Conventional and advanced statistics disagree over many things. The badness of the New England Patriots' defense through four games is not one of them. It's a defense that ranks 317th out of 320 units over the past 10 seasons in both yards allowed (conventional) and expected points added (advanced) during the first four games of a season. There is little need for elaboration if you've watched New England give up 32 points per game so far.
"They are known for trades," a personnel director said Sunday night, "but I don't know what rabbit they can pull out at this point."
There are probably no miracle cures for the Patriots' defense or other struggling units around the league, but with less than a month remaining 'til the trading deadline on Halloween, we already can see players who could be more available than others, including a few who might interest Bill Belichick.
With input from a range of league insiders, I've put together a list of players who could be available at various price points: