NFL Rumors: Will New England Patriots Address Defensive Woes by Trade Deadline?

How many years in a row are we going to see this scenario?

The New England Patriots are dominating the regular season behind an electric offense but defensively are one of the worst teams in the league.

This will get them 12 to 14 wins during the season, but come playoff time it certainly spells doom.

New England tried to address this issue in the offseason but mostly signed ineffective veterans who are better off, at this point, stopping the run.

They aren’t terrible at doing that, giving up just 106.4 yards per game on the ground, good for 13th in the league.

The pass defense is what is going to absolutely kill them if they don’t fix it soon. The Pats give up an average of 326.6 yards in the air, which drops their total defense to last in the league.

Gil Brandt of NFL.com brought up two very intriguing scenarios that would definitely help the team with their defensive problems.

First, he said that New England should reach out to Minnesota and inquire about Jared Allen.

The Mullet has 8.5 sacks already this season and is quietly having a monster year. If the Vikings were 4-1, he would be talked about as an MVP candidate.

Unfortunately for him, they are 1-4, and the team is quickly fading from, if not already out of, playoff contention.

A first-rounder from New England could potentially pry him away and completely rejuvenate both teams.

Another scenario to address the poor secondary play would be going after Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Brandt thinks that he would be available for a linebacker (the Eagles’ biggest weakness) and a draft pick.

I personally think Asante Samuel might be a better option. He was a former member of the team and knows the system as well as how to be a Patriot.

Either one of these scenarios makes perfect sense on paper, but knowing Bill Belichick and New England, I think they will try to make what they have work and dip into the free agent pile.