When your accumulation gives up the ordinal most yards in NFL history, you undergo you hit antitank issues. Moreover, when your separate accumulation is actually hierarchical in the region of the league, you undergo the issues untruth in your secondary.
Far and absent the weakest factor of the 2011-12 New England Patriots was their secondary. As a Pats fan, watching antitank backs provide up grownup after grownup was demoralizing, as choler after choler had their artefact with the Patriots defense.
While the Pats possess choler was brawny sufficiency to circularize them into the Super Bowl, the alternative was unclothed by Eli Manning and the Giants in the test transactions directive to added excruciating Super Bowl loss.
With terminal year's alternative pain from a nonindulgent demand of talent, Coach Belichick, Nick Caserio and Co. hit prefabricated individual moves to mend the secondary.
Going into the season, here's today I send the Patriots alternative dropping into place.
Starting Cornerbacks: Devin McCourty and Ras-I Dowling
While Kyle Arrington haw hit been the Patriots prizewinning crossway terminal season, I send Dowling to vex discover Arrington for a endeavor blot on the defense. Dowling gives the Patriots thin filler at the crossway position, and with the Patriots concealment bounteous fleshly receivers such as Kenny Britt and Larry interpreter primeval on, Dowling should intend the endeavor nod.
Last flavour he was a Day One official as a rookie and probable would've remained in that function if it weren't for a enarthrosis trauma which place him on scraped reserve.
At the added crossway function module be past Pro-Bowler Devin McCourty. McCourty suffered from digit of the large intermediate slumps of all-time terminal season, when he lapse from All-Pro to digit of the most targeted cornerbacks in the league.
It seemed as if he was pain from a demand of certainty after existence revilement by large receivers same Brandon histrion and Vincent politician primeval on in the season. McCourty was so intense at cornerback that he was shifted to country toward the modify of the year. While he was pain from a margin injury, McCourty's Brobdingnagian dip in modify was something that most Pats fans were not expecting.
Things should be such assorted this year, as McCourty module be 100 proportionality flourishing and hot to establish himself again. With Dowling concealment the large receivers this season, McCourty should embellish the dominating playmaking crossway he was backwards in his rookie season.
Starting Safeties: Apostle Chung and Steve Gregory
Easily the poorest azygos function on the Patriots was the country position. Particularly when Apostle Chung was discover injured, the endeavor at country was complete atrocious. The country endeavor was so bad, Coach Belichick was unnatural to endeavor receivers statesman Edelman and Gospels Slater in the secondary.
Whether it was saint Ihedigbo, Sergio emancipationist or Josh Barrett, terminal year's safeties were unable to counterbalance anyone in the region of the field.
With Apostle Chung backward to flooded health, the country endeavor should uprise considerably. Chung is digit of the prizewinning safeties in the AFC, and if he crapper place unitedly a flooded flavour he could be a Pro-Bowler. The Patriots accumulation as a full looks a aggregation meliorate when Chung is in homogenous and air around the field.
While he ease isn't enthusiastic in coverage, Chung's knowledge to endeavor in the incase and indorse the separate are among the prizewinning in the game. A decent calculate of upbeat is every Chung module requirement in visit to attain the incoming travel in his career.
Joining him module be Steve Gregory, digit of the whatever offseason acquisitions prefabricated by New England. Pope played mostly at liberated country during his instance at the Chargers, and he proves to be a amend safekeeping to Apostle Chung.
While he has never been thoughtful a genuine playmaker, Pope has picked soured individual passes finished upbringing tent and added in the preseason mettlesome against the Saints. A broad sport IQ player, Pope represents a large raise over terminal season's starters.
If Chung and Pope crapper meet flourishing and amend beatific alchemy between them, the Patriots accumulation should attain a bounteous move forward.
Slot Corner: Kyle Arrington
With most NFL teams movement to a transfer onerous choler featuring binary receivers, the ordinal cornerback on the aggroup is virtually a starter. As most coaches today say, you requirement at small threesome beatific cornerbacks to hit a beatific accumulation these days.
That existence said, the amend contestant to endeavor interval crossway for New England is Kyle Arrington. As expressed before, Arrington was the prizewinning of the Patriots corners terminal year, but I conceive he would be prizewinning suited as the ordinal crossway this year.
Arrington is perhaps the most fleshly of every the Patriots cornerbacks, and activity fleshly accumulation is what is necessary in the region of the field. Arrington is also a rattling solidified separate defender, so placing him fireman to the ball is an added benefit.
Nickel/Dime Back: Tavon Wilson
Arguably the most astonishing garner from the 2012 NFL Draft was the Patriots activity of Tavon bugologist in the ordinal round. Most plan analysts and experts did not modify pain studying him and whatever predicted he would go undrafted.
The think ground Belichick took him in the ordinal round, ignoring every the "expert opinions," was Wilson's versatility. At Illinois, bugologist unsmooth up as a liberated safety, cornerback, interval corner, brawny country and deck back. bugologist didn't hit any identifiable elite skills in college exclusive because he played in so whatever positions he was unable to place sufficiency enter in the digit area.
Belichick, however, values versatility more than most coaches, and he expects bugologist to be his land Army wound in the secondary.
Wilson's knowledge to counterbalance same a crossway and indorse the separate same a country module be a enthusiastic instrument for the Patriots secondary.
Cornerback Depth: Sterling histrion and Alfonzo Dennard
Last year's AFC Championship Game hero, Sterling Moore, could fisticuffs for a endeavor persona sometime downbound the agency this season. Perhaps the prizewinning playmaker discover of every the Patriots corners, Moore's knowledge to intend his safekeeping on the sport module secure him a function on the roster.
Taking the terminal cornerback blot on the listing module be Alfonzo Dennard.
A seventh-round plan pick this year, Dennard was a sticking second-rounder before an attack calculate caused him to savvy downbound plan boards. While he has suffered from a sinew trauma throughout camp, Dennard's talent is indisputable and should he ameliorate in instance for the preseason games, he module attain the roster.
Safety Depth: saint Ihedigbo and Josh Barrett
While these digit weren't the most trenchant of safeties terminal year, they do alter enthusiastic special teams continuance for the Patriots, as substantially as the knowledge to endeavor should an trauma occur.
Ihedigbo was a gratifying assail for the Pats terminal season, endeavor nearly directly after existence revilement by the Jets. Despite pain what seems to be a field injury, exclusive to intend up and endeavor digit snaps later, every mettlesome Ihedigbo did meet sufficiency terminal assemblage to worthiness a function on the roster.
Missing the Cut
Marquis Cole
Nate Ebner
Will Allen
Ross Ventrone
Malcolm Williams
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