I think interior D line is an area where we need to improve, but I don't know how you can put that as a higher need than positions where we don't even have (signed) players, like corner, RT, and WR.  I think you need to get those three positions taken care of first.  Then you go to the positions that really need to be upgraded, which include safety and interior DL.  After that, you look at positions that would be nice to upgrade--Interior O line, OLB, and DE. 

In response to dapats1281's comment:

What big WRs have we had under the BB era?

Unless I'm missing someone, I don't recall the Pats bringing any big receivers...

Donald Hayes, Torrance Small, JJ Stokes, Doug Gabriel, David Terrell, Kelly Washington, Sam Aiken and Chad Johnson... they worked out Plaxio Burress...

All were not burners who couldn't break a jam and get open in our system.  Tom Brady can't exactly scramble to create time for himself, if you can't toss a defensive back off of you and get open fast you won't make it here.  

We'd be better off finding tall, really fast guy and having him run fly patterns, Dwayne Bowe is not that guy, by the time he got open Brady would either be sacked or already have gotten rid of the ball.  He's a bad fit...

In response to mthurl's comment:

I'll take Dashon Goldson...28 years old, looks like he loves football, fast, big and can hit. I've got to think that Belichick would help him in coverage too.

He would be my first choice as well, I honestly don't think we have a shot at Seymour due to his past with the team.  After signing our own free agents (Vollmer, Talib) I'd like to go hard at Goldson and then grab another vet depth guy like Chris Canty at a good price.

Agree...I don't think we need a WR with blazing speed. Someone 

like a boldin or Bowe that are big and can battle is my preference. If we compliment that in the draft with a blazer we could get in the later rounds, that would be my choice . 

I would love for us to get one of the dt's mentironed above. Melton would fit the bill. We could do Melton, vollmer and Talib if we don't resign welker, and use our first on Hopkins at WR, or get Elam in round 1, and grab a WR like Patterson in round 2. Welkers money holds the key to what we do in fa

Seymour would be an improvement over what we have at DT now but I doubt he would want to come back. IMO DT is the biggest need on this team, Armstead could be a good start but they need more. Someone that can get a push, get to the passer.

If we want to take a chance on a big WR we can get at a reasonable price how about Braylon Edwards?

Seymour would be an improvement over what we have at DT now but I doubt he would want to come back. IMO DT is the biggest need on this team, Armstead could be a good start but they need more. Someone that can get a push, get to the passer.

In response to prolate0spheroid's comment:

I think interior D line is an area where we need to improve, but I don't know how you can put that as a higher need than positions where we don't even have (signed) players, like corner, RT, and WR.  I think you need to get those three positions taken care of first.  Then you go to the positions that really need to be upgraded, which include safety and interior DL.  After that, you look at positions that would be nice to upgrade--Interior O line, OLB, and DE. 

I'm working under the assumption we've already signed Talib and Vollmer.  

Also the WR "need" isn't as glaring as most here think, many posters here are offense-centric and think we need to outscore our opponent, but again and again our offense fails us.  A dominant defense is far more likely to lead to another Super Bowl ring.  I'm also assuming our team will be tougher and meaner next year with another year of experience and the taste of defeat in the back of their minds.

Would I love to have a 6'4" burner like Randy Moss, for sure, but we're far better off having a defense that is dominant and give Brady the ball back often, nobody can stop Brady if given anough chances and it's highly likely Belichick will find a burner in the draft or in free agency, far more likely than him finding a 345 pound defensive tackle in the late rounds... they don't appear out of thin air.  Skill position players can be found in all rounds of the draft.

In response to wozzy's comment:

In response to prolate0spheroid's comment:

I think interior D line is an area where we need to improve, but I don't know how you can put that as a higher need than positions where we don't even have (signed) players, like corner, RT, and WR.  I think you need to get those three positions taken care of first.  Then you go to the positions that really need to be upgraded, which include safety and interior DL.  After that, you look at positions that would be nice to upgrade--Interior O line, OLB, and DE. 

I'm working under the assumption we've already signed Talib and Vollmer.  

Also the WR "need" isn't as glaring as most here think, many posters here are offense-centric and think we need to outscore our opponent, but again and again our offense fails us.  A dominant defense is far more likely to lead to another Super Bowl ring.  I'm also assuming our team will be tougher and meaner next year with another year of experience and the taste of defeat in the back of their minds.

Would I love to have a 6'4" burner like Randy Moss, for sure, but we're far better off having a defense that is dominant and give Brady the ball back often, nobody can stop Brady if given anough chances and it's highly likely Belichick will find a burner in the draft or in free agency, far more likely than him finding a 345 pound defensive tackle in the late rounds... they don't appear out of thin air.  Skill position players can be found in all rounds of the draft.

"Also the WR "need" isn't as glaring as most here think, many posters here are offense-centric and think we need to outscore our opponent, "

i am not one 

i want sbs so i have ideas about desiging offenses and defenses that can do the job no matter who we face. 

on offense all we need personnel wise is an outside wr who is a threat / can separate and catch(ideally one with a large wingspan and that can compete for the ball). this extra threat (that neither lloyd nor wlekr can provide, will make th other wepaons on the field more viable. too many areas to cover. lloyd canot separate adn if he gets a little free, he falls when he cathces the ball. welker plays in the middle. better des need on ly clog the middle and short and shut down our off.

 and possibly upgrade of o line brady hasnt had much time before ducking for cover and rbs dont have nuch room at all aainst better d lines.

on de we need an effective pass rusher, tall good cb to go along wiht talib, dennard adn dowling 3 and 4 (however that shakes out). a fast cover lb. (a luxuary safety upgrade over gregory and an upgrade at teh other dt spot).

Pretty much everyone you listed never had success anywhere or were well past their primes. Bowe is still in his prime. And the purpose of getting a big WR is that he can be thrown to while covered, a la Anquan Boldin. Bowe could definitely fit in the offense.

Would a deep threat be better? Possibly. Someone who can draw a safety off of Hern or Gronk would help those intermediate routes. But in this hypothetical scenario, Wallace is the only one available and I'm not a fan of his. Too many drops and struggles to focus if he doesn't get enough balls thrown his way.

In response to nyjoseph's comment:

While I think DT is the greatest need, under the criteria given I'd go after Kruger.  He has such a great pass rush although NE might not use him that way.  I just don't think the DTs that are FA are the kind that would make a big impact for the Pats.

If Chandler Jones couldn't get to the QB with the same frequency as Kruger it's for three reasons; Haloti Ngata (6'4" 330 lbs), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (6'5'" 345 lbs) and Arthur Jones (6'3" 313 lbs) not to mention Terrence Cody coming off the bench at 6'4" 350 pounds.

I can't believe nobody but myself can see the disparity between the amount of pure mass the Ravens have across their front vs ours and how they led the post sason in sacks by almost double the next team (Redskins).

In response to prolate0spheroid's comment:

I think interior D line is an area where we need to improve, but I don't know how you can put that as a higher need than positions where we don't even have (signed) players, like corner, RT, and WR.  I think you need to get those three positions taken care of first.  Then you go to the positions that really need to be upgraded, which include safety and interior DL.  After that, you look at positions that would be nice to upgrade--Interior O line, OLB, and DE. 

I'm working under the assumption we've already signed Talib and Vollmer.  

Also the WR "need" isn't as glaring as most here think, many posters here are offense-centric and think we need to outscore our opponent, but again and again our offense fails us.  A dominant defense is far more likely to lead to another Super Bowl ring.  I'm also assuming our team will be tougher and meaner next year with another year of experience and the taste of defeat in the back of their minds.

Would I love to have a 6'4" burner like Randy Moss, for sure, but we're far better off having a defense that is dominant and give Brady the ball back often, nobody can stop Brady if given anough chances and it's highly likely Belichick will find a burner in the draft or in free agency, far more likely than him finding a 345 pound defensive tackle in the late rounds... they don't appear out of thin air.  Skill position players can be found in all rounds of the draft.

I agree with this, I really think our higher end resources need to go to defense. We already have 90 million tied into our tightends and a quarterback that will make 20 million next year. If I'm Belichick I tell Brady, Gronk and Hernandez... "Sorry guys, I'll try to get you a mid level receiver, but you three are going to have to earn every penny of your contracts next year...we have other needs". For a guy like Brady, that shouldn't be a problem - he's carried this team for years, but for the other guys it might be. 

In response to wozzy's comment:

In response to nyjoseph's comment:

While I think DT is the greatest need, under the criteria given I'd go after Kruger.  He has such a great pass rush although NE might not use him that way.  I just don't think the DTs that are FA are the kind that would make a big impact for the Pats.

If Chandler Jones couldn't get to the QB with the same frequency as Kruger it's for three reasons; Haloti Ngata (6'4" 330 lbs), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (6'5'" 345 lbs) and Arthur Jones (6'3" 313 lbs) not to mention Terrence Cody coming off the bench at 6'4" 350 pounds.

I can't believe nobody but myself can see the disparity between the amount of pure mass the Ravens have across their front vs ours and how they led the post sason in sacks by almost double the next team (Redskins).

You have a good point here wooz. I agree.

In response to mthurl's comment:

In response to wozzy's comment:

In response to nyjoseph's comment:

While I think DT is the greatest need, under the criteria given I'd go after Kruger.  He has such a great pass rush although NE might not use him that way.  I just don't think the DTs that are FA are the kind that would make a big impact for the Pats.

If Chandler Jones couldn't get to the QB with the same frequency as Kruger it's for three reasons; Haloti Ngata (6'4" 330 lbs), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (6'5'" 345 lbs) and Arthur Jones (6'3" 313 lbs) not to mention Terrence Cody coming off the bench at 6'4" 350 pounds.

I can't believe nobody but myself can see the disparity between the amount of pure mass the Ravens have across their front vs ours and how they led the post sason in sacks by almost double the next team (Redskins).

You have a good point here wooz. I agree.

Wouldn't put Cody on that list. He's a complete bust. Neither of those guys were as good as VW this season, not even Ngata who was hampered by injury.

I'll agree that the other two (Jones, Kemoeautu) are better than Deaderick and Love.

Kruger had 9 sacks on the season, 1.5 before Suggs came back from injury. I would not pay Kruger the 40 million he's seeking, but the Pats need to find a complimentary pass rusher. Also, Jones is a bit more raw than Kruger.

Interior rush is definitely a need, but I also think they need another outside edge rusher.

And hopefully Jones can make a JPP esque second year jump

In response to dapats1281's comment:

In response to mthurl's comment:

In response to wozzy's comment:

In response to nyjoseph's comment:

While I think DT is the greatest need, under the criteria given I'd go after Kruger.  He has such a great pass rush although NE might not use him that way.  I just don't think the DTs that are FA are the kind that would make a big impact for the Pats.

If Chandler Jones couldn't get to the QB with the same frequency as Kruger it's for three reasons; Haloti Ngata (6'4" 330 lbs), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (6'5'" 345 lbs) and Arthur Jones (6'3" 313 lbs) not to mention Terrence Cody coming off the bench at 6'4" 350 pounds.

I can't believe nobody but myself can see the disparity between the amount of pure mass the Ravens have across their front vs ours and how they led the post sason in sacks by almost double the next team (Redskins).

You have a good point here wooz. I agree.

Wouldn't put Cody on that list. He's a complete bust. Neither of those guys were as good as VW this season, not even Ngata who was hampered by injury.

I'll agree that the other two (Jones, Kemoeautu) are better than Deaderick and Love.

Kruger had 9 sacks on the season, 1.5 before Suggs came back from injury. I would not pay Kruger the 40 million he's seeking, but the Pats need to find a complimentary pass rusher. Also, Jones is a bit more raw than Kruger.

Interior rush is definitely a need, but I also think they need another outside edge rusher.

And hopefully Jones can make a JPP esque second year jump

In fact, Ozzie Newsome has already said he feels they need to get better at tackle.  He wasn't fully pleased with either Cody's or Kemoeatu's performance at NT.  Ngata and Jones, however, are quite good at those DE positions.  The Ravens did struggle against the run much of the season, despite a big run-stopping front.