2009 Patriots: Why the Other 31 Teams Should Be Afraid

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

2008 Season Recap

The 2008 New England Patriots finished the season with a 11-5 record and surprisingly missed the playoffs because of how bad the New York Jets played against the Miami Dolphins in the last game of the season.

With Tom Brady gone for the season thanks to Bernard Pollard of the Kansas City Chiefs, Matt Cassel pulled the team through with trial and error. His first few games were aggravating to watch because of how many mistakes he made, but he eventually progressed throughout the season.

Now with Brady's knee injury healing and he is running again, Vegas has the Patriots as the favorite to win the Super Bowl in 2009. And why shouldn't they be the favorite?

Brady will be throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker again, the first year that Brady got to throw to Moss and Welker the trio beat NFL records of most points scored in a season and Brady threw the most touchdowns in a single season. Moss scored the most receiving touchdowns in a season and Welker had over 100 catches.

Now lets look at the both sides of the ball and see why the other 31 teams should fear the New England Patriots in 2009.

Linebackers

Last year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jerod Mayo has only left once since the offseason to see his family and has been spending all of his time at Gillette Stadium watching film and studying the playbook.

In a interview Mayo said that last year was good, but he wants to capitalize more on making "big plays" like sacks, interceptions, and forced fumbles. He is also the coaches' favorite right now to wear the helmet with green dot, signifying that he is the only defensive player that the coaches can talk to in his helmet.

Adalius Thomas is coming back of a season ending injury and should be a force on the outside to bring back the Patriots' much needed pass rush. Tully Banta-Cain didn't have to wait long into free agency as he was signed quickly by the Patriots. Banta-Cain will most likely win the job in training camp to start opposite Thomas.

This should be Tedy Bruschi's last year in the NFL and will play behind Mayo. Gary Guyton did well last year even though he was an undrafted rookie free agent, but I'm unsure whether he will be playing on the outside or inside in 2009.

Eric Alexander, Shawn Crable, and Pierre Woods are all returning from season ending injuries and will most likely be playing special teams again unless Crable can prove to be a starter.

Secondary

Second round pick safety Patrick Chung is a hard hitting safety with good speed and coverage skills, but it a question mark whether he will be able to take the starting job from either Brandon Meriweather or James Sanders who both proved to be starters in the NFL.

The secondary is probably the scariest for opposing teams with Leigh Bodden, Shawn Springs, Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley, and Darius Butler.

Bodden will win the starting job in training camp and is not like the normal Patriot corner. Bodden is 6'1" 193 punds, while the usual starting corners are around 5'9" to 5'10".

With Bodden and Springs the Patriots can play zone coverage more effectively. Butler, Wheatley, and Wilhite all provide good cover skills and should add more interceptions that the team lacked last season.

Defensive Line

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