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Can New England Patriots survive without Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner?

By Aryan von Eicken

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Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner were brought to the New England Patriots to help them finally win another Super Bowl Championship. That plan worked perfectly, as the Patriots finally won another Super Bowl, ten years since their previous win. The strong play of the secondary was a big reason for the success of the Patriots. Last year the secondary was shored up in a few days of free agency, and now those two key players have both left the Patriots in span of three days. The question that looms is if the Patriots can still be competitive without these two key players?

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The answer to that question is a quite obvious yes, simply because they have the combo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick,. Still, every year the Patriots have won the Super Bowl, they did always have a pretty good defense to go along with their offense. Revis leaving any team will automatically make their defense worse, as he is the best cornerback in the game and therefore irreplaceable. Browner on the other hand was a nice complement to Revis, but he is definitely replaceable.

The great thing about having Darrelle Revis was that the Patriots knew that they could put him on once wide receiver and that wide receiver would be contained for most of the game. This opened up a lot of other options for the rest of the defense and especially the secondary. McCourty could focus most of his attention on the side of the field on which Revis was not on, and therefore the secondary really was very good. Revis made the entire defense better, which is why he will be so dearly missed.

Brandon Browner was one of those benefactors of Darrelle Revis. He is a very big and physical defensive back, but he is also not the fastest and is prone to getting burned on deep plays. With Revis shutting down one side, McCourty could play the role of Browner’s safety net, which basically shut down the opposing teams second options as well, as with Browner underneath and McCourty over the top any wide receiver will have a tough time getting open. I think Browner is a solid Nr. 2 corner, but he has benefited by playing next to Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis for his entire career.

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews (13) catches a pass defended by New England Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington (25) during the second quarter in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The good thing for the Patriots is that cornerback is the position at which they have the most depth. This depth features players like Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler and Alfonzo Dennard. Arrington had a very year playing mostly in the slot. He definitely had some rough moments, such as in the Super Bowl, when Russell Wilson seemed to continuously target him, but he also showed flashes of brilliance when shutting down T.Y. Hilton for two entire games. Still I think Arrington is better suited for the slot, than being a full-time outside cornerback.

Logan Ryan took a back seat to Revis and Browner this year, but the hope is that he was able to improve during this year and maybe could be a solid option for the Patriots at cornerback. In his first two years with the Patriots, Ryan has shown plenty of ability and promise, and has also made some game changing plays, but obviously there are a lot of question marks about a player who hasn’t had been more than a third or fourth corner on a team.

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots strong safety Malcolm Butler (21) intercepts a pass intended for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette (83) in the fourth quarter in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

A lot of people are talking about Malcolm Butler being the next star for the Patriots. Obviously that is very much over blown, but Belichick really seems to love Butler so there is a good chance that they believe he can be a starting cornerback. While it would be a great success story if Butler could use his key play in the Super Bowl to power him to a great career. Still, I was often baffled by the Patriots constant usage of Butler, as he gave up a lot of big plays. Butler has shown his talent, but he must improve a lot before he can be considered a solid starting corner.

Alfonzo Dennard might actually be my favorite player of the current corner backs on the Pats roster. This year was a very disappointing year for Dennard, as he was basically demoted from the starting cornerback to Nr.6 cornerback on the Patriots depth chart. While I didn’t understand why the patriots suddenly stopped playing Dennard, he did show a lot of skill in the 2013. He played as the starting corner next to Aqib Talib for large parts of the season and the postseason, and he was very effective and showed capabilities of being at least a No.2 corner.

The Patriots will not be able to simply replace Darrelle Revis, but I do think they have a lot pieces that could be a decent solution at the cornerback position. Dennard must be in the mix for the starting position, as he has played significantly better than Butler when on the field. Arrington will most likely remain in his slot role, and he is very effective in that role. The problem is that the Patriots seem to have a lot possible No.2 corners, but they need one of those to evolve into a true Nr.1 corner.

Their highest hopes are likely in Ryan and Butler, as both of them are still very young and have a time to improve. I do believe the Patriots should look into options like Keenan Lewis, because Tom Brady can’t defeat age forever. The Patriots might also add another talented corner in the draft, but none of them will be able to jump into the top corner role. I think the Patriots will do okay with the current secondary they have, but there definitely is room for improvement, and they will likely explore different options so that they can improve.

Next: 10 Free Agents the Patriots should pursue

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