Derrick Burgess Trade Savvy, Well-Timed

When the Patriots gave up Mike Vrabel and Matt Cassel for the 34th pick in this year's draft, there was an awful lot of head scratching around New England.

Mike Vrabel was one of Belichick's favorite players, a veteran guy who could perform at all four linebacker positions and rush the passer.

To throw him in as seemingly extra weight in a trade where they're already giving up a franchise quarterback for a second round pick seemed generous, at best.

Obviously, the Patriots weren't in a great bargaining position with Cassel franchised, but throwing in Vrabel as well didn't seem like such a great idea without a proven option behind him.

Again, when the Patriots traded continuously out of the first round of the draft and failed to target an elite-level pass rusher, there was a lot of head scratching.

But all signs were simply that the Patriots had faith that a combination of Vince Redd, Shawn Crable, and Pierre Woods could duplicate Vrabel's production from the outside linebacker position.

For whatever reason, through minicamps and the beginning of training camp the Patriots felt they were better off with Derrick Burgess starting opposite Adalius Thomas than any those three players.

The Derrick Burgess move is a very interesting one, though, in a big-picture way.

It's clear that, much like Leigh Bodden, being on a winner has already sparked his desire to live up to his billing. 

But the moves are very savvy by the Patriots because both Bodden and Burgess are in a contract year (Bodden by design, signing a one-year "prove it" contract and Burgess through trade, obviously), adding extra motivation.

With a host of young, but perhaps unprepared, talent behind Burgess and Bodden, the moves make perfect sense. If they return to an elite level, the Patriots could re-sign them. If not, there's little the Patriots have lost long-term.

So with the Patriots having publicly pursued Burgess since the draft—even if they had to give up a bit too much to get him—only one question remains:

Why didn't any other teams beat them to the punch?

I'm still scratching my head over that one.