OK, now I’m sold.
Since the end of the regular season I’ve been waiting for the Patriots to get a rush linebacker I could believe in. Whether it was a rookie day one draft pick, a free agent, or by trade, I wanted someone that could get to the quarterback better than Mike Vrabel did in 2008. His trade to Kansas City made the need urgent.
I had been hoping, praying, begging, pleading, making blood sacrifices, and negotiating with the Devil (my soul for eternity was asking too much) that sometime, somehow, a DE/OLB would join the Patriots and bring teeth to a pass rush that had just 31 sacks last season.
By finally completing a trade they’ve discussed with Oakland since the NFL Draft for DE Derrick Burgess, I finally believe the Patriots are a Super Bowl-caliber team.
This was supposed to be about my night at the training camp practice inside Gillette Stadium. A synopsis: players ran, caught, blocked, and did other football things, the end.
The Burgess trade made a pony show training camp practice practically insignificant.
A quick look at Burgess and his career might not generate much of a reaction. In six seasons (one season lasted on game, so I’m not counting it against him) Derrick had two double-digit sack seasons, both with the Raiders (16 in 2005 and 11 in 2006). The other four years combined he averaged just five sacks.
Overall, in 84 games, the soon to be 31-year-old Burgess has 47 sacks, a little better than one every two games. Stretch that average through 16 games, and that’s just about nine sacks.
The beauty of Burgess coming to New England is he doesn’t have to be outstanding. If he produces at his career average, that’s all the Patriots need from him.
For the sake of the argument, let’s say the Patriots pass rush this year matches 2008’s production of 31 sacks without Derrick’s contribution. As for Burgess, he bags the QB nine times. Add those two numbers together and you get 40 sacks, a respectable pass rush total.
Of the top five defenses in the league last year, four of them were in the top 10 in sacks. Nine of the top 10 sacking teams were in the playoffs. To be in the top 10 in sacks last year, all it took was 35 sacks.
Are sacks overrated? Probably. With Atlanta, Baltimore, and Arizona in the playoffs while being out of the top ten in sacks, a great point is made. But Arizona played in the NFC West (an easy as cake division – the Cardinals went 6-0 against a trio of teams with a combined record of 13-35), while Atlanta and Baltimore have productive pass rushers (Falcons’ John Abraham with 16.5 and Ravens’ Terrell Suggs with eight).
The sack total isn’t as important as the pressures it generates. As long as the opposing quarterback doesn’t feel comfortable, the pass rush is doing its job. With a consistent pass rush, quarterbacks won’t carve the secondary for 27 touchdowns, second most allowed in 2008.
As much as I want the holdovers to succeed, none has proven to be capable of getting to the quarterback quickly. Not Pierre Woods or Shawn Crable. Burgess has done it before and done so at a decent rate. Head coach Bill Belichick and the coaching staff often gets the most out of their players.
If Burgess can be half of what Randy Moss became after being traded from Oakland to New England, the Patriots got a heck of a player and another steal of a disgruntled Raider.
Burgess was holding out from Oakland’s training camp, hoping to get traded to a contender. He got his wish. I dearly wanted a pass rusher I could believe in. I got my wish. Now I can have championship dreams. Hopefully Burgess is having the same dreams.
Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com
