Athanasios Armenis

Journal Staff

With the loss of Super Bowl XLVI freshly looming over the heads of all New England fans, the front office of the Patriots look to quickly make some adjustments in player personnel as the AFC Champs look to find that missing piece in the offseason.

Will the Patriots part ways with ever so reliable Wes Welker? Will they keep their four picks in the early rounds of this years NFL draft? Or will they take a chance on a high-profile free agent such as Vincent Jackson or Mario Williams?

When it comes to New England, one thing’s for sure. In Belichick we trust.

The Patriots, who finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, were on cruise control towards the end of the year as they tallied off ten straight wins to finish the season, all against sub .500 opponents.

The only “true” competition New England had seen during the last ten weeks was Denver, as the surging Broncos had nearly “Tebowed” everyone in the league up to that point.

Note that New England didn’t have the prototypical-winning roster either. With a roller-coaster defense, they found themselves at times inserting offensive players on the defensive side of the football. Their 31st overall ranking in opponents passing yards per game ranked the worst of any Belichick team throughout his tenures as a head coach.

It seemed as if the only way New England would finish off an opponent during the regular season was through their offense, which was also by no means perfect.

Tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez were bright spots, nearly doubling their production values from their 2010 rookie campaigns but the looming side-stories of attempting to integrate six-time Pro-bowler Chad Ochocinco into this offense while not having a true deep threat that could take the top off of a defense eventually bit the Pats come early February.

First things first. Sign a wide receiver that can run. The Patriots and ex-offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who’s officially taken over as head coach of U-Penn, had only 14 plays that went for over 40+ yards all season long, according to NFL.com.

New England’s offense during the post-Randy Moss era has been good but not great. The likes of a Brandon Lloyd, who played for current offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during his brief stint with the Broncos and Rams, could create a breathtaking plethora of weapons for Brady. Lloyd has the speed to outrun the top corners in the league and is extremely familiar with the Patriots style of offense.

Reggie Wayne? Steve Johnson? Vincent Jackson? Well the Colts are likely entering a re-building stage, which would most likely mean parting ways with Peyton Manning’s go-to-guy.

Wayne would be an exciting and reliable weapon for Brady but his legs are on the tail end of their career and Belichick and the Pats aren’t looking to add age to this offense.

The disappointing news for New England fans could very well be the loss of fan-favorite Benjarvus Green-Ellis. The “law-firm” has never fumbled as a professional and has totaled 2,064 yards on 510 carries in his four-year tenure with the Patriots.

New England, who’s looking to re-sign Green-Ellis, seems to favor a running back-by-committee system regardless of their lack-luster 20th ranking in rushing last season. Green-Ellis’ great 2011 season however could cause a bidding war between franchises looking for help in the backfield and New England has a history of letting their players walk when it comes down to money.

Matt Forte, who will be coming off a torn ACL injury, missed the last four games of the regular season and has lost a little bit of leeway in terms of contract negotiations. Forte would be a dream signing for New England whose never had a true three-down back since Corey Dillon’s brief stint as a Patriot from 2004-2006.

Forte can also catch the screen pass, which hasn’t quite panned out for New England’s Danny Woodhead.

Ray Rice, Peyton Hillis, Marshawn Lynch and Cedric Benson top off the list of 2012 free agent running backs as Rice and Lynch, look to re-sign with their former squads, Baltimore and Seattle. Benson and Hillis have announced they will dip their toes and test the free agent waters.

Second. New England needs to find a pass rusher. The Patriots, who had shown signs of heading in the right direction defensively, lost veteran defensive end Andre Carter for the final three regular season games and all of playoffs after a quad injury.

Marc Anderson, who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, stepped in and performed admirably in the absence of Carter, recording 5.5 sacks in the final five games of the season. Although Anderson was able to temporarily fill the void, the lack of a pass rush from both sides of the field against Eli Manning during the Super Bowl hurt the Patriots chances of bringing home another Lombardi Trophy.

The Patriots should be pursuing both Carter and Anderson, but don’t be surprised if Belichick tries to make a splash in the free-agent market, with two-time Pro-bowler Mario Williams and young superstar Cliff Avril looking to play for contenders.

Notable defensive free agents that could add a spark to New England’s woeful defense include veteran defensive end John Abraham from Atlanta, Clint Mathis from Indianapolis, and linebacker London Fletcher from Washington.

Patriots fans should note that New England isn’t a whole roster change away from winning it all. They must add two or three players on top of re-signing their productive players. Bring back Wes Welker. Bring back Matthew Slater on special teams.

Re-sign the young and talented defensive linemen Kyle Love. Give defensive end Andre Carter and wide receiver, Deion Branch another go at a ring. New England needs to make those extra free agent signings to elevate their play come playoff time.

Are the Patriots a contender? Yes, of course. Anyone with the likes of a Tom Brady leading the charge will always be in discussion for a Super Bowl title but New England needs to alleviate the pressure off of Brady. This off-season’s moves could very well determine if the Patriots and Brady can re-capture their Super Bowl winning glory or just be another team in contention.