2008 New England Patriots Team Needs

Linebacker: Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau are not getting any younger, and with the lack of depth at linebacker, the Patriots might be forced to move Adalius Thomas back to the inside. Bill Belichick does not like to take linebackers early in the draft as he feels the position is too complex to grasp right away.  However, the need might be too strong this year to allow him to wait too many rounds before selecting some linebacker help.

Cornerback: Ashante Samuel and Randall Gay have left town, which left New England scrambling for some corner help this off-season as they signed Fernando Bryant, Jason Webster, and Lewis Sanders.  The aforementioned trio may not seem exciting on paper, but Belichick has been known to make average players become stars in his secondary.  That being said, the Patriots could still afford to bring in some young talent at cornerback via the draft.

Running back: Laurence Maroney is a quality running back, but it seemed like New England rested him towards the middle of the season to allow him to be fresh down-the-stretch. It seems like it would be more productive to bring in another running back that can help shoulder the load.  Kevin Faulk is the man at keeping the chains moving on third down conversions, but he is not an every down back.  New England has the flexibility to wait until later rounds, or invest an early pick, to bring in another running back that can split carries with Maroney.

Safety: James Sanders is a very respectable player, but Rodney Harrison is one year closer to retirement.  In other words, it would be a good time to bring in some young talent in at the safety position.  Brandon Meriweather fits that description, but he did not play well as a rookie.  Belichick will likely try to work his magic and find a gem late in the draft to give the Patriots some depth at safety.

Draft Candidates: DE Vernon Gholston, Ohio State, LB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma, LB Phillip Wheeler, Georgia Tech, CB Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech, CB Charles Godfrey, Iowa, S D.J. Wolfe, Oklahoma, S Josh Barrett, Arizona State, RB Chris Johnson, East Carolina, RB Thomas Brown, Georgia

New York Giants 17  New England 14

The New York Giants were 12 point underdogs and facing the 18-0 New England Patriots.  The Giants may as well have stayed home, right? 

Well, it was a good thing the G-Men decided to go ahead show up to the game as they were able to prove nearly everybody wrong. 

Eli Manning passed for 255 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Patriots.  Brady was sacked five times in the loss.

The top 10 most improbable things that could happen in Super Bowl 42.

1. New York Giants win the game
2. Eli Manning racks up better statistics than Tom Brady
3. Someone not named Tom Brady named as Super Bowl MVP in a Patriots victory
4. Patriots held to under 20 points
5. Laurence Maroney has more carries than Tom Brady has pass attempts
6. Tom Brady has more interceptions than touchdown passes
7. Ahmad Bradshaw finishes with more rushing yards than any other running back
8. Lawrence Tynes makes the winning field goal
9. Wes Welker held to under three receptions
10. Tom Brady gets sacked more than two times
 

New England Patriots

1. Get Randy Moss involved-Moss has been quiet this post-season, but he can make some real noise at any time.  When Moss makes a big play, it can literally take the life out of the opposing team.

2. Pressure Eli Manning-When Manning is under constant pressure, he tends to buckle and make a key mistake or two.  Eli has had an outstanding post-season so far, but if the Patriots can make him lose his confidence, the game won’t even be close.

3. Shut down Giants running game-The key to beating the Giants for the past few seasons has been to shut down their running game and make Manning be the one to try and win the game.  That formula still applies today.

4. Get the ball to Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk on 3rd downs-New England is tough to beat, because they are the best at keeping the chains moving.  Tom Brady relies on Welker and Faulk as his main targets on 3rd downs, and opposing defenses are so concerned about Moss, that they allow the duo to nickel and dime them to death.

5. Be willing to run the ball-The Giants have a stellar pass rush, and the best way to slow it down is to run the ball right at them.  If the Patriots abandon the run, as they have in other games, Brady could finish the game with more than just a sore ankle.

New York Giants

1. Put pressure on Tom Brady-Just ask the Jacksonville Jaguars what Brady will do when he is allowed time to throw the football. 

2. Run the ball well-The lethal offense of the Patriots cannot score if they are standing on the sideline.  If New York can move the ball via the run, and dominate the time of possession, they have a chance to defeat the giant.

3. Don’t allow any big plays-New England can dent the scoreboard on one quick play, or they have no trouble converting a long methodical drive into a score.  However, it is important to limit their big plays and keep the score as close as possible.

4. Defend Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk on 3rd downs-Brady looks for Welker and Faulk to move the chains. It is essential that the Giants tackle the aforementioned duo before they can reach the sticks. They must force the Patriots to have to punt the ball.

5. Have to win turnover battle-The Patriots are near impossible to beat, which means that it is vital that the Giants win the turnover battle to have a chance in the game.  If New York continues to protect the ball well, they certainly are good enough to pull off the upset.

I have been receiving emails on what my thoughts are on the New England Patriots, and whether or not their legacy has been tainted.  Here is how I see it…

Point #1: Every team does what they can to gain an advantage and cheating goes on in all walks of life.

DR U response: There is little doubt that cheating does exist in the realm of sports, but rather than accept it, we should be finding ways to eliminate it.  I hear people say that they do not condone what the Patriots did, but New England is not the only team cheating in the NFL.  I believe if you make an excuse for it, or defend the wrong action, you may as well be condoning it.

Point #2: The players decide the games, so even if you have the opposing team’s signals, it still does not mean you will win.

DR U response: Why do coaches think it is vital to disguise coverages against Tom Brady?  The reason is simple, if he recognizes the coverage you are in, he will tear your team apart.  However, if you can fool Brady in thinking that you are in a different defense than what he initially reads, then you have a chance to get a turnover against him.  If the Patriots know the signals, and can decipher what defense the other team is in during the pre-snap, the opposing team may as well not even be on the field as Brady will pick them apart. 

Also, if knowing the signals doesn’t help in some way, then why would they video tape the signals? I would love to hear what a teacher would tell a student that cheats on a test if the student said that they were so smart in that subject, they didn’t need to cheat to do well. I think the teacher, as well as any rational person, would tell the student that if you can do well without cheating, then don’t cheat!

Point #3: The Patriots would not gain an advantage until the second time that they played the team that they video taped.

DR U response: Let’s assume that argument is true, that would mean that New England had an advantage in at least three games per year (they play each division opponent twice).  It is not debatable that there is a big difference between going 13-3 and 10-6, as 13-3 will likely win your division, and 10-6 in some years will have you sitting at home watching the playoffs.  So if the Patriots were able to gain an advantage in three games, that would have helped them get into the tournament as well aid them in improving their seed. 

It is obvious that the 2007 Patriots do not need any help getting into the playoffs, nor does it matter what seed they get, but the pre-Randy Moss Patriots did need help with their playoff run.  If they didn’t need help, they would not have cheated.

Point #4: The 2007 Patriots have stopped cheating, and they are blowing teams away, so whether they cheated or not, it doesn’t matter, they are still better than everyone else.

DR U response: The 2007 New England Patriots are good enough to run the table and never lose a game.  That being said, no team ever has to cheat, but this team especially does not need to cheat in order to win games.  The disturbing thing is because they were so used to cheating in previous years where they had less than immortal teams, that when this season rolled around and they already possessed a virtual unbeatable squad, they forgot they no longer needed to cheat in order to ensure a victory.

Bottom line: I do believe that the Patriots legacy is tainted, because they took the low road and tainted their own legacy.  They can try to make people forget what they did by running up the score in every game, but that still cannot erase the fact that they chose to strive for success by using cheating as one of their methods. 

The only thing the 2007 Patriots are proving is that they have a good enough team to embarrass nearly every opponent.  However, to me it is far more embarrassing when a talented team opts to cheapen their accomplishments by resorting to cheating. We will never know if the Patriots would have won all their Super Bowls if they didn’t cheat, but that is because New England chose to not prove they could win without breaking some of the rules along the way.