The 2010 New England Patriots went 14-2 in the regular season before losing to the New York Jets in a Divisional Playoff Game. Considering how young the Patriots were, their failure to win the Super Bowl was not too surprising and the future of the team looked very bright.
Bill Belichick has done his best to capitalize on the promise of his team, adding veterans at key positions in an effort to help his team compete for a fourth Super Bowl title under his leadership.
Since the lockout ended and the 2011 season started, Belichick has added receiver Chad Ochocinco and defensive linemen Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, Andre Carter, Gerard Warren, and Mark Anderson.
The Ochocinco move was made to give Tom Brady another weapon. Ochocinco joins Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Deion Branch, Aaron Hernandez, Julian Edelman, and Brandon Tate in what should be one of the best passing games in the NFL.
As for the defensive moves, this is a signal that Belichick believes he has a championship team that needed to improve in one area: the pass rush.
The achilles heel for the 2010 Patriots defense was their inability to stop the opponents passing attack. Although they ranked 8th in total defense, the Patriots were 30th in passing defense. While part of that can be attributed to a young secondary, the biggest problem was that they had trouble in pressuring the quarterback.
In 2010, the Patriots recorded just 36 sacks while allowing 4136 passing yards. They were particularly bad on 3rd Down, allowing a league worst 47.1% conversion rate.
The solution to this problem was to get players like Haynesworth, Ellis, Anderson, Carter, and Warren. They have the ability to collapse the pocket quickly and force the quarterback to make mistakes.
It should be the difference between losing in a Divisional Playoff game and winning a Super Bowl.
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