After Bill Belichick went all Texas Chainsaw on the defensive line on Black Saturday, his New England Patriots were left with three defensive tackles and four defensive ends.
So it goes to figure that Belichick and his hired muscle would have a keen eye on the waiver wire for a big, nasty expereinced defensive tackle to make the home folks feel better about things in general - and they did keep their eyes peeled on the wire and they did come away with a defensive tackle, but then they did also cut him on Saturday...
To say the least, the Patriots' defensive line depth is thin, and given the fact that the team was comfortable with what turned out to be swapping freshly signed defensive tackle A. J. Francis's roster spot in order to bring in more offensive line depth...
...curious, as it leaves Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly being backed up by Joe Vellano, an undrafted rookie free agent who showed well in the preseason, but hardly well enough to entrust the heart of the Patriots' defensive line to - and to top it off, Belichick kept just four defensive ends, three of the four either sophomores or a rookie.
So it goes to figure that the majority of New England fans are chewing their fingernails down to nubs and overworking their brains trying to fend off the anxiety of what could be a ruinous mixture along the defensive line.
The 4-3 base starters are solid with Wilfork and Kelly in the middle, flanked by Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich on the ends, but the reserves of Vellano and rush ends Michael Buchanan and Jake Bequette isn't really scaring anyone - particularly since Vellano went undrafted and Buchanan almost did, his name not called until the final round...
...combined with what is essentially a redshirt sophomore in Bequette who really hadn't shown much until the final preseason game and the consensus is basically all flash and no substance - but that can't be, right?
Right. Not to fear, Patriots' fans, as Bill Belichick is many things, but stupid isn't one of them, plus he has an ace up his sleeve that will be revealed in week 7, if all goes as planned. But until then, the monster that is the Patriots' front seven.
No comments:
Post a Comment