I Want the Old New England Patriots

I remember my reaction to the play depicted in the image above. The play where New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devery Henderson darted downfield into less then no coverage. In all honesty, I give Henderson credit for not giving up on the play thinking it was blown dead.

I sat there staring at the screen, before flipping open my Droid to type in “Um……… what?” It was a setiment echoed by many Patriots fans who were tweeting along with me as we watched the game.

Nevertheless, I look at the image now in a completely different light. It’s not just one blown play and botched coverage, but it symbolizes for where the Patriots are this season. The Patriots do not belong on the same field with the Saints. New Orleans is a team that when playing with the passion that they showed on Monday night can beat every single team in the league and do it going away.

I’m not going to pile on top of everyone else’s negativity. I am going to be the crusty old sea captain that vows to go down with the ship; but, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of criticism to be strewn about. Usually, the Patriots are turning on the jets as the winter draws nearer, but this year their secondary looks like it’s still in the deep freeze.

The defense has lost too many valuable pieces. If losing Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, and Rodney Harrison wasn’t enough, the trade of Richard Seymour put the Patriots defense over the top. I want the old New England Patriots back. Without Seymour, the defensive line has been pedestrian allowing opposing quarterbacks to pick apart the overmatched defensive backs. I can’t blame Brandon Meriweather because he seems to be having a nice season, and I am trying to be patient with rookies Patrick Chung and Darius Butler, but there is just nothing to speak of in the secondary that should give the Patriots Nation confidence.

Remember when we had Asante Samuel and Rodney Harrison? Even then there were injuries that forced the Patriots to go further down the depth chart then they wanted to go. But the Patriots Nation had bought hook, line, and sinker into the idea that it was the scheme and not the players. Belichick could find put seemingly anyone in the right place. As it turns out, having a few All-Pros didn’t hurt.

There is nothing that can be done about this for this season’s playoff push, but I for one will be eager to see what comes into New England via free agency this offseason. The Patriots need to find that impact signee like they did when they grabbed Harrison. No more letting good players walk for the betterment of the team. We need to bring good players in or we’re going to see the team start collapsing.

Tags: Bill Belichick, Brandon Meriweather, Darius Butler, Devery Henderson, Mike Vrabel, New Orleans Saints, Patrick Chung, Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Twitter