In 2010, the Patriots Special Teams were anything but. Stephen Gostkowski, who will be a RFA this off-season had another great year, joining Jake Ingram and Kyle Arrington as solid contributors.

The other facets of the kicking game weren’t quite as good.

Wes Welker was the Patriots only decent punt-returner, while Matthew Slater proved that he can run into tacklers faster than anyone I’ve seen.

The Patriots ranked dead last in the “net-punting” statistic, although those numbers are a bit misleading. Chris Hanson is never going to be a boomer, but he does create a lot of fair catches and zero returns, often kicking from the wrong side of the 50. Nevertheless, his sub- 35 yard average was pretty poor.

2009 Unit Grade: C+
2010 Starter Need: High
2010 Depth Need: Low

Potential NFL Draft Prospect Targets: Mike Brandtner, Brett Bowden, Zoltan Mesko, Mardy Gilyard, Mike McLaughlin, CJ Spiller

Stephen Gostkowski
2009 Grade: A
Signed Through: RFA

Kyle Arrington
2009 Grade: A
Signed Through: 2010

Jake Ingram
2009 Grade: B
Signed Through: 2012

Chris Hanson
2009 Grade: C-
Signed Through: UFA

Matthew Slater
2009 Grade: D
Signed Through: 2011

Brett Lockett
2009 Grade: D
Signed Through: Exclusive RFA

2009 Unit Grade: B-
2010 Starter Need: Medium/Low
2010 Depth Need: Medium/Low

The defensive secondary and the defensive line are forever linked together when you look at performance. When a team generates little pass-rush, like the 2009 Patriots, the defensive secondary is forced to cover for longer periods of time. This will ultimately lead to some poor statistics for the corners and safeties.

The Patriots secondary’s performance in 2009 can’t all be blamed on the line however. Communication was incredibly poor between teammates until safety James Sanders stepped in for Brandon McGowan, shoring up their back line nearly instantaneously. In doing that, they lost some of the playmaking that McGowan brings a team

Leigh Bodden, who the Patriots need to re-sign, was great at cornerback. Darius Butler and Pat Chung also showed promise going forward. Wilhite and Wheatley regressed, showing an inability to cover man-to-man and break in the ball in zone.

The Patriots can improve their defensive backs in two ways: improve the pass-rush, and the depth at the cornerback position.

Potential NFL Draft Prospect Targets: Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, Amari Spievey, Syd’Quan Thompson, Devin McCourty, Brandon Ghee, Dominique Franks

Leigh Bodden
Signed Through: UFA
2009 Grade: A-

Brandon Meriweather
Signed Through: 2011
2009 Grade: B-

James Sanders
Signed Through: 2011
2009 Grade: B-

Darius Butler
Signed Through: 2012
2009 Grade: B-

Shawn Springs
Signed Through: 2011
2009 Grade: C+

Pat Chung:
Signed Through: 2012
2009 Grade: C+

Brandon McGowan
Signed Through: 2010
2009 Grade: C

Jonathan Wilhite
Signed Through: 2011
2009 Grade: C-

Terrence Wheatley
Signed Through: 2011
2009 Grade: D+