NFL Preview: New England Patriots

by The Original JD, Six Pack Sports Report

If you were going to release a DVD of the 2006 New England Patriots season you would have called it "The Longest Yard." Had the Patriots been able to convert a 3rd and 4 against the Colts in the AFC Championship game I would have been able to attend my fourth Super Bowl parade and all would have been right with the world. But I give the Colts credit in that they grew a pair and stopped the Pats offense, scored the go ahead points and the rest as they say is history. I'd rather not focus on last season because I've already scoped out my spot on Tremont Street for the parade in February so let's just move to this season.

No team had an offseason like the Patriots. They needed four yards of offense so Piolichick went out and grabbed Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Kelly Washington. You would have thought that would be enough offensive firepower to put the Patriots over the top right? I sure did - but then the front office went out and traded for a little receiver from Oakland, I forget what his name was but I think he'll be a contributor at some point this season.

The offseason overhaul of the Patriots didn't stop on the offensive side of the ball though, because it was the defense that ultimately sagged against the Colts so you just knew the Patriots would do something on that side of the ball as well - so they brought in Adalius Thomas. A lot of people don't know much about Thomas since he was playing next to accessory to a murder Ray Lewis in Baltimore but this 2 time pro bowler will be replacing Junior Seau and if you don't think that's an upgrade then you're a moron I'm surprised you can even work the interweb.

It wasn't all candy apples and blow jobs as the Patriots did suffer some loss. Gone are the days of alligator arms Daniel Graham and even though he would blow up outside pass rushers as a blocking tight end, his catching skills left something to be desired. The offense also lost Corey Dillon which isn't much of a loss as at this point in his career Dillon just wasn't a feature back anymore and before an injury near the end of last season Laurence Maroney was taking the majority of the snaps anyways. So yeah the Patriots lost some members of last years team but the core will be back and that's more then some of the other top contenders in the AFC can say.

The biggest problem facing the Patriots right now is Asante Samuel who apparently believes that it is an insult to be asked to play football for $7+ million dollars. Samuel is a hold out this off season because he is upset that the Patriots slapped him with the franchise tag. Apparently Samuel thinks that the one solid season he turned in last year is worth a significant raise over the $7 mil. that he'd had to play for this season. I think Samuel is right to go for the money but as the season draws near I think he needs to show up and do so soon - Bill Belichick has a policy that if you don't play in the third pre-season game you don't play in the first regular season game either. Well there is almost no chance that Asante is playing in the third pre season game which leads me to believe that he won't be in the starting line up when the Patriots open the season. Samuel is not a shut down corner, and if the Patriots have shown anything during their run at the top of the NFL it is that they can replace players and not lose much steam - it will be no different with Asante although I'd still feel better with him out there.

But how is the season ahead looking to shakedown? Well after a 2 and a half year pregnancy the Brady baby finally came last night which means that Tom will be tired of baby talk and ready for the season by the time opening night comes rolling around. Frankly this is the biggest concern that the Patriots should have right now other then Asante Samuel. The fact that Brady might not be mentally prepared for the season to start now that he's seen a human being rip through the vagina of his ex like a blitzing linebacker through the Bills offensive line has to be on everyone in New England's mind. Personally I'm not to concerned with it - Brady has just been going through the motions during training camp he's ready today to lead this team to the playoffs and is there any doubt that you can pencil the Patriots in as AFC East champions already? Let's take a look at how the Patriots breakdown shall we?

Quarterback is already settled. Tom Brady turned Cocaine Eyes Caldwell into a #1 receive last season and now he might not even make the team because this offense is so stacked with weapons. The worst thing that anyone can say about Tom Brady is that sometimes he gets caught wearing a Yankees hat which can easily be explained because the night before his head was locked between the thighs of Gisele and if you had the choice between doing that at night and wearing a Yankees hat, or not doing that at night and wearing a Red Sox hat - hell I'm a die hard Sox fan and even I would trade in my loyalty.

The Patriots offensive line stayed the same (minus Daniel Graham at TE) which should be a good thing for Brady because anyone with half a brain knows the longer an offensive line stays together the more cohesive they become and they better they protect. Matt Light has seemingly lost a step in my eyes but he's still one of the better left tackles in the NFL, and Dan Koppen is without a doubt one of the top centers in the league. The other guys are a mixed bag - some days you will see them do some great things and some days they are atrocious. They're still better then a lot of offensive lines which should be enough to get the Patriots clicking.

Laurence Maroney in my eyes is a question mark. Last season he was taking over most of the carries from Corey Dillon before he got hurt - but I have no idea whether or not he can weather the storm of a full NFL schedule plus playoffs. I think the one thing that Maroney has going for him this year is that the Patriots (much like they did with Antowain Smith) will probably use short passing and screens to the wide receivers in place of runs. What that will do is take some of the pressure of Maroney who will I assume carry the ball about 19 times a game. I think he will be good enough and I'd rather have him then Thomas Jones as my running back.

Wide Receiver doesn't need to be mentioned. Tom Brady gets to throw to Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, and Ben Watson. Tell me another offense that has firepower like that at the wide receiver position combined with a quarterback the caliber of Tom Brady? This is going to be a high scoring Patriots offense and I for one can't wait to see it in action.

On the defensive side of the football you know the Patriots are going to be solid as always. The loss or holdout of Samuel is going to be tough to overcome but the schemes that Belichick seems to come up with have been able to hide Randall Gay in the past (hell the Patriots got a Super Bowl with him) and I don't think this season will be any different. The one thing I hear about the Patriots all the time though is that the linebackers are getting old - and that sooner or later they're going to breakdown. I will agree that the linebackers the Pats have are getting older and I wish they would go out and sign a 27 year old Pro Bowl caliber linebacker to take some of the pressure off Tedy Bruschi who really slowed down at the end of last season. Oh wait...that's exactly what they did.

The linebacker corps of Mike Vrabal and Tedy Bruschi is old I will give you that - however for what they're asked to do in the Patriots defense, and with the best defensive line in the NFL in front of them, with the very hard hitting Eugene Wilson and Rodney Harrison behind them it's easier to hide Bruschi and Vrabal in run coverage. However, Roosevelt Colvin and Adalius Thomas aren't that old and they're going to be monsters this season. If you saw last year you know that Colvin is finally becoming the player the Patriots thought he would be when they brought him in (before the leg injury), and Adalius Thomas is a straight up beast who will terrorize poor deer in the headlights Pennington and the always fleet of foot Trent Green in the divisional games.

The defensive line for the Patriots in my eyes is the best in the league - and if not the best then one of the top 3 and nobody can convince me otherwise. Vince Wilfork lost somewhere between 30 and 50 pounds this off season which will make him quicker and allow him to stay in on third down to rush the passer (remember he was a pass rushing lineman at the U). I don't know a single center in the NFL who can block Vince Wilfork one on one which means you'll have to double him to keep him out of the backfield. With Richard Seymour on one side of Wilfork it's obvious that you'll need to double him as well - nobody can deny that Big Sey 93 is one of the top defensive ends if not the top defensive end in the league. You can argue numbers with me all you want but in a 3-4 scheme it's the linebackers who make the tackles and Seymour if you've watched the games is a monster. So that is 4 linemen blocking 2 guys leaving single coverage on Ty Warren who last year in my opinion had a better season than the Pro Bowler Seymour. Look for huge things out of Ty Warren this year - you heard it here first.

Should I talk about coaches? I don't think that's necessary because the Hooded One is who you thought he was. You want to crown his ass then crown it.

Am I being overconfident? I don't think so. I believe it's realistic to think that this Patriots team (barring any injuries) will win 14 games this season. The most difficult games on the schedule are the Chargers coming to town, and heading out to Indy to play the Colts. The Patriots also play the Eagles, the Ravens, the Giants - I just don't see those games being as tough as the Chargers and the Colts. Even if the Pats lose both of those games (I think they'll split) they should still beat everyone else.

I know there are a lot of people sick of the Patriots, and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick but those people might be in for a loooooong season because I just can't see how this team doesn't make a serious run at another Super Bowl. When you take into account the losses that both the Colts and Chargers had - and those are the other two best teams in the AFC in my opinion - you'd have to think the Patriots are the favorite to come out of the A conference right? I put my money down on the Patriots before the Randy Moss deal and nothing that has happened since has changed my mind.

I should also take a quick moment to talk about fantasy impact for those of you preparing for your drafts. The problem with the Patriots in a fantasy situation is that Brady spreads the football around to a lot of different guys. I would keep away from Donte Stallworth as I could see him getting a lot of yards but not a lot of touchdowns. Randy Moss is going to see the end zone a lot (the most for the Patriots receivers) because he will the guy that Brady looks for in the red zone. He'd be the only Patriots receiver that I'd take. Maroney is going to be a solid pick because he'll get enough carries and yards to fill out those categories and he should also score double digit touchdowns. I wouldn't want him as your premier back but I'd love him as the second running back on my team. As far as Brady goes I wouldn't take him before Peyton Manning because the Colts throw more then the Pats but he's on the same level as Carson Palmer so take that as you will. I always avoid Patriots early in fantasy rounds because you just never know what Belichick will do week in and week out to kill your team.

I apologize to all of those who hate the Patriots, you might want to sit this season out.

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