2014 New England Patriots Thread

Pats trade a a 6th rounder for Isaac Sopoaga Akeem Ayers

Also signed Alan Branch. Meanwhile, Chandler Jones out for a month with a hip injury.

Revis was reportedly late for practice on Tuesday; the Hoodie sent him home and he did not participate.

Pats 5th round pick to TB for LB Jonathan Casillas and Bucs 6th round pick. If that moves them down more than 10 spots in the draft then only because of comp picks.

Two awesome touchdowns and a critical catch in the 2 minute drill by Edelman, but I've got to hand the first half MVP to Rob Ninkovich - he is a BEAST!

I have mixed feelings about Brandon Browner - on the one hand he is a great matchup against big receivers like Brandon Marshall and Julius Thomas; on the other hand I rarely see him make a play without fearing for at least a short moment that we will get an expensive penalty.

Anyway, great play by the whole team so far, let's hope they can keep it up and beat the Broncos decisively!

Is Patrick Chung the most surprising performer of the season? I have to admit I was kinda depressed when they signed him this offseason, because of a lot of bad memories of 2012, but by all accounts he played an excellent game on Sunday.

Chung has always been decent in man coverage-- if you remember, the Patriots briefly used him as their slot corner, and he had some decent games there. He lacks the quickness to stick with Welker-esque waterbugs, but he can handle second-tier TEs like Tamme just fine (though he'll struggle against guys like J. Thomas with size and speed advantages). What really did in Chung was the fact that he is an awful single-high or cover-two safety, as he lacks the range and instincts to be effective playing those zone techniques. But as an in-box guy who covers TEs in man coverage, he can be solid enough. Now that they're playing a lot more cover one, man under, the scheme suits him a lot better than it did in 2012.

Wilfork was a monster on Sunday. Stood up against double-teams and even got penetration at times against the run. Hightower and Collins had good run fits as well. That and the fact that the Broncos got down early made them one-dimensional and meant the run D didn't get exposed.

I wouldn't call the defenses even. The Patriots have better safeties and maybe better linebackers, but the Broncos have a much better defensive line (both vs the run and pass) and comparable corners (Chris Harris is chronically underrated). I think it's a lot closer than Denver fans may have given them credit prior to this week, but I do think the Broncos have the slightly more talented team.

Speaking of depth I really love our CB depth. Dennard is in the doghouse right now for some reason but he has definitely shown the ability to play a good #2 CB in the past. Logan Ryan is inconsistent but has flashed playmaker potential, and Malcolm Butler is on the rise. And since Bellichick and Patricia have finally realised that Arrington should stick to what he does best - play in the slot - I am optimistic that we could overcome any injury at the position. That's not to say that Revis going down wouldn't be a huge loss - but we wouldn't implode the way, say, the Texans did on Sunday.

Fair enough. I think Chandler Jones is right up there with players like Von Miller from a talent standpoint, it's just that the way the Patriots use him doesn't lead to quite as much recognition, but it's obviously a moot point until he recovers from his injury. And Terrance Knighton is certainly an above-average DT but you've still got to give the edge to Big Vince IMHO.

The problem with comparing individual players or units from one team to another in football is they aren't asked to or expected to do the same things. It's not just about physical talent or how each individual performs but about communication and how the parts perform together. Coaching and scheme also plays a major role as well.

Are the Broncos defensive players more talented top to bottom than the Patriots? Quite possibly, but does that completely matter? Not at all.

Let's just assume they get Jones back healthy at some point. Maybe not a guarantee but a definite possibility just by virtue of him not being on IR. BB has been quick to put very good players on IR in the past even if it's possible they are back for the post season so the fact he's not on IR bodes well. Other injuries can certainly change the equations, but since we can assume any (other than talib jk) we need to go off how things are now.

I wouldn't trade the Pats defense for Denvers. I think the Ayers addition has and will work out better than BB ever dreamed it would. He's got the talent and he appears explosive and healthy. Casilas was also a sneaky good pick up. Both add quality depth and versatility that this defense has been lacking. Easily has been unspectacular but has steadily improved. Walker has been a great pick up for what he brings and time will tell on Branch but it's an upgrade on what they had.

The front 7 (especially the d-line) may not boast the "talent" of Denver, but their versatility is incredible.

The secondary is ridiculously good. It's big, it's physically, it's deep and it's incredibly versatile.

The common thread is versatility. Versatility is nice but doesn't mean much without talent and execution. Fortunately, the Patriots have all this. The edge players can rush the passer and drop into coverage. The MLBs can do the same. The secondary has the pieces to cover shifty slot guys, big quick TEs and bigger physical receivers. Patricia and BB finally have a complete defense with which to work with. Those pieces combined with BB intelligence is the game changer.

Denver's Middle Linebackers are terrible and they just got weaker with that injury to Irwin. . Their safeties aren't all that good in coverage. ward is not a very good cover guys, especially versus New England as he doesn't match up well with anyone, and Moore kind of blows. That create a huge hole in the middle of Denvers defense that Brady will just dominate with a healthy gronk.

The top 2 corners (Talib and Harris) are very good but Roby is their number three and he's just decent and only a rookie. After that, they have nothing. Patriots go 6 deep.

Denver has a chance to disrupt and quiet the Pats offense but only if they can get after Brady quick. The problem is, that still may not be enough if Gronk is healthy. Remember Slater and Mulligan and Thompkins were starting for the Pats in the AFCCG last year.

All things considered, the Pats defense as a unit (players, coaches, versatility, depth and scheme) is better than Denvers.

If we assume both defenses get their injured players back (Jones for NE, Trevathan for DEN), I'd easily take the Denver defense. By any performance-based measure, Denver's defense has easily outclassed New England's this year (ex: by defensive DVOA, Denver ranks 3rd, NE ranks 17th and it's 7th/15th in yards/game).

I agree that NE has slightly better linebackers (though Trevathan is pretty good), but having a great defensive line just matters much more than having a great linebacking corps, since the defensive line has an impact on every single play. I think you're fooling yourself if you think Ayers and Casillas are above-average players-- they're useful in limited roles, but there's a reason they were available as cheap as they were (ditto Walker and Branch). I'd take Miller and Ware over Jones, let alone Ninkovich, and after Knighton/Wilfork (which is close to push), I'd take Wolfe, Jackson, and Sly Williams over any NE DT.