In fact, in spite of what many a fan and expert believe in regard to the way he has drafted and built the team, Belichick came into this spring's annual selection process in the unique position of being able to draft purely for depth.
That's what happens when you return nineteen of your previous year's twenty-two starters, on defense needing only to replace a revolving door at defensive tackle next to perennial Pro Bowl tackle Vince Wilfork, which happened in free agency in the personage of big Tommy Kelly -so depth everywhere is what he concentrated on...
...drafting primarily for help in the secondary in college teammates, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Duron Harmon of Rutgers - then linebacker depth in top pick Jamie Collins and Steve Beauharnais (also of Rutgers), selecting defensive end Michael Buchanan on a flier in the final round.
And now with Wilfork and linebacker Jerod Mayo on ice for the remainder of the season, and with Kelly and shut-down corner Aqib Talib on the skids for at least this upcoming game, all of this depth is about to justify their draft status - not which round, rather, which team.
Because it doesn't matter what round you were drafted, if you were selected by the Patriots, you made the team - and the team was about to invest considerable time and effort into making you into quality depth and future starter. And with 10 starters returning, time could be taken to develop the youngsters properly.
However, nobody could have foreseen the nefarious injuries that cut the roster to it's very core, and certainly no one could have predicted that the rookies he brought in would be counted on as front line defenders on the stopper unit not even halfway into the season, yet here they are.
The Patriots have suffered injuries to cornerstone players that would have crippled most other teams, but because of Belichick's insistence on bringing in players whose most desirable quality is dependability and attitude - his overall belief that these players buy into his attitude that depth means strength - the Patriots have persevered.
And it's not as if there isn't precedence to fall back on. In 2011, the Patriots' secondary suffered devastating injuries to the secondary, setting the table for young depth in names like Kyle Arrington, James Ihedigbo and Sterling Moore to contribute to a magical season that came within a perfect Eli Manning pass (yeah, that bastard again) of being the World Champions.
Some insisted that the Patriots used smoke and mirrors to give the illusion of having a championship defense, but the results were purely the result of dependable depth and solid coaching.
The same principle applies this season, and the Patriots are counting on young depth again - so much young depth in fact that with Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo on the IR, and with Tommy Kelly and Aqib Talib on the mend New England is fielding the youngest starting eleven in the National Football League, seven players within their first two years and nine still playing on their rookie contracts...
Wilkfork and Kelly giving way to undrafted rookie free agent Joe Vellano and rookie waiver wire pick up Chris Jones and Mayo likely to be replaced by rookie linebacker Jamie Collins.
Talib? Well, that door could swing many different ways, as safety Devin McCourty is the odds-on favorite to return to his old position of two years ago and in his stead at free safety rookie Duron Harmon as the last line of defense...
...or perhaps McCourty stays at safety and covers the back of rookie Logan Ryan - but whichever way it goes, Belichick has ensured that there's plenty of next man up types to fuel this team.
But what that means exactly in regard to the New York Jets is a matter of some conjecture. What is not in doubt, however, is what this game means to Jets' coach Rex Ryan, going as far as to suggest that his players abstain from "duties around the house", so as to be well rested and hungry for, well, duties around the house.
Regardless, what the Jets bring on offense is a heavy dose of 4.1 yards and a cloud of dust - a number that should be better given their scheme and the talent along their offensive line, but with Vellano and Jones being the stoppers in week seven when it was Wilfork and Kelly in week two, Ryan has to be positively giddy at the prospect...
...and given the fact that the Jets essentially lost the game in Foxborough five weeks ago when they became impatient and abandoned the run in the 4th quarter, one has to figure that the predictable-on-offense Rex is going to hammer everything he's got right into the teeth of the Patriots' run defense and dare Belichick's defense to stop them.
How can we be so sure? Because that's what the Jets have done in every single game this season, run the ball right behind center Nick Mangold, sandwiched between guards Willie Colon and Vladimir Ducasse, the latter of which used up a clearly hobbled Wilfork in Foxborough...
...and also because -well - wouldn't you? They have to try, because their offense has regressed with injury and inexpereince at the quarterback position to the point that they have failed to record 300 total yards in each of their last two contests and no one is respecting the 26th ranked passing attack.
Yet they managed to beat a bad Atlanta Falcons' team scoring 30 points on only 288 total yards, their defense giving them premium field position from which to work. Conversely, the following week a horrible Pittsburgh Steelers' team dominated on defense and special teams, always keeping New York on a long field, stopping the Jets' running game and forcing Smith to make plays.
All Patriots' fans have to do is remember back to the first meeting between these two and what happened when Ryan became impatient and put the game on Geno's arm to know what happened to him in Pittsburgh - and now he's lost Santonio Holmes to a bad hammy and tight end Kellen Winslow to a bad urine test...
...leaving his receiving corps to speedy yet drop-prone Steven Hill as his number one, Jeremy Kurley as his slot guy and Jeff Cumberland as his tight end - but with Talib and Mayo out and perhaps replaced by rookies, it goes to figure the Jets' will test them in the short to intermediate passing game, and how much depends on how much early success they find.
But since Rex seems to be low on receivers, his focus might as well be to try to run on a Patriots team that will be sporting rookies and sophomores all over the front seven - who will be waiting and game planning for it - and no amount of avoiding "duties around the house" is going to change that.
Will it be that easy? Maybe, maybe not - but it is at times like these that Bill Belichick is in his element, game planning against a less-than-explosive New York Jets' offense that's now missing several weapons with his defense that is even more banged up - so nothing is assured, but he's about to find out how successful he was at building his young depth.
Just in case, Rexy better hope his defense can stop a Patriots' offense that is starting to click, and also getting their biggest weapon back. The one thing that the Jets have in their favor is that they have been alternating wins and losses to arrive at a week seven matchup with their hated rivals with a 3-3 record, and the pattern implies that it's New York's turn to win.
But an even more interesting pattern suggests that the second game between these two always results in an embarrassing blowout loss to the Patriots, so somethings gotta give.
Bill Belichick hopes it's not his young depth.
JAMES IHEDIGBO
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