New England Patriots' Offseason: What Are Their Priorities
NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net.
Despite having the best record in the NFL (14-2), the New England Patriots were one and done in the playoffs for the second straight year.
The Patriots were physically dominated by the New York Jets 28-21 last Sunday, and it showed the Patriots true weakness: Inexperience.
Bill Belichick will be entering this off-season with a lot of draft picks, seven in the top 100, but with a lot of area of concerns.
Here are New England's top five priorities for the 2011 off-season.
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Draft a Pass Rusher
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New England ranked 14th in the NFL with only 36 sacks. Sure, 14th is in the middle of the pack, but the Patriots have been lacking a pass rusher for quite some time now.
If you're able to put pressure on the quarterback without blitzing, that'd be ideal.
New England has a young secondary led by corner back Devin McCourty, so they'll need all the help they can get.
California defensive linemen Cameron Jordan would be a perfect fit for the Patriots.
Bill Belichick could use his 17th overall pick from the Oakland Raiders to select Jordan.
Jordan played in all of Cal's 12 games, and recorded 51 tackles and six sacks. He is extremely quick off the ball despite weighting 285 pounds and with a height of 6'4".
If it's not with their 17th overall pick, then it has to be another draft pick.
New England needs a young pass rusher.
Re-Sign BenJarvus Green-Ellis
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New England's 1,000 yard rusher BenJarvus Green-Ellis is going to become a restricted free agent this off-season.
Bill Belichick needs to re-sign this guy; he's a perfect complitment for quarterback Tom Brady.
Not only has Green-Ellis become the first Patriot to rush for 1,000 yards since 2004, he has yet to fumble his whole NFL career.
Sure, he has only been in the league for three years, but he did not fumble at all in college, and sources have reported that he never fumbled in high school.
Gaining an average of 4.4 yards per-carry, he's a hard runner that always gains yards.
The only way I don't see New England not re-signing Green-Ellis is if some team decides to overpay for him.
There are only a few teams I could see showing an type of interesting in Green-Ellis is Indianapolis, Washington, and New Orleans.
All in all, Belichick needs to re-sign Green-Ellis. He is an ideal Patriot; a smart, hard worker that doesn't turn over the ball.
Acquire a Deep Threat Wide Receiver
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Wide receiver Brandon Tate is not going to cut it as a legitimate deep threat.
I'm not sorry, go out and sign Randy Moss or draft a top rated receiver. But, you need at least one receiver that can spread the field a bit.
The Patriots need to replace Tate, who has been very inconsistent. Tate, however lacking production of offense, is a great special teams player. \
Some players I can see Belichick pursuing are Green Bay Packers James Jones and San Diego Chargers Malcom Floyd.
New England has a great amount of talent at the receiver position with Wes Welker, Deion Branch, and Aaron Hernandez, but they are lacking a deep threat.
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Draft Defensive Backs
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One of New England's biggest weakness' on defense is their free safety and strong safety position.
Free safety Brandon Meriweather is a complete bust and waste of time, in my opinion. It's just like Meriweather doesn't get it, he shows no signs of improvement.
He has been named to his second Pro Bowl this year, but only because of injuries to the players ahead of him.
Meriweather has all the talent, but mentally, I don't think he gets it. He always goes for the big hit, and he's a very poor tackler and is below average in coverage.
Corner back Darius Butler, who is a second year player, had a down year in 2010. With such a promising rookie season, it went all down hill this season.
The Patriots do have a solid number corner with rookie Devin McCourty. Also, don't forget corner back Leigh Bodden who sat out all of this year thanks to a shoulder injury.
If the Patriots do decide to go young at the free safety position and part ways with Meriweather, they can draft a safety to split time with James Sanders, who is a seasoned veteran.
Bill Belichick has a lot of draft picks for this year's draft, and some of them should be used to draft a defensive back.
Address The Left Side of The Offensive Line
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Bill Belichick needs to do whatever it takes to re-sign left guard Logan Mankins.
While Mankins was in his contract hold-out this season, the Patriots did just fine without him. But, once he returned, you could definitely notice his impact.
It appears that Mankins wants to say in New England, however his agent wants more money.
The man to the left of Mankins is Matt Light, who's contract is also expiring.
Light, who protects Brady's blind side, how been on a steady decline. Light gave up a team high 10 sacks this season, and he appears to be slowing down.
Despite Light's recent comments about his future with the same Sunday, "I hope like hell to be here and continue to do what I've done, but we'll have to wait and see how that works itself out."
I'm not too sure if it will work out.
The Patriots have a young right tackle, Sebastian Vollmer, who filled in nicely in 2009 when Light went down with an injury. However, Belichick has always said Light can only play left tackle.
Either way, New England needs to seek some other offensive linemen with their starting left guard and left tackle's contracts are up.
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