Dec 24, 2011; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots defensive end Brandon Deaderick (71) celebrates a sack with New England Patriots defensive tackle Kyle Love (left) against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Putting aside the 2003 draft right now to digest these recent roster moves by the New England Patriots (another draft revisit and grading of 2003 will be posted this weekend), some additional perspective is needed with these head scratching moves.

First, the release of defensive tackles Brandon Deaderick and Kyle Love are obviously not salary cap related, as both were playing on what is basically their rookie minimum contracts.  The release of Deaderick–where the Patriots were apparently aware that Love was not going to play this season if they had their way–seems to indicate there are some kind of  issues there.  Deaderick got the majority of playing time over the last six games, while Love was the regular for the first half of the season.  Now both are gone.  Not traded before the draft for a late round pick: released, with nothing back in return.

There were two new defensive linemen brought in this off-season–Tommy Kelly and Armond Armstead–and both are unknown products to an extent, as neither have played a snap for this defense, and neither are big, offensive-linemen occupying bodies like Deaderick and Love were in the past.  Add in that the Patriots parted ways with Myron Pryor prior to the draft and 2nd-round wash-out (and Boston College product) Ron Brace at the end of last season, and all-pro nose tackle Vince Wilfork will need a program to know who is lining up next to him at training camp.

The release of defensive tackle Kyle Love as Non-Football Injury/Illness clause release due to his diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes is puzzling to say the least.  From a personal perspective (as I switch to first-person–which I am loathe to do when writing and can feel the wrath of my journalism professor bearing down on me from 20 years ago), I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes almost exactly three years ago, and in my case, I was quickly able to get my diabetes under control. Once I did my health has improved markedly since the diagnosis. In that time I have shed over 60 pounds and gone from a 40 inch waist to a 32 inch waist.  When I would be winded after climbing the four flights of stairs to my 9-5 job three years ago, now I pound out 20 to 30 minutes of high-step each morning just to reach my target heart rate and begin to break a sweat.  My HBA1C, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc have swung from health hazard to healthy athlete level (disclaimer: I do take insulin daily and am on low-dose cholesterol and blood-pressure  medications as a precaution).   This is why the release puzzles me: if anything, the fact he has been diagnosed should lead to improved health, strength, stamina and play from Love.  Why release him now?  Is it a retaliatory move for something? Was he withholding the information from the team?  I do not understand where the Patriots front office is coming from with this move.

As for defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick, the timing of the move is puzzling and leads to speculation about off-field issues. Deaderick and Love split snaps next to Wilfork and both were major contributors.  At worst, the two were expected to battle in training camp for a depth spot behind Kelly and Armstead.  Is this a sign that the Patriots are comfortable with Marcus Forston as their depth defensive lineman?  Behind Fortson are only long-shots/practice-squad potential defensive linemen such as Joe Vellano, Cory Grisson, and Dewayne Cherrington.  Right now, the only other defensive tackle to play a snap on defense in 2012 with the Patriots is Fortson, with 8 snaps total in game three versus Baltimore.

Perhaps it is a change in philosophy. If the defensive line is going to get active (they were in the nickel/sub defense package almost 60% of the time last year) and go after the quarterback, then it makes sense to get rid of them as Love and Deaderick are not fits as they are space eaters.  It leaves the depth a bit thin, but the team was high on undrafted defensive tackle Marcus Fortson last season in training camp, and coach Bill Belichick, defensive coach Pepper Johnson, and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia may believe he is ready to take a huge step forward.  Having Fortson, Kelly, and Armstead with Wilfork inside gives the team a pass rushing presence in the interior defensive line that has  been non-existent since Ted Washington filled the nose tackle position in 2003.

What is also possible is the team is looking to move back to a 3-4 alignment with Vince Wilfork in the middle of the defense. Kelly has experience as a nose tackle and an end in the 3-4, in addition to playing inside in a 4-3.  Kelly and Wilfork on the nose, and Chandler Jones as a 3-4 defensive end with Armond Armstead, Jermaine Cunningham, Justin Francis, and Marcus Fortson at depth would be a possible alignment.  That would flex defensive end/outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich to linebacker in the 3-4 with Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes inside, and a combination of Dont’a Hightower, Ninkovich, and rookie Jamie Collins outside.  That alignment would play to their strength at linebacker, but seems to lessen the versatility of Vince Wilfork by having him occupying multiple blockers. Also, defensive end Chandler Jones  playing a 3-4 at end moves him off the edge and has him playing with strength rather than speed (especially in rushing defense) which seems to not maximize his skills.

Unfortunately, the fans are left to wonder about these moves, as coach Bill Belichick is not about to share his thoughts and explain his motivation for these moves on the defensive line, releasing both Kyle Love and Brandon Deaderick.  Considering how both players were snapped up on waivers shows that there was value there for both of them, as even a  future late round pick has more value than getting nothing at all.  In this case, the Patriots appear to have missed an opportunity to maximize their value and stockpile a few late round draft picks.  As always, the Patriots consistency in the off-season is their unpredictable nature.  Once again, the 2013 off-season is proving to be full of surprises and intrigue in Foxboro, MA.

Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez (81) runs out on the field before the start of the AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Like many of you, I spend much of my free time surfing and clicking around the internet looking for different takes, spins and opinions on my team. I am a Patriots fan — as die-hard as they come. As such, I try to distance myself from writing too much on the team in fear of being perceived as a “homer.” I don’t think I’m a homer, as I’ve been vocal in the past about some things that I felt could have been done better in Foxboro, both on and off the field. In my opinion, a true homer is one who sees only cupcakes, unicorns and rainbows when he sees his team.

That just isn’t me.

Having said that, I was a bit shocked to read a post by James Walker on ESPN’s AFC East Blog this past week. Walker’s take on whether or not the 2013 Patriots would be better than the 2012 Patriots had the feel of someone who was reaching for a reason to knock a great organization down a notch. James Walker is a great writer, especially when it comes to his Miami Dolphin coverage. I have the utmost respect for him as a professional and respect his opinion — I just happen to disagree with just about everything he said about the 2013 Patriots.

Let us first establish that nobody really knows how this or any other season is going to pan out until the players actually take the field. That’s Day-1 stuff. That said, anyone who wants to offer up an opinion and be taken seriously must not have tunnel vision in regard to a topic, unless the entire intent is to get under someone’s skin. To Walker’s credit, he got under mine as a New England fan and I think that was his goal.

James Walker listed five reasons that the New England Patriots would not, in fact, do as well in 2013 as they did in 2012.

He cited too many changes at receiver as Reason No. 1. Come again? The history of the Patriots with Tom Brady under center is full of nothing but changes at the wide receiver position. The six consecutive years Wes Welker spent catching passes from Tom Brady is the longest stretch that any Patriot receiver has spent in New England during the Brady era. The last time there was as much turnover at the position as the Patriots have heading into 2013, they went 16-0 during the regular season. Receiver turnover has never been an issue in Foxboro.

Walker goes on to mention injuries as his second reason the 2013 Patriots will fall short of 2012. He then mentions only Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Edelman is a great guy to have around and brings depth, but he is not nor has he ever been considered a catalyst for New England’s success. As far as Gronkowski, yes — he is an elite weapon that makes New England a more formidable offensive threat. Having said that, New England rattled off 33 points a game in the final six games without Gronkowski, losing only to San Francisco.

Reason No. 3 applies to every player in the NFL — age. We all age, even NFL players. All of them. I’m not worried about Brady losing any athleticism that changes his game in a six month span. Tom Brady being one year older will have very little to do with anything. Walker even threw in a link to Ryan Clark’s “seeing ghosts” comment. I remember the last time a member of the Steeler secondary talked smack about Brady. That didn’t end well for that guy.

I actually agree with Walker’s fourth reason — a tougher schedule. I don’t like the idea of playing Denver, Atlanta, Houston, and Cincy (who incidentally is my sleeper team for 2013). Then he goes and mentions the Steelers. Unless New England is playing  Terry Bradshaw’s Steelers from the 1970′s, I don’t consider them a threat. They’ll be lucky to finish third in their own division.

James Walker wraps up his piece with a 5th Reason that the Patriots will fail to have the same success in 2013 as they had in 2012: The AFC East is Stronger. Really? How so? The Dolphins signed an average linebacker away from Baltimore and a deep threat that everyone will key on. In the meantime, they lost their best running back and their franchise offensive tackle. The Bills bring in a new coach with no NFL head coaching experience and possibly a rookie starting quarterback by mid-season. The Jets? They’re still the Jets.

The lesson in all of this is that we the fans have a better grasp on our team and its strengths and weaknesses than anyone else, including an ESPN AFC East blogger. The nearly 1000 comments on Walker’s article tell me that he succeeded in grabbing the attention of the average Patriots fan — and more power to him for that. All you have to know is that the New England Patriots have been and continue to be one of the most stable organizations in professional sports. The have a legend as a head coach and a legend under center. You don’t have to worry about the wheels falling off the wagon in New England because the wagon is always fully stocked with spare parts.

Until Bill Belichick packs up his hoody and Tom Brady rides off into the California sunset, I wouldn’t worry about what anyone says about the Patriots, especially in the month of May. Then again, if I followed my own advice, I probably wouldn’t have written what you just read.

Oh well. Go Pats!

Dec 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch (84) reacts during the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

This is the third installment of a multi-part review and grading of the previous drafts of the New England Patriots in the Bill Belichick era.  With little free agent news and rookie mini-camps quietly running, the Patriots and other NFL teams are in a quiet period until training camp kicks off in July; therefore, this is an excellent period in the NFL schedule to look back and re-grade the previous drafts of the Bill Belichick led New England Patriots. As a note, these draft grades take into account the player’s impact in New England weighed against the other players who were available at the time, as well as the the strength of the draft as a whole that season.  Below is the revisit and re-grading of Bill Belichick’s first draft as a Super Bowl champion in New England:  the 2002 NFL Draft.

The Patriots completed the 2001 season with an improbable run to the Super Bowl beating Oakland in the “Snow Game (in New England)/Tuck Rule (everywhere else) Game” with the controversy of the officials using replay to make the correct call (there had been a similar situation where a turnover was overturned against the Patriots defense in a regular season game earlier that season, so coach Bill Belichick was aware of the rule and how it could apply in that situation). They followed that with an exciting victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Then came the amazing Super Bowl victory over the two-touchdown favorite St. Louis Rams behind second-year 6th round draft pick Tom Brady, who had come off the bench to replace local legend Drew Bledsoe at quarterback earlier in the season and never relinquished the job.

The Patriots headed into the 2002 draft with their usual assortment of picks (other than their 6th round pick which was traded in 2000) and an extra 5th round pick from Jacksonville on a draft day trade in 2001.  However, this draft was dominated by the news of the trade the Patriots made with division rival, Buffalo, where they sent their quarterback who had rescued the franchise back in the early 1990s to the Bills for their 2003 first round pick.

As hard as it may be to recall after all the years of excellence from quarterback Tom Brady, there was a big split between the fan base as to keep the quarterback in jersey #11 or #12.  At the time, it was clear that the team could not keep both: Brady had won the Super Bowl and Drew Bledsoe had signed a then-record contract and no team was going to have the highest-paid player in the league as a back-up.  Remember, in the AFC Championship game, Brady had left the game with a leg injury, and Bledsoe had come off the bench to throw the touchdown before half-time that was the difference in the game and sent New England to the Super Bowl.

Because of the 9-11 terrorist attacks that year, there was no usual two-week break between the championship games and the Super Bowl. The local and national media were able to rehash the entire Brady or Bledsoe debate that had lingered all season with the added caveat of Drew Bledsoe having come off the bench to lead the team to victory, had played in a Super Bowl, and was not injured like Tom Brady.  Fortunately, the Patriots made the right choice in the Super Bowl–as they had made during the season–and on the second day of the draft, the Patriots made the correct decision to trade Bledsoe to Buffalo.

1st Round #21: Daniel Graham, Tight End:

The New England Patriots wasted no time moving around the draft, as they packaged their 1st round pick (#32) with their 3rd round pick (#96) and 7th round pick (#234) to Washington for the #21 pick in the first round.  With visions of an offense built around two tight-ends percolating in the brain of Bill Belichick a decade ago, the Patriots grabbed Daniel Graham, a big, athletic target out of Colorado.  Graham was intended to be the big, red-zone target the offense was looking for over the next few years. While the team benefitted from his in-line blocking skills in winning two more Super Bowls, and he did once contribute 7 touchdowns in a season, there is no doubt that Graham did not exactly fill the niche that the Patriots had in mind for him when they traded up to get him.

Should have drafted: On one hand, the Patriots could indicate that at least they did not take linebacker Napoleon Harris (#23), or cornerback Mike Rumph (#27) and at least Graham did not bring the head-aches that the other 1st round tight ends, Jerramy Stevens (#28) and Jeremy Shockey (#14), brought to Seattle and the New York Giants respectively.  However, when looking at the draft that year, the best pick of the draft that year was at #24 overall, so other than Carolina at #2 (hard to argue with picking an athletic freak like Julius Peppers), and Indianapolis at #11 (Dwight Freeney was a controversial pick at the time) 20 teams–including the Patriots–passed over a safety from the University of Miami named Ed Reed.  Denver wasted it’s 1st round pick (#19) on wide receiver Ashley Lelie; Dallas took defensive back Roy Williams over Reed at #8 overall instead of Reed; Arizona took Wendell Bryant #12 overall, and he was out of the league in three years; Cleveland took Boston College running back William Green at #16 and Atlanta took running back T.J. Duckett at #18: this draft had a lot of misses in the 1st round. However, for Bill Belichick, it must hurt thinking how close he was to adding Ed Reed to a defensive back-field with Lawyer Milloy and Ty Law in the 2002 draft.

Grade: B

2nd Round #65: Deion Branch, Wide Receiver:

The New Patriots continued to add weapons for their young quarterback early in the draft, grabbing Louisville wide receiver Deion Branch.  Putting aside the contentious contract negotiations that led the Patriots to send Branch to Seattle before bringing him back as a veteran safety-blanket on the outside, Branch was a home run in New England and played a huge role in the Super Bowl victories after the 2003 and 2004 seasons.  Branch never had a 1000 yard season (although 998 yards in 2005 is close enough), but his ability to step-in to the lineup and step-up in big games (4 100-yard receiving games in the playoffs) was key for the Patriots.

Should have drafted: As the last pick of the 2nd round, there were few players taken in the 3rd round that had that kind of impact. Carolina grabbed linebacker Will Witherspoon at #73 and San Diego grabbed linebacker Ben Leber at #71, and Philadelphia got running back Brian Westbook at #91, but compared to the players taken after him, Branch was the best player there.  Seven other receivers went before Branch in the second round (Jabar Gaffney, #31, Josh Reed #36, Tim Carter #46, Andre Davis #47, Reche Caldwell #48, Antwann Randle El #62, Antonio Bryant #63) and none had the impact that Branch had in his first four years (plus value from the trade to Seattle for their 1st round pick in 2007) in New England.

Grade: A

4th Round #117: Rohan Davey, Quarterback:

The Patriots traded up in the 4th round, sending their pick (#131) with their 5th round pick (#144) to move up and get their back-up quarterback of the future in Rohan Davey, the strong-armed LSU product.  Unfortunately, Davey did not pan out in New England, or in the league.  Out of the NFL after the 2004 season, Davey never made the next step in his development.

Should have drafted: Two very good linebackers came off the board after Davey, Larry Foote went to the Steelers at #128 and Scott Fujita went to the Chiefs at #143.  That said, getting ahead of the Dolphins in the fourth round at #114 would have gotten the team the most productive tight end of the draft, Randy McMichael and Jacksonville grabbed quarterback David Garrard a few spots ahead at #108 in the 4th round.

Grade: C-

4th Round #126, Jarvis Green, Defensive End:

The Patriots obtained this second 4th-round pick from Green Bay for mercurial receiver Terry Glenn (along with another 4th round pick in 2003).  In the middle of round four the Patriots snagged another LSU product in the pass-rushing specialist Jarvis Green.  Not a starter in New England, Green did well as a third-down pass rush specialist and contributed on special teams.

Should have drafted: Three of the next five picks in the draft never played a down in a regular season game.  Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard went to Oakland at #147 and would have helped on the interior of the line, but Green was overall a good fit on the championship defense and likely would have been a starter for another team in his peak seasons.

Grade: B+

7th Round #237: Antwoine Womack, Running Back:

The Patriots traded their second 5th round pick to Dallas for a 2003 5th round pick and snagged a 7th round pick in 2002 as part of the deal. The Patriots had no sixth round pick, having traded that years earlier to the Rams for wide receiver Dane Looker. Looker never panned-out in New England, nor did Womack, who failed to make the team and never played a down in the regular season in the NFL.

Should have drafted: Pittsburgh snared bearded defensive end Brett Keisel at #242.

Grade: D

7th Round #253: David Givens, Wide Receiver:

Givens, taken only 8 picks ahead of the so-called “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last player selected, came out of Notre Dame and–after using his rookie season to earn a roster spot playing special teams–contributed on the 2003 and 2004 Super Bowl teams as one of the regular starting wide receivers. After a strong season in 2005, Givens was lured away in free agency by Tennessee.  Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career.  In his four years in New England, Givens was a steal considering his draft position.

Should have drafted: The only other player in the draft after Givens who contributed was Rock Cartwright, fullback and special-teams player for Washington.

Grade: A

The 1st round pick was solid, but not spectacular.  The 2nd and 7th round picks, Deion Branch and David Givens, remain the only two wide receivers the team drafted and developed into contributors. For three years, the Patriots had their two draft picks regularly lined up outside on a championship caliber team. Round 4 had one wash-out (Rohan Davey) and one solid contributor (Jarvis Green). The other 7th round pick never played.  With only 6 picks, it seems light for a Bill Belichick team; however, the Patriots got some serious bang for their buck with three starters on offense and a solid contributor for the defense.

Overall Draft Grade: B+