ProFootballCentral.com

The New England Patriots are coming off a near perfect season in 2007 and now have a glaring hole in the secondary to fill with the departure of Asante Samuel. The front runners to start opposite Ellis Hobbs are nine year veteran Jason Webster, ten year veteran Fernando Bryant and second year veteran Mike Richardson and rookie Terrence Wheatley.

Fernando Bryant

Pros- Fernando Bryant started all 16 games last season for Detroit, recording two interceptions and 14 passes defended, matching career highs, despite a foot injury. He definitely is a tough player who can play with an injury and is an excellent run stopper. Another huge positive for Bryant that the fans of the Patriots will appreciate is his dedication to giving back to the community. His charitable interests are many and varied, and he’s already talked to teammates about programs he can get involved with in New England. The native of Albany, Ga., was the Detroit Lions’ man of the year in 2004, and last year he was honored at the Georgia State Capitol for his humanitarian efforts. In addition to his 25 Sports Foundation (named for his jersey number), which aids inner-city children through a variety of initiatives, Bryant also supports organ donation. His brother received a life-saving kidney transplant several years ago. Bryant also has provided Thanksgiving dinner baskets and relief supplies for Hurricane Katrina victims. The fact remains that New England brought Bryant in to provide veteran leadership and that’s what he will do.

Cons- One huge knock on Bryant is being injury prone in 2006, he missed six games - one because of the death of his grandmother - and had to sit out the final four games after suffering a concussion in a 28-21 loss to the Patriots. Bryant played just two games in 2005 before he was placed on injured reserve with a clavicle injury. In 2004, he sat out six games because of injuries, and was sidelined the final four by an ankle injury. He played 16 games in 2002, but in 2001, he missed six games with a foot injury. Another knock on Bryant is he has been labeled at times as a poor tackler. The Patriots need someone to replace Samuel who last year had six interceptions while Bryant only has had seven interceptions in his nine seasons.

Jason Webster

Pros- Jason Webster has shown that he can be a very good tackler and does have good short coverage skills. He also has shown very good hip movement during his career.

Cons- Since the 2002 season, Webster has missed 41 games due to various reasons including the last 15 weeks of last season and is very much injury prone. In eight years has played for three teams and has never solidified a starting spot on any team. Has also in the past been exposed for poor deep pass coverage and definitely needs to improve on this. Also needs to be a more physical player and needs to improve his bust off the line.

Mike Richardson

Pros- Mike Richardson missed all of his rookie season last season after being placed on injured reserve after an injured thumb but appears to be 100% healthy and heading into training camp surprising people. Out of the four players competing for this number 2 cornerback position, Richard does have the edge with knowing the playbook. Richardson is a very hard worker who barely made this team last year and has worked very hard to impress this coaching staff. He is a nice sized corner who exhibits a fluid transition with opponents and is always a very alert cornerback.

Cons- One huge knock against Mike Richardson is that he does struggle with one on one coverage when his back is to the ball. Another huge knock against him is that he tends to side shuffle a lot more than backpedal. The fact remains that Richardson did miss a whole season and needs to get back to being accustomed to on the field action.

 
Terrence Wheatley

Pros- Terrence Wheatley is one of the smartest players to come out of the draft and should make an instant impact on this team. During his collegiate career at Colorado, he showed great speed and has a great knack for the ball. He also does a great job reading the offense and is an in your face style cornerback.

Cons-  While Wheatley is an in your face corner, he does lack the physical strength needed and did at times lose out on several one on one battles for the ball. Wheatley also needs to improve his reaction time and needs to work on his tackling skills. Another huge negative for Wheatley is staying healthy. He sustained a hairline fracture in his foot in 2007 and sat out the entire 2005 season to repair a broken wrist and has had several surgeries on that wrist in the past.

The Edge- This should be a really interested competition to watch this training camp with two young players and two veterans all competing for that number 2 spot. I think the mystique of how Richardson and Wheatley will perform definitely intrigues me but I’m doing to have to go with experience and Fernando Bryant who has started 109 of 110 career games definitely has that. Jason Webster did show promise with the Bills last year during preseason but did get injured right into there season and has shown that he cannot stay healthy in this league. Bryant however has been injured in the past but definitely has a lot more to prove with early talks of retirement coming up before he signed with the Patriots this off season. Bryant’s familiarity with Dom Capers will help him but he definitely needs to work on his timing skills so he can add some interceptions to his stats and the backfield presence of Rodney Harrison will definitely help that with quarterbacks shying away throwing near Harrison.