Short on Sacks

Football writer Ron Borges is getting a second chance, now working for The Boston Herald. But he won't even give a rookie a first chance.

Included in his first report card on Tuesday, Borges lists three stars and three duds. LB Shawn Crable was listed as a dud for not making the active roster against San Francisco. Is that fair?

Maybe this is some misdirected disappointment at the players getting regular playing time but not producing sacks. After four games, the Patriots have just seven sacks. That's less than two per game.

To make it worse, one sack belongs to CB Ellis Hobbs. That's six sacks in four games by the front seven. That's sad.

Would adding Crable to the rotation improve the pass rush? No guarantee he's the solution the team needs, but maybe this is the time to try something different.

While I understand that San Francisco QB J.T. O'Sullivan is elusive, but just one sack of O'Sullivan when he was sacked 19 times coming into the game isn't acceptable. The front seven isn't closing the deal.

DE Richard Seymour is healthy this season and has made plays against the run that indicate he's at full strength. But the pass rush comes up short. He only has one sack. NT Vince Wilfork, DEs Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, and Mike Wright haven't tallied one.

Granted, in a 3-4 defense, the OLBs shoulder most of the responsibility of baggin' passers. I knew Mike Vrabel had a career year that wouldn't be repeated. He averaged just over five sacks per season with the Pats. Through four games he has two sacks, which projects to eight sacks for the year.

Adalius Thomas averaged nine sacks in his last four seasons. With three sacks through four games, he's on pace for 12.

So best case scenario is Thomas and Vrabel combine for 20 sacks. That's great, but they're not getting help.

Last year's 47-sack defense had great distribution beyond the OLB rotation. The D-line contributed 14 and ILBs Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau chipped in six.

While it is easy to say the starting OLBs are one letter away from being OLD, Pierre Woods is yet to produce a regular season sack in three seasons. The team has to step it up.