Out of Reach

I envisioned it. I believed it could happen. A fourth Patriots Super Bowl. The Pats-colored confetti fluttering down as the Lombardi Trophy is passed around from player to player. It was a real possibility this year.

If this was written a week ago, the tone of this entry would be different. It would be more optimistic. But yesterday’s Richard Seymour trade hurts the Patriots and puts into question the chances of winning it all.

Obviously the offense won’t be a problem. Besides the fact that QB Tom Brady is back, New England signed WR Joey Galloway to be the third receiver. And Fred Taylor will help a healthy (for now) Laurence Maroney carry the load at running back.

But a shoddy defense held the Patriots back last year. 27 touchdown passes allowed, second most in the league. The 30^th-ranked red zone defense in the league. And a pedestrian 31 sacks. The unit had to be fixed.

This off-season CB Ellis Hobbs was traded away, S Rodney Harrison retired, and CB Deltha O’Neal wasn’t re-signed. To upgrade the secondary, veteran CBs Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs were added. Safety Brandon McGowan was a late addition after two rookies, CB Darius Butler and S Pat Chung, were drafted with plans to develop them for down the road.

While the turnover of the secondary was thorough, it seemed the coaches intended to just tweak the front seven, as if slight adjustments would fix everything.

Trading OLB Mike Vrabel created a void for a productive rush ‘backer. With opportunities to nab one in the draft, the Patriots passed every time. The apparent solution was the return of OLB Tully Banta-Cain, he of half a sack with San Francisco last year, or a healthy Shawn Crable, last year’s third round draft pick.

But that plan blew up as Crable suffered another injury that lands him on IR for the second year in a row. He won’t be the lone young ‘backer spending the year as a spectator. Tyrone McKenzie was a 2009 third round selection expected to be ILB Tedy Bruschi’s understudy. That plan fell apart when McKenzie tore his ACL during rookie minicamp.

Just like second half adjustments, New England figured out solutions to the unexpected problems. They acquired DE Derrick Burgess from the Raiders early in training camp to bolster the pass rush. OK, so Bruschi calling it quits after the third preseason game left the Pats short-handed, they can count on second year LBs Jerod Mayo and Gary Guyton stepping up. Besides, with the players on defense, the Pats had the flexibility to play either a 3-4 or a 4-3 alignment.

If the Patriots were to enter the season with Saturday’s roster, I felt the defense would be good enough to for the team to win a fourth Super Bowl and cement their place as the team of the decade.

But out of the blue, they traded away DL Richard Seymour, arguably the defense’s best player last year. In a cold business move, New England decided to trade him now for a 2011 draft pick from the Oakland Raiders. The thinking is to get something for Seymour instead of letting him play out his contract and lose him for nothing.

There are enough players on the roster to fill the roles Seymour played on the team. But the question is whether the assortment can do what Seymour did as well.

New England gave away a four-down player able to stop the run and rush the passer. Now it might take up to four players to play four downs. That’s asking a lot out of what were part-time players and a rookie.

The trade is a sound business decision, but it doesn’t help the team now. Seymour’s loss is substantial, and it possibly puts the championship out of reach.

Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com