Halloran: New England D is lacking depth

Watching the Jets navigate a pair of seven-minute drives near the end of regulation and in overtime, it reveals what many have suspected: the weakest link for the Patriots is their defense. That was the concern heading into the season, because Asante Samuel was gone, and Father Time was breathing down the necks of Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison. Then came the injuries to Harrison and Adalius Thomas, and something else was revealed: the Patriots really haven’t drafted well lately, especially on defense.

Every Patriot fan can contradict that assessment by pointing to the defensive line. They “hit” when they drafted Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork in the first rounds of 2001, 2003 and 2004. More recently, you can put Jerod Mayo and, perhaps, Brandon Meriweather on that list of first round “hits.” But in eight years under Bill Belichick, those are the five. Jarvis Green, Ellis Hobbs, James Sanders, Eugene Wilson and Samuel were later round “moderate hits,” which makes a grand total of 10 guys in eight years. Now, Samuel and Wilson are gone.

The Patriots have drafted 32 defensive players in the past eight years, and no disrespect to Tully Banta-Cain, Dan Klecko or Terrence Wheatley, but it can be argued that they “hit” on 10 draft picks and missed on 22 others. That’s a lot of swinging and missing, and it’s hurting them now, not only on defense, but on special teams.

It’s clear the Patriots have drafted some very good defensive players, but not nearly enough to supply them with the depth they need when Bruschi slows down, or Harrison goes down. The Patriots reacted to what they recognized as an aging and weakening defense by grabbing four defensive players with their first five picks of this year’s draft. But it may have been too late to help them this year. Of course, the Patriots probably thought Tom Brady could hide some of the defense’s warts for another year, and give them more time to rebuild. But then the injury dominoes started to fall, and undrafted free agents like Pierre Woods were thrust into new roles that they’re not quite ready for.

In 2007, the Patriots netted Meriweather and no one else. In 2006, the Patriots ignored the defensive side of the ball during the draft until the sixth round when they selected Jeremy Mincey, followed by LeKevin Smith and Willie Andrews. And in 2005, the Patriots got Hobbs and Sanders, who may be considered “hits” because they’re starters now. But what level starters are they?

The Patriots have survived the loss of Brady, in part, because Matt Cassel was ready to step up. But when Samuel, Harrison and Thomas were lost, the Patriot defense took a step down.

Bob Halloran is a sports anchor and reporter. He’s also the author of “Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward,” published by The Lyons Press.