Yes, the Patriots lost Corey Dillon. Yes, the Patriots lost Daniel Graham. Yes, the Patriots lost Tully Bunta-Cain. Yes, Junior Seau may not be returning. And yes, there would be much sadness from this corner if Troy Brown is not back. But having said all of that, the 2007 NFL season is already over. The Patriots were openly questioned last year in most circles for not spending their cap money. At this point though, it is quite clear that the Patriots have been gearing up for 2007, and they were not going to be denied. Look at the additions the team has made in free agency/trades this off-season:
LB Adalius Thomas
WR Randy Moss
WR Donte Stallworth
WR Kelley Washington
WR Wes Welker
CB Tory James
TE Kyle Brady
RB Sammy Morris
LS Tony Case
Yesterday in the draft, the Pats also nabbed S Brandon Meriweather out of Miami. He is a guy who had some issues in school, but he is the next in the long line of Miami safeties, the last two being Sean Taylor and Ed Reed. Those two guys are pretty good, and if Meriweather is even 2/3 of those guys the Pats got a steal on him with the 24th pick.
As if the Pats aren't rich enough already, they have ALREADY re-loaded for next year's draft, picking up an extra first rounder and third rounder.
But let's get back to the players already acquired. Last year, the Patriots found themselves scuffling depth-wise in the AFC Championship. At WR, you had Reche Caldwell, Troy Brown, and Jabar Gaffney. With the moves made this off-season, the highest any of those three will rank on the Pats depth chart is fourth, and that will only be if Caldwell beats out Washington or Welker for that fourth spot.
Last year in the AFC Championship, the Patriots suited up Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, James Sanders, Artrell Hawkins, Chad Scott, Rashad Baker, and Ray Mickens in the defensive secondary. Nevermind that with an off-season to get healthy, the Patriots will get back Rodney Harrison, Eugune Wilson, and Randall Gay from injuries. Add to that the off-season additions of James and Meriweather, and now players like Hawkins, Sanders, and Scott, who filled in admirably for injured players last year will be relegated to the back of the depth chart. Sanders and Hawkins were the starting safeties in the AFC Championship last year, now they will be 4th and 5th on the depth chart. That kind of depth simply can not be understated.
The Pats lost Dillon, but in picking up Sammy Morris, still have four players who can carry the rock in Lawrence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Morris, and Heath Evans. And if the Pats need to go beyond those guys, there's Garrett Mills, a 4th round pick last season.
Are the Patriots still vulnerable at LB depth behind Thomas, Tedy Bruschi, Rosey Colvin, Mike Vrabel, and Larry Izzo? Probably. Eric Alexander was a valuable back up, and even started in the AFC Championship last year, but he didn't exactly cover himself in glory. Then there is Pierre Woods, an athletic LB from Michigan signed as undrafted Free Agent last season. Last year in the AFC Championship he had two special team tackles, best on the team. He made All Big Ten teams at Michigan, and played TE and basketball in high school, so he can certainly get after it. Finally, there is Corey Mays, a LB the team signed as an undrafted Free Agent out of Notre Dame last year. You might remember Mays as the guy who forced Terence Wilkins to fumble in the second quarter of last year's AFC Championship. Mays also started all 12 games as a Senior at Notre Dame. Are Woods and Mays the kind of guys you want out there for 25 snaps a game for 16 games? Probably not. Can they fill in for a quarter, a half, a game, two games? They sure seem like they can.
Are the Patriots still vulnerable at Offensive Line depth? Sure. But in three playoff games last year, the Pats offensive line allowed only 4 sacks - 1 to the Jets, 2 to the Chargers, and 1 to the Colts. That was when the Pats were spreading the field with guys like Gaffney, Kelvin Kight, and Ben Watson lined up wide at WR. Now the Patriots will spread the field with 5+ quality wide outs, 2 big-time pass catching TE's in Watson and David Thomas, and three RB's with Maroney, Faulk, and Morris. There will be no Dillon to catch passes 6 yards deep in the backfield and not make it back to the line. Any Pats RB will now be able to catch the ball out of the backfield. This all begs the question - who in their right mind would think about blitzing the Pats? With Tom Brady's quick release and now legitimate weapons all over the field, anyone who blitzes the Patriots next year is going to pay, and pay dearly. In the end, that is good news for the Pats offensive line, who should face considerably less pressure than they did last year, when teams tried more than ever to send blitz after blitz at Brady and Co.
The Patriots will have a tough schedule in 2007. They don't have their bye until Week 10. They have to play 5 prime time games. Not counting the Jets, they have to face 6 playoff teams from 2006, plus the Bengals and Steelers. That's 10 very difficult games on the docket, and it won't be easy. But 2006 wasn't exactly a cake walk, and the Pats were still one of the four best teams in the league, one quarter away from the Super Bowl, and they had considerably less talent. Unlike 2006, there is now a CLEAR Super Bowl favorite, and it resides in Foxborough, MA.