According to THE BOSTON GLOBE, The New England Patriots signed John Lynch today, two weeks after the nine-time Pro Bowl safety was given his release from the Denver Broncos. Lynch is being brought in to fill the void left after projected starter Tank Williams went down for the year following a knee injury suffered in the Pats’ first preseason game. But it’s also a move that seems to be counter to the Patriots’ stated desire to get faster and quicker on defense.

So why bring Lynch in? In my mind, it’s simple: Bill Belichick couldn’t resist fielding the safety combination of Lynch and Rodney Harrison, who was named “dirtiest player in the NFL” in a poll of league coaches done by ESPN.COM last year. Add that to Lynch’s $75,000 fine for leveling Dallas Clark back in 2005, and Belichick might have just put the most vicious, head-hunting, dirtiest, cheap-shottingest safety combination on the field in the NFL since Chuck Cecil, and, well, whichever safety played opposite Chuck Cecil with the Cardinals.

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