Simply put, the answer is no. With all the offseason moves the past few months, the New England Patriots will likely seem more human and more beatable than ever.
Although the Patriots ended up retaining Randy Moss, the loss of Dante Stallworth will prove to be a tough one, especially when facing teams that feature a good pass rush and strong secondary.
Defensively, the Patriots are in shambles. Losing Asante Samuel to the Eagles and Randall Gay to the Saints creates a void that will be tough to fill. The rest of the Patriots defense needs help too because, let's face it, they're not getting any younger.
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Internal problems aren't the only thing the Patriots need to look out for in 2008, either. Both the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets were busy in the offseason, bolstering their defense and offensive line respectively.
Adding Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell to a defense is sure to bring grief to opposing offenses.
The Buffalo Bills' last season rode on the back of their defense and special teams. Offense was an issue the Bills had last year, one that they look to address with an early first round pick in the NFL Draft later this month.
The New York Jets beefed up the offensive line in hopes of giving Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens, or a new face better protection. They also signed Calvin Pace from the Cardinals to fill the void left by Jonathan Vilma's departure to the Saints, and Bubba Franks to give the quarterback another tight end option.
With all the comings and goings and the beefing up of competition within the division, the AFC East should prove to be more intriguing this coming season.
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5 months ago
First!
5 months ago
I think that perhaps you've under rated the defense and over rated Samuels. Samuels had 6 interceptions last season, of which 3 or 4 came from "deflected passes"-it's pretty easy to catch a ball that some one else has already had their hands on. Not saying that he wasn't all that, he just wasn't all that and a bag of chips!
The defense was under rated by every one and their cousins last season-yet the Pats had one of the top ranked defense's in the league. The guys that are "older than dirt" put up great numbers, and stuffed the run when they weren't supossed to do it and shut down the passing game when they weren't supossed to do so, too. I'm not saying that they haven't lost their step a bit, but I am saying that their loss of speed is replaced by their experience.
The offense will be just as potent this year as it was last year, and I think that the running game is looking better, as Maroney started picking up the pace towards the end of last season.
Yes, I agree that while the coming and goings for the Pats might prove to be interesting, I think that Belichick can keep the team grounded and foucused and get the new guys up to snuff in no time flat.
from 5 months ago
thanks for the input steve. perhaps i underestimate the defense, only time will tell. but its tough to over estimate a man who has had 16 interceptions the past two seasons and just signed a six yr 57 million dollar contract. either way it will be a great season.
from 5 months ago
You're right-I should've said that the Pats couldn't afford him this year....or better yet that the Pats didn't want to afford him this year.
Nonetheless, it was a good article and I enjoyed reading it!
from 4 months ago
You wrote "The defense was underrated... yet the pats had one of the top ranked defense's in the league". This is a perfect example of other factors skewing statistics. Sure, on paper the pats had a great defense, but if you look deaper, you'll see they rank well in the statistical categories because the offense sustained long drives that kept their defense (and the opposing team's offense) off the field which means more, their offense staying on the field was at least part of their defense in sorts...
Pats are old, and their super bowl loss has taken a lot of air out of their heads.. and whatever air is left is going to get stomped out in a buffalo stampede this fall! Look out brady, your team's weakness has been exposed (thanks Giants) - New England won't be as intimidating, and won't be as confident next year.. I'm expecting just an average season from them, which will be a huge disapointment to snooty boston fans but - hey, it's someone else's turn..
5 months ago
Go Bills
5 months ago
As a Pats fan, I'd like to see even less of Maroney, to be honest.
In his limited game time so far, his play has been uninspired.
And the fact that he was yanked by Belichick mid-game, mid-season, makes me wonder if he isn't fully preparing himself during practice / pre-game. (For those that don't remember, the colour crew speculated that he had a groin injury, but post game Maroney said he wasn't at all injured, and didn't know why he was benched)
If only Kevin Faulk was 5 years younger.... but I'd still like to see him out there more often.
The Pats game isn't all that run heavy anyway (why bother running when you can pass for triple the yardage?), and he is a better asset in screens and swings - so he should be able to handle it full time, even at his age.
The Patriots aren't going to be a team with a running back that gets 25-30 touches a game.
I'm not conclusive... maybe Maroney will turn it around and do something this year.
But as it stands right now, for a guy who was drafted 7 picks ahead of Joesph Addai, I'm not feeling much love for him.
5 months ago
... and in regards to the orignal article.
The AFC East is already decided this year, just like last year. Pats will be first.
Pats
Bills
Dolphins
Jets
Say what you want about the upgraded defense in the AFC, but the only team that managed to even challenge NE's O-linemen all last season was the Giants - the team that won the Superbowl on the strength of their pass rush.
The only team in the AFC with a comparable defense is Jacksonville, and NE's line managed to hold up well against them.
As far as the New England's defense goes, they may be old, but the system is designed to have experienced players.
The DL are more than capable, and are all powerful and well suited to the 3-4.
When teams run a 3-4, what they are really doing is disguising who the 4th (in some cases, 5th) pass rusher is. This makes it difficult for the opposing o-line to adjust, and against inexperienced o-lines it can get downright ugly for the QB.
Because the o-line is caught off-guard by the mystery rusher, the QB often has to make quick decisions and force a pass or two.
This is where the advantage of having experienced LBs come into play. Young LB's see a formation and think "this looks like what Ohio State ran in my junior year", and can get burned by a pump, mis-direction play, or play pass. At the NFL level, all it takes is a few seconds of out-of-position for a big play to happen.
Experienced LB's have seen it all, and are not easily fooled by pump fakes, QB looking off his receiver, and other trickery. In fact, often when an experienced player sees a pump fake left, he's more likely to commit right and jump the pass, because he realizes the play is in fact going to go the opposite way of the mis-direction.
Leinart has gotten noticeably pick-sixed on this, as has Losman, and Eli Manning. Young quarterbacks are more prone to it, but it happens to the best as well.
Even if the the AFC defense has gotten a little stiffer, the AFC East offense is certainly still in the cellar.
Edwards and Losman both play trainwreck football, we don't even know who will be throwing the ball in Miami, and as much as I love Chaddy P - everyone in the stadium knows that the pass is going to be inside 35 yards.
The Dolphins are the only team in the AFC East with a capable running game, although Lynch can put together a few nice runs for the Bills given good circumstances, but the lack of a passing game (or wide receivers for that matter) limits them.
Above all, I'm sure it will be at least interesting.
I like watching the Pats for the same reason I like watching the Colts:
(even though I hate Forehead Manning)
It's clockwork offense.
5 months ago
You have failed to address how much more difficult it will be for Belichick to game plan without cheating. Certain to have an effect on their ability to compete...
The game is much harder when you play it straight! The proof: Giants 17 Pats 14...
from 4 months ago
If I remember right, the Pats stopped taping in the beginning of the season opener against the Jets. The Pats then continued on to treat the Jets like they were High School Junior Varsity winning the game 38-14 which included a record breaking kick off return by Ellis Hobbs (108 yards-longest in NFL history).
The Pats then went on to complete an unheard of 16-0 season, losing a single game all season-the Super Bowl against the Giants finishing the season with a record of 18-1. The Pats also re-wrote the record book along the way.
I'm sorry "Jets", but I fail to see your point you were trying to make.
5 months ago
I'm pretty sure Maroney scored in his last 6 games (including playoffs), and averaged around 90 yards and 20 carries in that same span. So, yeah, the coaches were down on him earlier in the season. But he seemed like a completely different player for those last 6 games.
5 months ago
The Patriots lost the superbowl and frankly look like a bunch of chumps. Belichick could be suspended come september, and many NFL fans are pretty sick of this team. Mentally the Pats are damaged goods.......8-8
5 months ago
It could go either way after the Super Bowl loss.....they can go back on a winning streak
or
hit the skids.....which I don't see happening, but you never know
5 months ago
The word is out. Pass rush vs NE = win.
5 months ago
man anonymus 8-8 your so fucking stupid its funny just cause your team sucks you dont got to get mad just beacuse they can kick the shit out off anybody on any day 16-0 probally not again but 14-2 is reasonable dumb ass
from 5 months ago
you stinkin' little N.E. bitches should stay in your caves. no one except for the morons in new england think the Pats are great. the rest of the country is ready to move on. it time for the pats to go bye bye
5 months ago
16-0 isn't anything. They went 18-1, remember? They got more wins than the '72 Dolphins... but the Dolphins that year went 17-0. It isn't about the 17, it's about the 0.
As for the 2008 Pats... they're still a heavyweight contender... I'd put 'em at around 12-4 or 13-3 with a first-round bye in the playoffs. Not many teams have a pass rush the caliber of the NYG...
(I'm not a Pats fan, but I was furious when they lost. I'll never see an undefeated team in my lifetime now- and I'm a freshman in college. Football fans lost when the Giants won... all of them. Except, of course, New Jersey fans who need something to redeem their entire state from being the worst in the whole damn country.)
4 months ago
It would be tough for them to be as dominant as they were last year because they were so good last year. I don't think that Stallworth is much of a loss. He was the fourth wide receiver by the end of the season last year.
They will probably not be as dominant as last year, but I think they will win their division and be somewhere in between 12-4 and 14-2.
4 months ago
i agree i am a pats fan and they will go between 12-4 or 14-2 and i think they will win it all this year cause they will have something to prove
4 months ago
chuckycheese, I'm assuming your a pats fan. Please refer to my other comment to see what I think of the pats. I'm a die hard bills fan, then again, anybody is who likes them at this point, they've stunk it up for well over a decade. Anyways, the tides are changing, Buffalo won't be a walk over this year, (there has been some huge upsets even in recent years b/t the Bills and Pats) - they're a young team going the right direction, the pats are an old team, with an overrated defense that gets credit for the results of it's offense keeping other teams offenses off the field... the offseason turmoil, loosing the superbowl, loosing some big names have completely eradicated new england's "intimidation factor" and all the team members confidence on that team.. you'll be eating your words in just a few months.. I'll be able to tell you exactly when the season schedule next week reveals dooms day for them (first game against buffalo of course). I hear a stampede brewing..
4 months ago
Let's not forget that the Giants won on a couple of fluke catches. The first one off the side of a helmet was pure artistry and luck. The last pass in the end zone was also lucky, as Manning was almost grabbed by the D. If either had failed, the Pats would have been 19-0. While they definitely weren't perfect, almost is acceptable.
This year, they may lose a couple of games. But wanna bet the Giants don't repeat. And, should the Giants meet the Pats in the next Super Bowl, I would be prepared to bet the farm the Pats come out on top.
It's a great game though!
4 months ago
the Pats will be tough as always.Belichick always manages to get the most out of the players he has.
4 months ago
is this guy serious ????????? he must hate the patriots........ he should'nt be allow to write anything being so byas on all his comments (im talking about the one that wrote the article)
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