By just glancing at the New England Patriots' very young and inexperienced defense, you may come to the conclusion that their secondary is set up to be their strength—which it most certainly was in 2010.
However, it you look even closer, the Patriots may have a solid rotation of cornerbacks in Devin McCourty, Leigh Bodden, Kyle Arrington and Ras-I Dowling, but the safety positions could be a liability.
Entering 2011, New England does not have a set-in-stone starting free safety or a strong safety. The Patriots do have quality candidates on their roster with Brandon Meriweather, Patrick Chung and James Sanders—but all three have been inconsistent during their tenure with New England.
One player that is set to become a free agent, Dawan Landry, could be brought in and immediately start at strong safety for the Patriots.
Landry has spent his entire five-year career with the Baltimore Ravens, where he teamed up with free safety Ed Reed to create one of the more feared secondaries in all of football.
One of the most intriguing traits that Landry possesses is his physicality and how he's such a major force in stopping the run. In my opinion, Landry is in the top tier of defensive backs when it comes to stopping the run.
Landry is coming off of a solid, productive season with the Ravens, as he tallied up 111 tackles, good enough for a career high.
In a report done by The Baltimore Sun, they speculate that due to the Ravens' history, they'll likely let Landry walk, as they did with multiple other strong safeties. The site also believes that Landry will be seeking far too much money, as they speculate that he'll be in a $5 million per year kind of player.
The one thing that New England has at defensive back is depth, with Meriweather, Sanders, Chung and the possible returnees of Dustin McGowan and Jarrad Page—but don't mark Landry off your list quite yet.
Landry has been more productive than any safety on New England's roster, which indicates that he'll likely bring reliability to the table along with another body in their secondary.
Projecting that Landry will likely be receiving offers for a lot money, it may seem like he is not a possibility for New England. However, Bill Belichick may figure that he'll certainly be worth the money as he's in the prime of his career and should be considered top-tier talent at the strong safety position.
This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @ TonySantorsa.
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