If you can’t keep up with them, you better be able to stop them, at least once or twice.
The landscape of the NFL has changed dramatically since Bill Belichick developed his first of many successful championship team builds in New England. You’ve heard, read and seen all about it; now it’s all about offense. It’s true and difficult to argue against.
The days of building a championship team with a stout, aggressive and opportunistic defense have become fleeting at best. Think of the anomaly that was New England’s last Super Bowl championship on Feb. 3rd, 2019, Super Bowl LIII. The Patriots gave the high-powered Rams the business on defense for four straight quarters and did just enough in crunch time offensively to win a hard-fought 13-3 Super Bowl Championship. A sixth Super Bowl Championship for Belichick and the greatest of them all, Tom Brady was no surprise, but in terms of game script, nobody saw it coming. Particularly the Rams. Even as far back as three full seasons ago, the NFL game had long since become an offensive showcase.
As I wrote above, the need to keep up on offense in this explosive league is difficult to debate against but zigging while everyone else is zigging has never been a straight line to success either. So if electric and explosive offense is the current and maybe permanent ‘NFL zig,’ it would be a fool’s errand to suggest a full zag to the rather antiquated ‘defense wins championships’ mission statement. However, with the Pats offense looking significantly more complete than it did before Saturday afternoon, opportunity is now knocking for the Patriots to fill some serious holes on the other side of the ball.
With DeVante Parker now leading the Patriots stable of receivers and pass catchers, their offensive is looking far more complete. Quarterback (Mac Jones) – check. Two rock-solid and reliable running backs (Damien Harris & Rhamondre Stevenson) – check. Tight End(s) (Hunter Henry & Jonnu Smith) – check & a half (but the half has upside). Pass catching running backs (James White & Ty Montgomery) – check. And how about that eternally pesky wide receiver position? Devante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers & Nelson Agholor. I say check.
Parker’s addition is like adding proven closer to a lagging bullpen. When that guy comes to the team, the entire pen improves. The guy who had been filling the role as closer unsuccessfully, drops back to his normal role as the 8th inning guy. The lefty you needed to get three outs from goes back to being a late-inning specialist and you suddenly get more flexibility and choices between innings six and seven.
One addition and the entire ensemble improves. The music sounds better instantly and make no mistake, the Patriots under Belichick are and always have been an ensemble offense. This ensemble has been operating without a lead guitarist for a while now and Parker fills that role. As we saw back in December of 2019 when he dominated a soon-to-be AFC Defensive Player of the year in Stephon Gilmore, yeah, Parker can slay. He’s not Eddie Van Halen in terms of wide receivers but he can most certainly play the lead in this band and be successful doing it.
Are the Patriots as scary offensively on the outside as the greasy fast and skilled wide receivers seen on the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers or Kansas City Chiefs? No. Do they have enough to hang and compete offensively? With their ensemble finally looking more complete I think they can. Which leads me to this ...
Opportunity.
If you are wondering where teams like those high-powered offensive juggernauts listed above are seeing their biggest opportunity, look no further than the Patriots current defense. If you are seeking evidence look no further than the final five games of the Patriots 2021 season. With the wind firmly at their backs, riding a seven-game winning streak and facing what was deemed as a ‘soft’ Indianapolis team, the Colts shredded the Patriots defense on the ground. Quarterback Carson Wentz hardly broke a sweat. A week later, Buffalo exacted revenge for their embarrassing loss in a Western New York monsoon. The Bills did whatever they wanted against the Pats rushing, passing and scrambling. It didn’t matter. The Patriots looked old, slow and two steps behind on every play. As the end of the season drew closer, matters defensively only got worse.
Against Miami the result was the same. The Pats were too slow. Brian Flores knew it as did the rest of the league. A week later the Bills permanently laid the 2021 Pats to rest in an embarrassment of a playoff game that frankly, really never was one. Was the offense the problem? No, it was the defense. In case you erased that game from your memory (wouldn’t blame you), here’s a bitter pill to remind you, Buffalo never even punted.
The Patriots need not attempt to build a dominant defense to contend. Stylistically, the league is no longer trending in a way where that type of team build can confidently ensure success. However, you need to be able to make a stop or two when you need to and right now as shown in the final months of the 2021 season, the Patriots cannot. Since then, their defense as presently constituted is less impressive after losing their homegrown Pro Bowl cornerback J.C. Jackson.
The Dallas Cowboys were a dreadful defense between the seasons of 2016-2018. In 2018, the draft of one speedy linebacker made a huge difference, Leighton Vander Esch. He gave them speed, a nose for the ball and a new identity. Then better results. Same goes for their 2021 draft pick, the game-wrecking Micah Parsons. The point is, it doesn’t take much. A full defensive overhaul is not required. The Patriots were formidable on defense for a good 10 to 12 games last season until their older legs finally wore down. With so much explosive, game-breaking offense in the league now, you just can’t have tired legs in the middle or the back end of the defense and that’s exactly what the Patriots have. It’s their biggest problem.
Now, with a proven and talented wide receiver in Devante Parker in tow, the Pats can put their focus where it is most desperately needed, on defense. More speed at linebacker and more skill at cornerback is required. You may not be able to score 40 points per game every week, but if you can slow your opponents down to 30 or so, you can contend.
Stop them all game? No. Stop them once or twice? A hard and non-negotiable yes.
A speedy and explosive linebacker like Georgia’s NaKobe Dean or a cornerback like LSU’s Derrick Stingley, Jr. (yes love those bloodlines) are the kind of players in this draft that are deft at making game-changing stops on the big college stage. Focusing on defensive speed at the top of this year’s draft is the Patriots quickest and smartest path to contention. Your offense can move the ball and score. Give your defense a chance to make some stops and you’ll have a better chance.
A couple of final thoughts. First, there is so much great wide receiver talent coming out every year, including this class. How may sideline to sideline linebackers or transformational cornerbacks come out every year? It’s an unbalanced scale. The wide receiver talent is overflowing coming out of college. Second, Belichick hasn’t been good at identifying collegiate receiver talent anyways, the track record is littered with failure. It’s a deep class. Why reach for a first-round receiver talent when you could draft a better-suited slot receiver deep in the draft?
The Parker trade acquisition gave the Patriots flexibility and options to fortify, really fortify areas of need on defense and on the offensive line. Also, these are areas of Belichick’s instinctive strength. I say take advantage of it and get a defensive killer or two at the top of the draft. If you’re dying for a wide receiver on day two or later here’s an idea, Slade Bolden from Alabama. He’s got Patriots slot written all over him.