Which is Better for the Patriots?

If the game ended at halftime, the Patriots would had lost to Miami. And fans would blame one person for that: Cameron Wake.

The OLB was terrorizing Brady in the first half. He consistently beat his blocker, using speed, brute strength, some spin moves, and a non-stop motor. He got pressure a handful of times and even got a sack. The former two-time Canadian Football League Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008 was nearly unstoppable.

Wake’s performance put things in perspective. For years I’ve wanted the Pats to treat OLB as a priority and draft a few players that could rush the passer. I wanted someone that could turn the corner and sack the quarterback within three seconds. Hopefully he’d be an unstoppable force on the level of Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware and San Diego’s Shawn Merriman before injuries affected his play.

The Patriots could had drafted such a player in 2009 – USC OLB/DE Clay Matthews. I didn’t want him because I was wary of the hybrid Trojan with few sacks. I thought he could be a good 4-3 linebacker, but had doubts he could be a good 3-4 linebacker.

And that’s why I sit behind a laptop. As a rookie Matthews racked up 10 sacks and finished third in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting (at least after the first vote). And with this season just four weeks old, Matthews has seven sacks. He has as many sacks as the Patriots defense.

Matthews is exactly the kind of OLB I wish the Patriots had on this team. But when it was the Patriots’ selection, the traded out of the first round and Green Bay took Matthews.

With the picks New England got for trading down, they took CB Darius Butler and WRs Brandon Tate and Julian Edelman in the 2009 Draft. A year later they used one of the Green Bay picks with a sixth round pick to move up and select TE Rob Gronkowski.

The Packers also got a ’09 fifth round pick from the Pats and selected OT Jamon Meredith, who was cut from camp that summer.

The 10^th Commandment tells Catholics not to covet thy neighbor’s property, but it’s hard not to yearn for Matthews when the Patriots had a chance to draft him. But would New England be better with him or are the Pats better off with the players they got from the trade?

There’s no denying the difference an elite pass rusher can have for a defense. Having about 12 of them (or so it seemed) helped the 2007 New York Giants protect a suspect secondary and ruin New England’s plan of a historic season.

Where would the Pats’ defense be with Matthews? We’ve seen quarterbacks hosting garden parties in the pocket this year. Between sips of tea, QBs connected for big plays without a defender even knocking on the door.

Matthews wouldn’t make a 180 degree difference for the defense, but the pass rush wouldn’t be feeble anymore. He’d get his share of pressures and sacks, while being enough of a threat to draw extra attention, creating more opportunities for teammates. The garden parties would be rare. The pressure in back yard would make the dog bark at the strangers.

And a decent pass rush would pay dividends for the secondary. Besides more plays coming to an abrupt end, pressure at the right time would lead to more errant throws and more interceptions. Yeah, an elite pass rusher would be great to have.

But is that one player worth more than four potential contributors? The jury is out for the four players New England got instead of Matthews as three are in their second year and Gronkowski is a rookie. Potential almost always loses to production when compared side-by-side. But based on what they’ve shown in limited snaps, one should be encouraged:

●Even though Butler was benched just two games into this season, he did come up with three interceptions last year, including one returned 91 yards for a touchdown.

●Edelman has been bothered by a foot injury this year, but he opened eyes in his rookie season, making a successful transition from college QB to catch 37 receptions for 359 yards and one score.

●Tate sat out his rookie year but is quickly making up for lost time. Already he has two kickoff returns for touchdowns and shows great run after the catch ability.

●Gronkowski is quickly becoming a favorite red zone weapon. Of his six receptions, two are touchdowns from one and five yards away.

That’s pretty good for early returns for the youngsters. And I believe they have a bright future ahead of them.

As much as I’d like a Matthews, I wouldn’t give up the four players the Pats got for allowing the Pack the opportunity to draft Matthews. Gronk and Tate look like future starters while Butler and Edelman could at least become regular contributors. In the long run, this four for the price of one deal will be better for the Patriots.