My first order of business is to apologize for the delay on this.
I should’ve known better.
So consider this my make up blog on this working vacation.
He said the Pats would be “aggressive” in pursuing free agents.
He vowed to build a team that’s “violent.”
And his stated goal was to build from the trenches, out.
Though I guess those last two points, - the last three, really - are redundant.
And so the Pats filled their shopping cart with disruptors.
Tough, solid - sometimes spectacular - veteran presences around the defense.
What the Pats hoped Dominique Easley would be, Williams has become.
Last season he was 15th in overall Pro Football Focus defensive grade among DTs, No.
Pete Prisco of CBS has him listed as his 6th best free agent.
And tomorrow is his 26th birthday.
Landry out of Boston College was the second pick of Vrabel’s first season in Tennessee.
Last year was more or less average for him, and he still would’ve led the 2024 Patriots.
And as far as finishing fifth in Pro Football Focus grade against the run?
New England’s best edge defender against the run was Anfernee Jennings.
Speaking of run stuffers:
Robert Spillane
Bussin' with the Boys' Compton approves:
With good reason.
Once Ju’Whaun Bentley went down last year, the Patriots defense fell off the end of the Earth.
Meanwhile in Las Vegas, Spillane had 110.
Which was thirdin the league.
As was his 91.3 PFF grade against the run.
Sticking with the theme of defense:
Carlton Davis:
With Davis, you don’t need stats.
Davis was the CB1 on the No.
7 scoring defense in the league, and a 15-2 team.
He was the No.
Those terms are acceptable to a franchise that has been placing an emphasis on man coverage for 25 years.
I bring aggression and coverage skills, and Ive been displaying both for years.
The left tackle talent pool drained fast when all the top names kept getting re-signed by their own teams.
But Moses does plug a Mariana’s Trench-sized hole nevertheless.
He allowed just two sacks in 723 total snaps.
