Over the last two years, the Patriots invested a lot of their time turning over the cornerback position. It started with allowing Asante Samuel to leave as a free agent. New England took action to replace him by drafting Terrance Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite in the 2008 draft.
The following off-season, after witnessing the failure of last year’s decisions (promoting Ellis Hobbs to right corner back and signing Deltha O’Neal), the Pats again addressed the problem area by drafting Darius Butler and signing veterans Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden.
The results so far: Zero interceptions.
That doesn’t mean they are doing a poor job. They did fine against Buffalo. And with the exception of Wilhite being targeted in the second half, the secondary has been mostly solid.
The problem is they are not getting any help from the pass rush.
Don’t let the number of sacks (six) deceive you. Three of New England’s four sacks in the season opener came in the fourth quarter against an inexperienced Bills offensive line. The two sacks against the Jets were at the very beginning of the game (By NT Mike Wright) and near the end (a coverage sack DE Ty Warren). In between, the pass rush didn’t keep Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez company.
While getting stops when you absolutely need them is great, the ability to generate big plays at any time matters as well.
Based on observations, the secondary has been playing soft coverage for the most part: keep everything in front, don’t give up big plays. That would work great if a team can pressure the quarterback without blitzing. To say the front four pressures inconsistently would be a compliment.
It’s a credit to the defense to be ranked sixth in pass defense, but remaining at the bottom of the league in interceptions will catch up to them.
Looking back at last year as a comparison, after two games the Patriots had two interceptions. Both picks led to points. In the Jets game, Safety Brandon Merriweather’s interception was the margin of victory as the Pats took advantage of the short field and drove 31 yards in six plays and took the lead, 13-10.
Even more telling is the fact that in the five losses, the Patriots have just one interception. The 11-5 record was accomplished in spite of a defense that lacked sticky fingers. Without the prolific offense and soft schedule, it would had been a different story.
Actually, the story would look similar to this season. With the offense struggling, the defense hasn’t come through with a momentum-killing pick. That’s trouble with an Atlanta team tied for second in the league with five TD passes, and just one interception, coming to Gillette Stadium.
Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
