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The average fan seems to believe that The New England Patriots dynasty has flat-lined. The popular media has buried Tom Brady, interred Bill Belichick, and cremated the idea that there is anyone of much value in the Patriot’s organization beyond these two passing icons.
But before we plant flowers on the grave of the Flying Elvis, perhaps we would be best served looking at a few of the particulars that have created this notion, and whether or not there is merit in these assumptions.
Perception #1: The last thing that the world remembers about the New England Patriots is Ray Rice skipping (rather effeminately) through their end zone in January after his second rushing touchdown to put the Baltimore Ravens up 21 points in the first quarter of their AFC wild card match-up. The Ravens went on to win the game by 18 points.
Conclusion: The Patriots defense is a shell of its former self and couldn’t stop a Pee-Wee squad. Two words: Leadership Void.
Reality Check #1: The Patriots defense ranked 6th in scoring defense and 3rd in yards allowed in 2009. However, the Patriots defense did surrender late leads to Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, and Houston to go 2-6 on the road. They also got demolished in the aforementioned Ravens game when playoff intensity escalated and they came out flat. This would suggest a lack of leadership in the locker room, a catch-phrase in New England in the off-season, likely caused by malcontent Adalius Thomas and his presumed toady, Shawn Springs, who was seen laughing at Thomas in his infamous “Snow Gate” press conference.
The void in leadership could also be attributed to the departure of stalwarts, Teddy Bruschi Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour who were sent out to other pastures.
The Patriots have made efforts to both purge toxic locker room players and add players with exceptional integrity in the off season, drafting five players who were captains of their college teams. Gone are bad boys such as Thomas and Springs.
Based on the overall statistics from last year, one would have to conclude that there is a tremendous amount of talent on the roster, which will blossom under the care of excellent coaching and a handful of veteran role players.
Perception #2: Tom Brady is past his prime and does not really care about football anymore.
Brady was photographed by paparazzi throughout the off-season getting foot massages from Gisele Bundchen, laying low in tropic locales, and, gasp, playing with his children. He did not report to the team’s optional off-season training program to spend more time on the West Coast with his children. As far as performance on the field, Brady choked during critical times during the season, including his three-pick performance against the Ravens.
Conclusion: Brady has essentially given up on football and will never be the same player as before Bernard Pollard demolished his leg in the 2008 opener.
Reality Check #2: Brady had the second best statistical season of his career in 2009, throwing for 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 65.7 percent of his throws and earning a rating of 96.2. He put up these numbers while laboring most of the season with three cracked ribs, a broken finger on his throwing hand, and a shoulder injury.
Oh, and by the way, this was a year after he tore his ACL and MCL and spent the entire year in recovering from the surgery and in rehabilitation. As to the notion that Brady is no longer interested in football, one need look no further than several incidents in this year’s training camp in which Brady screamed at his offensive line for blowing a red zone play, at one point even calling them “fat cows.” (The latter epithet was likely a product of fatherhood, drawn from son Jack’s early readers such as “The Cow Jumped Over the Moon.” In this case, “The Cow Got Pushed Off the Line of Scrimmage and Into my Lap.”)
Brady’s fiery celebration after a first quarter touchdown by Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis against the New Orleans Saints tells you all you need to know about Brady’s competitive impulses, even at the ripe old age of 33. He is still determined to win, only this time, it will be using language that is a bit more suitable for a younger audience.
Now that he is healthy, a year removed from his knee surgery, the rest of the NFL should beware.
Perception #3: Bill Belichick is tired of coaching in the NFL and is past his prime as a head coach.
His mind is more on golf and fishing than on red zone efficiency and the 3-4 defense. At age 58, he is too old to want to withstand the rigors of being an NFL coach, particularly the long hours and little amount of time allowed to spend with family. Vince Lombardi stepped down from the Green Bay Packer’s head coaching position at age 55. Bill Walsh was 67 in his last year for the San Francisco 49ers. Bill Cower was 50 when he called it quits. Jimmy Johnson was 56 when he last coached in the NFL. Only a few exceptional head coaches, such as Bill Parcells and Don Shula, have made it into their 60s.
Conclusion: It is simply too difficult for an old man to fire up his troops to march into battle in the NFL.
Reality Check #3: What else would Belichick do? I don’t think that ESPN is anxious to get their hands on him. His press conferences could kill the dead (appropriately, his one cameo on television is at a funeral in the show “Rescue Me”). His typical response: “It is what it is,” has become a jingo in Foxboro, apropos of less than nothing. He was divorced in 2006 and his three children are grown up. Is he really that anxious to get home and watch reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond?”
But aside from the emptiness that awaits him following his retirement, he bleeds footballs, literally, his blood is composed of liquefied pig skin. He nibbles on shoulder pads in the bowels of Patriots place and sips on the blood of the downed opposition, and has been slowly devolving into a Gollum-like creature over the past decade, thinly veiled in public with cut-off sweat pants and a gray hoodie. Think he’ll become a GM some day? Have you ever seen him put on a suit? He looks ridiculous. He would fit in at the front office like a dead cat would at a speed-dating meet-and-greet. No.
Belichick will coach until his head explodes and Xs and Os ooze out onto the field.
Perception #4: The offense is old at key positions and lacks depth of quality players.
Let’s begin with the offense. Tom Brady is 33 and has been in the league since Seal was popular. Their running back stable boasts three players (Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and Fred Taylor) who will soon apply for AARP cards. Receivers Randy Moss and Tory Holt have already bought adjoining rocking chairs and have started to begin every sentence with, “When I was a young man….” The offensive line is also old.
As for depth there, Logan Mankins is a holdout and will not be in camp anytime soon. His proposed backup, Nick Kazcur, is on the shelf with a back injury and is out “indefinitely.” The third man down the line, backup Dan Connolly, is untested, and behind him are a series of young unheralded players with bizarre names, such as Rich Ohrnberger, who are unproven.
Conclusion: Move over grandma…
Reality Check #4: The Patriots have drafted a series of young players to bolster their roster offensively, tackle Sebastian Vollmer, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and receivers Julian Edelman, Taylor Price, and Brandon Tate. All of these players are in their first or second year, and all appear to be the real deal, particularly Edelman who roasted the world champions in their first pre-season game for 133 total yards, most of them against the Saints first units.
Tom Brady lit up the league last year with three injuries and two good receivers last year. In 2006, he took the Patriots to the brink of the Superbowl with Reche Caldwell as his number one target. How do you think he might do with an offense loaded with young talent? Oh, by the way, Wes Welker is healthy. Some say he may wear down over the course of the season or not be able to cut as sharply as he has. Everyone has bet against this guy his entire career. Given how those assumptions have turned out, I’m not going to make the same mistake now.
Perception #5: The defense lacks quality depth, particularly at outside linebacker and defensive line, where the Patriots are thin and long in the tooth (what the hell does this expression mean?).
Last year, they had 31 sacks, good for 25th in the league in that important defensive statistic. Looking at the film, their QB hurries, hits, and pressures were all quite low as well. Many opposing QBs appeared to have enough time to build a house in the pocket before picking apart a suspect secondary. The run defense was atrocious, particularly during the Ravens playoff loss, surrendering 234 yards on the ground.
Conclusion: Jamarcus Russell could tear this group up, with a cup of purple drank in his left hand.
Reality Check #5: The Patriots did have a suspect run defense, ranking 13th in rush yards allowed per game. However, much of that can be attributed injuries to their two primary run-stopping studs on defense. Jerod Mayo hurt his knee in the first game of the season, missed three games, came back and was never the same. Vince Wilfork was hurt with three games to play, and came back only against Baltimore; rust was an issue. True, the team did miss Richard Seymour in run defense, as they tried to plug in Mike Wright and Jarvis Green, who was also banged up, to no avail. But they have addressed this gap in starter quality and quality of depth bringing in Gerard Warren, Damian Lewis, and drafting Brandon Deadrick, who is the real deal.
Middle linebacker will no longer boast role players such as Gary Guyton in starting roles. Second round pick Brandon Spikes had eight tackles against the Saints, mostly against the first unit, and plays like a veteran. He will start next to Mayo barring injury. The depth behind them is also much improved, with last year’s third round draft choice, Tyrone McKenzie and the previously mentioned Gary Guyton.
Outside Linebacker has widely been regarded as a position of weakness, but with the return of Derrick Burgess, the group suddenly offers solid depth, if not high-end talent. Burgess will likely start with Tully Banta-Cain. Many point to the fact that five of TBC’s sacks came against Buffalo, but recall that QB hurries, hits, and pressures are just as valuable, and he had a ton versus virtually almost every opponent (except for the Saints).
Behind these two is Marquis Murrell, who had a pressure and a sack on Drew Brees in the first preseason game. Fourth on the depth chart is second round draft pick Jermaine Cunningham from Florida, who has much in the way of potential.
The secondary picked up first round draft choice Devin McCourty to start as a nickel corner to support the likes of Leigh Bodden and Darius Butler, a second year player from UConn who has impressed in training camp. The trio, combined with playmakers Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung at safety, suddenly gives the Patriots a formidable secondary to compliment its pass rush.
They won’t be a top five defense, but they’ll probably be in the top ten.
Conclusion: Despite winning the AFC East last year with a record of 10-6, the Patriots were pantsed last year in the playoffs by the Ravens, unveiling a season of locker room turmoil and injuries at positions offering little depth. This year, with the walls of the locker room stripped of the images of past glory, the team appears poised for a monster season, restocked with young talent and depth at nearly every position.
While very few remain from the last Superbowl victory, shovel dirt on this group with a trembling trowel. With first ballot Hall of Famers Brady and Belichick in the coffin and glut of young upstarts lining the crypt, the Patriots may soon be eating your brains.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
The average fan seems to believe that The New England Patriots dynasty has flat-lined. The popular media has buried Tom Brady, interred Bill Belichick, and cremated the idea that there is anyone of much value in the Patriot’s organization beyond these two passing icons.
But before we plant flowers on the grave of the Flying Elvis, perhaps we would be best served looking at a few of the particulars that have created this notion, and whether or not there is merit in these assumptions.
Perception #1: The last thing that the world remembers about the New England Patriots is Ray Rice skipping (rather effeminately) through their end zone in January after his second rushing touchdown to put the Baltimore Ravens up 21 points in the first quarter of their AFC wild card match-up. The Ravens went on to win the game by 18 points.
Conclusion: The Patriots defense is a shell of its former self and couldn’t stop a Pee-Wee squad. Two words: Leadership Void.
Reality Check #1: The Patriots defense ranked 6th in scoring defense and 3rd in yards allowed in 2009. However, the Patriots defense did surrender late leads to Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, and Houston to go 2-6 on the road. They also got demolished in the aforementioned Ravens game when playoff intensity escalated and they came out flat. This would suggest a lack of leadership in the locker room, a catch-phrase in New England in the off-season, likely caused by malcontent Adalius Thomas and his presumed toady, Shawn Springs, who was seen laughing at Thomas in his infamous “Snow Gate” press conference.
The void in leadership could also be attributed to the departure of stalwarts, Teddy Bruschi Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour who were sent out to other pastures.
The Patriots have made efforts to both purge toxic locker room players and add players with exceptional integrity in the off season, drafting five players who were captains of their college teams. Gone are bad boys such as Thomas and Springs.
Based on the overall statistics from last year, one would have to conclude that there is a tremendous amount of talent on the roster, which will blossom under the care of excellent coaching and a handful of veteran role players.
Perception #2: Tom Brady is past his prime and does not really care about football anymore.
Brady was photographed by paparazzi throughout the off-season getting foot massages from Gisele Bundchen, laying low in tropic locales, and, gasp, playing with his children. He did not report to the team’s optional off-season training program to spend more time on the West Coast with his children. As far as performance on the field, Brady choked during critical times during the season, including his three-pick performance against the Ravens.
Conclusion: Brady has essentially given up on football and will never be the same player as before Bernard Pollard demolished his leg in the 2008 opener.
Reality Check #2: Brady had the second best statistical season of his career in 2009, throwing for 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 65.7 percent of his throws and earning a rating of 96.2. He put up these numbers while laboring most of the season with three cracked ribs, a broken finger on his throwing hand, and a shoulder injury.
Oh, and by the way, this was a year after he tore his ACL and MCL and spent the entire year in recovering from the surgery and in rehabilitation. As to the notion that Brady is no longer interested in football, one need look no further than several incidents in this year’s training camp in which Brady screamed at his offensive line for blowing a red zone play, at one point even calling them “fat cows.” (The latter epithet was likely a product of fatherhood, drawn from son Jack’s early readers such as “The Cow Jumped Over the Moon.” In this case, “The Cow Got Pushed Off the Line of Scrimmage and Into my Lap.”)
Brady’s fiery celebration after a first quarter touchdown by Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis against the New Orleans Saints tells you all you need to know about Brady’s competitive impulses, even at the ripe old age of 33. He is still determined to win, only this time, it will be using language that is a bit more suitable for a younger audience.
Now that he is healthy, a year removed from his knee surgery, the rest of the NFL should beware.
Perception #3: Bill Belichick is tired of coaching in the NFL and is past his prime as a head coach.
His mind is more on golf and fishing than on red zone efficiency and the 3-4 defense. At age 58, he is too old to want to withstand the rigors of being an NFL coach, particularly the long hours and little amount of time allowed to spend with family. Vince Lombardi stepped down from the Green Bay Packer’s head coaching position at age 55. Bill Walsh was 67 in his last year for the San Francisco 49ers. Bill Cower was 50 when he called it quits. Jimmy Johnson was 56 when he last coached in the NFL. Only a few exceptional head coaches, such as Bill Parcells and Don Shula, have made it into their 60s.
Conclusion: It is simply too difficult for an old man to fire up his troops to march into battle in the NFL.
Reality Check #3: What else would Belichick do? I don’t think that ESPN is anxious to get their hands on him. His press conferences could kill the dead (appropriately, his one cameo on television is at a funeral in the show “Rescue Me”). His typical response: “It is what it is,” has become a jingo in Foxboro, apropos of less than nothing. He was divorced in 2006 and his three children are grown up. Is he really that anxious to get home and watch reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond?”
But aside from the emptiness that awaits him following his retirement, he bleeds footballs, literally, his blood is composed of liquefied pig skin. He nibbles on shoulder pads in the bowels of Patriots place and sips on the blood of the downed opposition, and has been slowly devolving into a Gollum-like creature over the past decade, thinly veiled in public with cut-off sweat pants and a gray hoodie. Think he’ll become a GM some day? Have you ever seen him put on a suit? He looks ridiculous. He would fit in at the front office like a dead cat would at a speed-dating meet-and-greet. No.
Belichick will coach until his head explodes and Xs and Os ooze out onto the field.
Perception #4: The offense is old at key positions and lacks depth of quality players.
Let’s begin with the offense. Tom Brady is 33 and has been in the league since Seal was popular. Their running back stable boasts three players (Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and Fred Taylor) who will soon apply for AARP cards. Receivers Randy Moss and Tory Holt have already bought adjoining rocking chairs and have started to begin every sentence with, “When I was a young man….” The offensive line is also old.
As for depth there, Logan Mankins is a holdout and will not be in camp anytime soon. His proposed backup, Nick Kazcur, is on the shelf with a back injury and is out “indefinitely.” The third man down the line, backup Dan Connolly, is untested, and behind him are a series of young unheralded players with bizarre names, such as Rich Ohrnberger, who are unproven.
Conclusion: Move over grandma…
Reality Check #4: The Patriots have drafted a series of young players to bolster their roster offensively, tackle Sebastian Vollmer, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and receivers Julian Edelman, Taylor Price, and Brandon Tate. All of these players are in their first or second year, and all appear to be the real deal, particularly Edelman who roasted the world champions in their first pre-season game for 133 total yards, most of them against the Saints first units.
Tom Brady lit up the league last year with three injuries and two good receivers last year. In 2006, he took the Patriots to the brink of the Superbowl with Reche Caldwell as his number one target. How do you think he might do with an offense loaded with young talent? Oh, by the way, Wes Welker is healthy. Some say he may wear down over the course of the season or not be able to cut as sharply as he has. Everyone has bet against this guy his entire career. Given how those assumptions have turned out, I’m not going to make the same mistake now.
Perception #5: The defense lacks quality depth, particularly at outside linebacker and defensive line, where the Patriots are thin and long in the tooth (what the hell does this expression mean?).
Last year, they had 31 sacks, good for 25th in the league in that important defensive statistic. Looking at the film, their QB hurries, hits, and pressures were all quite low as well. Many opposing QBs appeared to have enough time to build a house in the pocket before picking apart a suspect secondary. The run defense was atrocious, particularly during the Ravens playoff loss, surrendering 234 yards on the ground.
Conclusion: Jamarcus Russell could tear this group up, with a cup of purple drank in his left hand.
Reality Check #5: The Patriots did have a suspect run defense, ranking 13th in rush yards allowed per game. However, much of that can be attributed injuries to their two primary run-stopping studs on defense. Jerod Mayo hurt his knee in the first game of the season, missed three games, came back and was never the same. Vince Wilfork was hurt with three games to play, and came back only against Baltimore; rust was an issue. True, the team did miss Richard Seymour in run defense, as they tried to plug in Mike Wright and Jarvis Green, who was also banged up, to no avail. But they have addressed this gap in starter quality and quality of depth bringing in Gerard Warren, Damian Lewis, and drafting Brandon Deadrick, who is the real deal.
Middle linebacker will no longer boast role players such as Gary Guyton in starting roles. Second round pick Brandon Spikes had eight tackles against the Saints, mostly against the first unit, and plays like a veteran. He will start next to Mayo barring injury. The depth behind them is also much improved, with last year’s third round draft choice, Tyrone McKenzie and the previously mentioned Gary Guyton.
Outside Linebacker has widely been regarded as a position of weakness, but with the return of Derrick Burgess, the group suddenly offers solid depth, if not high-end talent. Burgess will likely start with Tully Banta-Cain. Many point to the fact that five of TBC’s sacks came against Buffalo, but recall that QB hurries, hits, and pressures are just as valuable, and he had a ton versus virtually almost every opponent (except for the Saints).
Behind these two is Marquis Murrell, who had a pressure and a sack on Drew Brees in the first preseason game. Fourth on the depth chart is second round draft pick Jermaine Cunningham from Florida, who has much in the way of potential.
The secondary picked up first round draft choice Devin McCourty to start as a nickel corner to support the likes of Leigh Bodden and Darius Butler, a second year player from UConn who has impressed in training camp. The trio, combined with playmakers Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung at safety, suddenly gives the Patriots a formidable secondary to compliment its pass rush.
They won’t be a top five defense, but they’ll probably be in the top ten.
Conclusion: Despite winning the AFC East last year with a record of 10-6, the Patriots were pantsed last year in the playoffs by the Ravens, unveiling a season of locker room turmoil and injuries at positions offering little depth. This year, with the walls of the locker room stripped of the images of past glory, the team appears poised for a monster season, restocked with young talent and depth at nearly every position.
While very few remain from the last Superbowl victory, shovel dirt on this group with a trembling trowel. With first ballot Hall of Famers Brady and Belichick in the coffin and glut of young upstarts lining the crypt, the Patriots may soon be eating your brains.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Miami Dolphins
Miami isn’t the most talented team in the division, but they are well-rounded. They finished 7-9 last year even with Ronnie Brown missing most of the year, average receivers, and a new quarterback who was playing a year ahead of schedule.
Miami’s original plan was to have Chad Pennington start all 16 games in 2009, and then gradually bring in his replacement: Chad Henne, their ‘08 2nd round pick out of Michigan. However, Pennington went down in Week Three, and Henne was forced to take over.
With respect to Tom Brady, Henne is not the best QB in the division. But that doesn’t mean he’s some slacker. After struggling a bit in his first couple of games, Henne improved drastically as the season wore on.
He led Miami to two wins over the Jets and a comeback victory over New England. Henne is strong-armed and will be one of the better quarterbacks in the AFC this season.
Part of Henne’s eventual success will have to credited to Miami’s new acquisition: Brandon Marshall. Marshall has been a terrific, if troubled, wide receiver over his pro career.
But like all troubled wide receivers, he’s very talented and immediately raises the value of every offense is enters.
He turned Jay Cutler into a Pro Bowl QB while they were both in Denver, and is capable of doing the same thing Henne.
With Miami’s Wildcat offense, and their double running-back tandem of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, the offense should be rolling at a pretty effective level this season.
Miami’s defense isn’t terrific, but it isn’t bad enough to absolutely kill them in games. They are about average all the way around.
Their big free agent pickup was Karlos Dansby (Linebacker, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals); he’s averaged around 100 tackles a year throughout his career and will perform well.
Record: 11-5; 1st in the AFC East
2. New England Patriots
New England has been controlling the AFC East for a near decade at this point (except for that odd year when Brady went down in Week One). They are getting older, however, and it is believed that this season is going to be an end of an era.
Randy Moss’s contract runs out this season, and there is good reason that Moss will look elsewhere to play. He’s getting older, and the New England office has never been one to reward large sums of money to aging players.
Brady’s contract also runs out at the end of this season. Hopefully, by the time that the season starts he will be locked up for a few more years.
However, he’s past 30 and is two years removed from that gruesome knee injury that knocked him out for ‘08.
One could not imagine the Patriots ever possibly releasing Brady to free agency, but if they don’t want to reward him with a Manning-size contract (which Brady deserves), then he should find a team that will.
New England will always be a good team if Belichick is running them; he racked up 11 wins with Matt Cassell at quarterback. Wes Welker’s injury from last season is something to be slightly concerned over.
The Patriots say that he’s fine, but one never knows. Julian Edelman is a fine replacement, but he’s no Welker. The running game has never been great with Laurence Maroney.
It is always odd that NE has never fixed the issue through the draft (passing on Chris Johnson and Rashard Mendenhall in ’08 to take Jared Mayo; OL Sebastian Vollmer over Shonn Greene in ’09; TE Rob Gronkowski over Ben Tate and Montario Hardesty in ’10).
New England will not win the division but they are still a good team and they will get a Wild Card spot.
Record: 10-6; 2nd in AFC East; Wild Card
3) New York Jets
Let’s be honest with ourselves: the New York Jets had no business being a playoff team in 2009.
They were an average team that just happened to play Indy’s backups in week 16 and Cincinnati’s backups in week 17. Their playoff win was admirable, but they were lucky in being given that easy final schedule.
The Jets like a mini-disaster. It’s questionable that Rex Ryan is even a good coach. He’s a loud personality and he knows how to get his team fired up, but his team is too up-and-down to really evaluate them.
They started hot last year (wins over Houston, New England and Tennessee) and then dropped three in a row (New Orleans, Miami and Buffalo).
I have doubts about Mark Sanchez. I know he was a rookie last year, but he was average at best (12 touchdowns, 20 interceptions).
They have a collection of troublesome wide receivers: Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes. Holmes and Edwards could either be amazing or they could fail horribly. Cotchery is an average talent, but not somebody to rely heavily on.
They also made the odd decision of releasing Thomas Jones…and then picking up LaDainian Tomlinson.
At first, it seemed reasonable to release Jones and just hand the running game reins over to Shonn Greene because Greene is good and is ready to be a starter at this level.
It made no sense to then pick up Tomlinson, who is not as good as Jones and has a reputation of not showing up for playoff games.
If they were going to keep a veteran, then they should have just kept Jones and rolled with him getting 40 percent of the carries.
If Greene has to miss a couple games for injury, then Jones would be a capable replacement. But there is no way that Tomlinson can still handle the duties of a starting running back if asked.
The Jets game plan revolves so much around their running game, and they’ll be screwed for a couple games if they have to hand off to LT 20 or 30 times a game sometime this season.
The Jets defense will always be good. Rex Ryan made his name as a defensive coach and his schemes slow up opposing offenses.
David Harris and Bart Scott are in on the action. Harris especially…he’s great. He’s the best player on the best defense in the league.
He should be getting the attention that Patrick Willis (SF) or Ray Lewis (BA) gets, but doesn’t for some reason.
The Jets have some concerns with the current Darrelle Revis holdout. Revis played extremely well last season and he deserves his money, but that doesn’t mean the Jets will back down and give it to him.
It could be settled by the time season starts, but currently there is no movement on either side. Revis is excellent, but with the Jets new acquisition of Antonio Cromartie (SD), they aren’t forced to give Revis anything.
Cromartie is capable of covering the Mosses and the Waynes of the league, and they have already gone on record in saying that they will not be reworking Revis’s contract.
Record: 6-10; 3rd in AFC East
4) Buffalo Bills
Terrible team currently. They are going to able to compete in most of their games, but there really isn’t too much to like on the defensive or offensive side of the ball.
Their first round pick of C.J. Spiller was odd, especially since they already have two backs in Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.
If I were GM, I would have tried to trade down and taken a QB (Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen would’ve been a good option). But they took Spiller instead.
Not to say that Spiller won’t be great, but he was unnecessary given that Buffalo has so many holes in other roster spots.
Trent Edwards is not a capable starter in the NFL. Lee Evans and James Hardy would be good third receivers on other teams; they have average talent.
I love Fred Jackson. Lynch’s career in Buffalo (and probably in the NFL) is winding down. He had a couple good years, but got in trouble last season and the Bills gave up on him.
Jackson is a hard-nosed runner and he’ll put up good stats in a bad offense. He averaged 4.5 yards a carry last season.
The defense has some good individual players, but there are too many weak spots for them. ILB Paul Posluszny is very good and he will lead the team in tackles.
They also lucked out in Jarius Byrd (Safety). He grabbed nine picks last season and was one of the better defensive rookies in the league.
This will be a rebuilding year for Buffalo. There is a very good chance that they will have the number one pick in next’s year’s draft. If there ever was a year to totally suck, then this is a good one.
Next year’s draft will have some good quarterbacks: Jake Locker (Washington), Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), Christian Ponder (Florida State) and Andrew Luck (Stanford) are all be pro-ready guys.
Things will eventually look up for this team, but there will be struggles first.
Record: 3-13; 4th in AFC East
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Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
Well, times are very interesting in the New England area for Patriots and their fans right now. And by “interesting” I mean “odd.” The Pats are coming off a 10-6 season, decent enough by most standards, but then were summarily dismissed by the visiting Ravens in the wild card round.
Former defensive coordinator Dean Pees became the scapegoat, let go after six seasons with the team. Bill Belichick has said he will take a larger role on defense. A game plan that would make better sense if he had an offensive coordinator in place whom he trusted. And on top of that, quarterbacks coach Bill O’ Brien might not be very well liked by much of the team, especially with Tom Brady after the play calling was rather stale in 2009.
So this means coach Belichick will head into the season without a true offensive or defensive coordinator, something that the Pats aren’t used to experiencing. This could be a season of confusion and the Pats could see their worst in the Belichick era since 2000 when they went 5-11.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady is still going to be the great Tom Brady that we know and (most of us) love. From what it looks like so far, he could end up having another great season and remain as one of the league’s top quarterbacks. He looks even more confident now that he has a full season removed from his surgery to repair the ACL in his knee. Going against what many have been thinking, I don’t think his commitment to the team will be affected even though he’s married to one of the hottest ladies on the face of the earth. Basically what I’m saying to Patriots fans is to expect the same ol’ successful Tom Brady. Brian Hoyer remains the backup for Brady. There have been talks of the Pats bringing in another veteran QB just to be a third stringer and to warm the rest of the bench. Jeff Rowe and rookie Zac Robinson might not like that idea though because if the Pats do sign another guy to the mix, that’s just one more spot down the depth chart they both go.
Running Backs
The Patriots have recently been a team with an interesting corps of running backs. They have three guys in the group who are over the age of 33 (Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris). This is also a group that have been injury prone with Morris and Taylor both getting hurt last year. Laurence Maroney is also a guy in the group who’s been wanting to prove that he’s not the draft bust that he’s been made out to be. He did a good job of trying to covering that out last year with his nine touchdown runs. In a perfect world, Maroney would be the first- and second-down back, Morris would get the short yards, and Fred Taylor would be the goal line back and Faulk, as always, would end up all over the field. The Pats didn’t add another running via the draft or free agency.
Wide Receivers
As many of you might remember, Wes Welker tore but his ACL and MCL during the Week 17 game last season. During the offseason, people were saying that they would be shocked if they saw Wes Walker play in another game before November of this year. Well, to those people I would like to say to them “Start practicing your shocked face!” To my knowledge, Wes Welker seemed to progress very well in the offseason and is starting to take hard hits in training camp. Many are starting to say that he could be ready to go by the first game of the season. But if he does happen to sit out the first few games, then they will need to count on aging veteran Randy Moss and young Julian Edelman that much more to carry this unit. Assuming Moss as the No. 1 and Edelman, seen as something of a Welker-in-the-making, as the No. 2, someone needs to step up as a viable No. 3, which is something the Patriots didn’t have much of last year. This is where Brandon Tate and rookie Taylor Price enter the mix. Oh, and there’s this other guy named Torry Holt who has been added as well. I hear he’s had a very successful career. The tight end is one position that the Pats don’t pay attention to often, but with the team grabbing Rob Gronkowski in the draft and Aaron Hernandez in the NFL Draft, that could change. Tom Brady has shown that he can handle a group of mediocre receivers, and right now that’s what this group is. Two players who have had stellar careers that are now starting to wind down and a host of others still learning the ropes of the offense.
Offensive Linemen
This is another group that is getting up there in age but is still a pretty solid group as well. They only gave up 18 sacks last year which is very impressive. I’m sure Tom Brady loved that after tearing up his leg in the first game of the season in 2008. Left tackle Matt Light will likely start the season in his usual spot, but Sebastian Vollmer, who impressed many last year as a rookie, could start at right tackle early. He could even challenge Matt Light for his spot. In the prime of his career at age 28, Logan Mankins is one of the best right guards in the game. But he’s been holding out of camp, so we’ll see what happens there. The more significant issues are at center and right guard. Dan Koppen always undersized, has been getting pushed off the ball more and more, and Stephen Neal very nearly called it a career. Dan Connolly is versatile and highly thought of in New England. He heads a young group of reserves with Mark LeVoir, Ryan Wendell, Rich Ohrnberger and Ted Larsen and Thomas Welch, who were picked up in the draft.
Defensive Linemen
The Patriots’ defensive success has always started with the O-line, so the fact that the defense struggled in 2009 can be traced back to a major hole on the line. Once Richard Seymour was moved to Oakland, the Pats didn’t have a player near his stature to put in place. Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are both pretty good, but they won’t get a great deal of attention if another guy is brought in. Mike Wright has shown signs of promise, but he’s nothing like Richard Seymour. Ron Brace could be bumped outside after originally being a nose tackle. And given the personnel they have, the Patriots could play more 4-3 this year. But as the unit stands, the Pats will likely lack the ability to consistently push blockers back and close the pocket on the QB.
Linebackers
The wild card in this group is second-round draft pick Brandon Spikes. If Spikes can step in alongside Jerod Mayo at inside linebacker, the Pats could have the chance to move Gary Guyton to the outside, where the team is lacking depth. Guyton is very quick and very good in coverage but isn’t very strong against the run. This is the reasoning for putting him in the outside. 10-sack man Tully Banta Cain (one of my favorite names in the NFL), is the top returning pass-rusher statistically, though draftee Jermaine Cunningham could help and Pierre Woods, who got less playing time last year, can mix things up too. To sum up this whole picture, this unit is not as great on paper as it has been in the past. Unlike the D-Line, this is the weakness of the Patriots’ defense.
Defensive Backs
The success of the secondary will mostly depend on the success of the front seven. If the front seven isn’t doing its job, the secondary will struggle. Leigh Bodden is coming off his best seasons under Romeo Crennel when they were both in Cleveland; Crennel’s system is very similar to Beilchick’s, and Bodden should show even more confidence this season after a five-interception perfomance last year. Second-year cornerback Darius Butler will likely start opposite Bodden, with Jonathan Wilhite and rookie Devin McCourty in the mix at the nickel position. Terrence Wheatley is considered by some in the organization to have more talent than Wilhite, but he was in a strange sort of exile last year and played just five games. Brandon Meriweather has been making a lot of progress, and ever-steady free safety James Sanders keeps the unit on the same page.
Special Teams
The punting has been lacking over the years for the Patriots. But with the addition of former Michigan Wolverine Zoltan Mesko, that could change. Many say that he has a good personality. If his attitude is as good as his punts, the punting situations will work out great for the Pats. Stephen Gostkowski is one of the best kickers in the league for his combination of field goal and long kickoffs. Tate is expected to be the primary kick returner after a record-breaking college career.
Final Thoughts
Belichick has always found ways to get it done in New England, but this season could be a bit tougher with all the questions looming around the organization. Nobody thought that there would be coaching staff issues with this team, but there are. The questions on the field involve what the wide receivers’ depth chart will look like and how this defense will be shuffled around. With the Jets and Dolphins making quite a few moves in the offseason via the draft and free agency, it’s looking like things could be tough in New England. When it’s all over, they could find themselves as low as third place in the division.
Could you imagine the NFL Playoffs without the New England Patriots? It could happen.
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Over the offseason, I have seen countless articles and comments stating that the Patriots are on the decline, which is a false statement, to say the least.
While I’m not saying that we are a lock for the Super Bowl—which is crazy to say this early about any team—we are certainly not on the decline after adding depth and youth to the team over the past two seasons.
The secondary has been revamped with players like Darius Butler , Leigh Bodden , Devin McCourty , Patrick Chung , and Jonathan Wilhite . There was also improved play by Brandon Meriweather last season; he has become somewhat of a ball hawk and should have another good season this year.
The secondary’s speed has improved and game recaps will not be showing as much Patriot CB’s getting burned down the field as when Ellis Hobbs II was with the team.
I have seen comments about how linebacker Jerod Mayo did not play well coming back from injury last season, which is another false statement. Mayo still finished the year with over 100 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble.
A lot of Patriots haters have been nagging us about how slow linebacker Brandon Spikes is and that he will be below average. Spikes may not be fast, but neither was Tedy Bruschi . I’m not saying that Spikes will have a career like Bruschi did, but when I look at these two players, they have a lot of intangibles that are similar.
Sure, Spikes ran one of the worst 40-yard dash times I’ve seen for a linebacker, but speed isn’t everything—just ask New York Jets OLB/DE Vernon Gholston . Like Bruschi, Spikes always seems to make plays on the ball and ball carrier despite lacking speed. Spikes has good instincts that will make up for his lack of speed.
Tully Banta-Cain is the only sure pass rusher on the team and Derrick Burgess is a band-aid until Jermaine Cunningham can learn the defense. Burgess is still capable of getting sacks, though it won’t be as much as we would like.
Gary Guyton has good coverage skills and should be replaced to stuff the run with Spikes or veteran linebacker Tyrone Mckenzie.
As for the offense, there are plently of options for Tom Brady to throw to this year that could make a big impact.
Rookies Rob Gronkowski , Taylor Price , and Aaron Hernandez could all surprise other teams this year. Gronkowski, at 6’6″ and 265lbs, will be a nightmare matchup problem for any defense; he is more than capable of blocking and has good speed for his size.
Hernandez won’t be a blocking tight end, but he is elusive and has good speed. Hernandez was Tim Tebow’s favorite target in college and it resulted in a lot of touchdowns.
Price will be a slot receiver and is a clone of Julian Edelman . Price has the speed to be a deep threat and runs excellent routes. Edelman showed last season that he is tough and very hard to cover in the slot, much like the injured Wes Welker.
In the playoff loss to the Ravens last season, Edelman was the only weapon that could produce against the Ravens defense, resulting in two touchdowns.
Receiver Brandon Tate has been injured the past two seasons, but he is healthy now and Brady has already stated that Tate is one of his favorite targets. Tate has the speed to be a deep threat and could play opposite Randy Moss .
Moss is old, but has showed no signs of losing a step. Sure, he takes plays off now and then, but in a contract year, that is a highly unlikely thing for him to do. I find it very interesting that Moss was the only receiver last season to escape off of “Revis Island .”
Receiver Torry Holt has surely lost a step over his career, but he is still one of the best route running receivers in the game.
The year has finally come where running back Lawrence Maroney will be released if he has another bad season. Maroney may have never lived up to how high he was selected in the draft, but when he is not tap dancing at the line of scrimmage and actually runs through the gap, it makes me think twice about him.
Veteran running backs Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor still have something left in the tank and are hard to bring down. Veteran running back Kevin Faulk is still one of the best third down backs in the league despite some questionable calls last season, where the referees did not call it a first down.
My favorite running back on the team, BenJarvus Green-Ellis , aka “Lawfirm ,” needs to see more playing time because he runs the ball hard through the gaps without hesitation and is hard to take down.
Offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer is an up and coming player. He played well last season and even held defensive end Dwight Freeney to zero sacks last season in a game where offensive tackle Matt Light was injured.
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