Patriot position battles: Linebacker

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, June 05, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

New England Patriots
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Throughout the decade, perhaps even beyond Tom Brady’s headlining heroics, the success of the New England Patriots has been anchored in the linebacking corps. Year after year in the 2000s have the Beaneaters assembled a quartet of Pro Bowl-level players at the position.

Despite continued peak play from the likes of 32-year-old Mike Vrabel, NFL observers have been waiting for the aging Patriot LBs to drop in their tracks for at least two full seasons. Some got their wish in the 2007 AFC championship game, of course, when Peyton Manning could have led his perky offense through the haggard Patriot ‘D’ in his sleep in the fourth quarter. (Enter Adalius Thomas.)

This year, the offseason saw head coach Bill Belichick finally act on his urges to “get younger and faster on defense,” something he’s “been saying ... for six years.” The result going into camp is clear preparation for a changing of the guard (so to speak), with all the notable players 30-somethings or rookies.

Oldsters Vrabel, Larry Izzo, Tedy Bruschi and Adalius Thomas are all back; while Vrabel turned in another excellent season (77 tackles, an eye-opening five forced fumbles), 33-year-old Izzo saw limited playing time and may be considered lucky to survive the roster after training camp.

New England fan favorite Bruschi was able to convince Patriot management on a multi-year deal after reportedly mulling retirement back before the 2006 season. Clearly, Belichick & Co. are hoping to use Bruschi far less frequently than forced to in 2007 thanks to injuries to Rosevelt Colvin. Figure Thomas to see lots of playing time this year, after a solid first campaign with the Patriots.

And still no word from Junior Seau ...

Also high up on the depth chart will certainly be Victor Hobson. The Patriots’ key offseason signing, Hobson, 28, was a five-year starter for the New York Jets noted for his durability, an ever-increasingly rare commodity among New England linebackers. As late as 2006, Hobson registered 100 tackles for the Jets.

If Belichick has in fact been wanting his Pats to “get younger and faster” in the area, his procrastination will force his corps into becoming so in 2008. Pencil in No. 10 overall draft pick Jerod Mayo at starting ILB right now. Belichick’s general reticence to start rookies will be put aside for Mayo, and we’ll soon be seeing how a ridiculous 140 tackles in the SEC translates into NFL play.

Shawn Crable was a speculative choice for the Patriots at No. 78 overall, jumping up the charts a bit into the third round; Crable was most known as a run-stuffer in college, racking up some 28.5 tackles for a loss at University of Michigan in 2007. Sixth-round grab Bo Ruud could well go down as a memorable steal of this year's draft, too, and New England fans must positively be salivating over this guy’s pedigree: Six brothers and a whole lot of family members played football for University of Nebraska, and his father, Tom, played NFL ball.

Let’s see, not including Seau, that’s seven. The remaining dogfight for scraps (and time on the practice roster) is among Eric Alexander, Gary Guyton, Vince Redd and Pierre Woods. Because Woods saw some playing time last season, he should be considered an early favorite for a low spot on the depth charts; on the other hand, Belichick has likened Crable’s skill set as comparable to that of Woods’, and so the latter might easily be considered redundant.

After breaking out (relatively) in 2007 and getting into 12 games on special teams, Alexander could squeak onto the roster again, but he’ll be competing with Crable and Woods to do it. Strictly in the Uphill Battle Department are Guyton and Redd, a pair of undrafted free agents.

And then there’s Seau ...
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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