight ends and slot wideouts. In the draft, they got talented corner Darius Butler from the University of Connecticut in the second round along with Oregon safety Patrick Chung. Four new players to give the secondary a new look, a new approach and perhaps new results.

But where was the rush going to come from? The Pats brought back Tully Banta-Cain, thinking he might rekindle the rush he had before spending the past two seasons with the 49ers. From my viewpoint, there was still a void.

That ended Thursday. They settled all family business by acquiring Derrick Burgess from the Raiders for a third-round pick in 2010 and a fifth in 2011. The Philadelphia Eagles were the only other team in the bidding, but they were not willing to put any significant chips on the table, offering a bunch of backup offensive linemen and a late draft pick.

So the Patriots, doing what good teams do once camp starts—following the “10 moves” rule I wrote about this week—added a significant player to the team at a huge position of need. On paper, the AFC race looks like New England is comfortably in the driver’s seat.

The Pats newest addition...Derrick Burgess

Burgess brings his 47 career sacks to New England, and he brings pressure coming off the right side of the offensive line, where the right tackles are not as athletic or as nimble as their counterparts on the left. Considering he got all his sacks playing for a team that rarely was in the lead is another testimonial to his talent. In the AFC East, Damien Woody of the Jets, Brad Butler of the Bills, and Vernon Carey of the Dolphins will have their work cut out for them.

If he’s healthy, Burgess is a top-flight pass rusher. He can race the corner, but he also has the ability to play with power and push back soft-setting tackles. Even though he’s not very big in terms of girth, Burgess can play big in the pass-rush game and will fit in well with the Patriots’ nickel schemes.

Will he have a role on first or second down in base? Probably not, but he’ll be a huge part of their nickel packages. And based on the skill level of their offense and their scoring potential, they might be in their nickel defense quite often.

Are the Pats now the favorite to win the Super Bowl?

I’m a huge fan of Burgess, in large part because he was with me at the Hotel and played very well, recording 27 sacks in two years and making two Pro Bowl appearances.

His last season in Oakland, he was unhappy with his contract, had injury problems, and therefore had only 3½ sacks in 10 games. He wanted out of Oakland for some time, and since the signing of Greg Ellis, the Raiders wanted him gone as well. So both sides win.

On paper, the Patriots look loaded. If they’re able to convince former Tampa Bay Bucs defensive lineman Kevin Carter to come north—I hear there’s about an 80 percent chance—they might have solved all their defensive woes. It's paper, I know, but wow—the Patriots look good.

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