2009 New England Patriots: What Can We Really Expect?

Two weeks into the season and Patriots Nation is already up in arms, distressed, and befuddled about the lack of consistency and results coming from the New England Patriots.

After an entire offseason where the press proclaimed the Patriots as one of the top three teams in the league and many pundits envisioned the Patriots representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, expectations for the 2009 season were high—very high.

However, two weeks into the season, the Patriots are 1-1 following a difficult loss to division rival New York in Week Two. The argument can be made that the Pats are actually an 0-2 team, as New England had to rely on another epic Tom Brady comeback to down the lowly Buffalo Bills by a mere point.

Given the events of the past couple weeks, one thing is clear: The expectations Patriots fans had going into the season need to be toned down, at least for now.

That's the easy part to recognize. The harder part to identify is why, with so much talent and a likely Hall of Fame coach at the helm, are the Patriots floundering?

The easy answer is that the defense isn't good and that the offense is under-performing. But that's too general. There are numerous problems on both sides of the ball, some of which can be addressed in practice, while others cannot, and need to be ironed out through time.

Let's start on the defensive side of the ball. For anyone who watches the Pats closely and has seen their Super Bowl teams, it is easy to tell that the talent level on the defensive side of the ball has gone way down since their last Super Bowl win.

Defensive stalwarts such as Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, and Ty Law have been replaced by guys like Gary Guyton, James Sanders, Jarvis Green, and Leigh Bodden.

Now I am not saying that these guys are poor players. In fact, Guyton has impressed so far in his young career, Sanders has proven to be serviceable, and Bodden is a talented cornerback that was unfortunately marooned in the wasteland that is Detroit.

However, when stacked up side by side with the players that they are replacing, it simply is not that impressive. In addition to the decline in talent, the leadership that Vrabel, Bruschi, and Harrison brought to this team has so far not been replicated by the youngsters.

Maybe someday Guyton and Sanders will turn into tenured, defensive leaders. But right now, on this 2009 Patriots squad, the defense lacks the necessary leadership from its young players to be effective come crunch time.

Throw in the loss of Jerod Mayo, the Patriots young stud linebacker and signal caller, and the defense suddenly is terribly thin at most positions on the field.

Offensively, the Patriots have not proven to be the offensive juggernaut that so many experts predicted they would be. This unit was supposed to be the bread and butter of the team, but so far, the offense has sputtered.

For starters, it is unfair for anyone to expect quarterback Tom Brady to be 100 percent back from the devastating knee injury he suffered last season. Sure, his ligaments may be healed and back together, but is his confidence back?

Most players when recovering from major injuries like Brady's take two full years to return to their true form. Year one is spent repairing the physical damage, but it will still take most players another full year or so to fully regain their confidence and swagger.

This does not mean that Brady's days as an elite quarterback are done. Carson Palmer, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, went through the same process when he was recovering from his knee injury several years ago.

Right now, like Palmer, Brady is trying to regain his confidence, and you can see his hesitancy when he makes throws under pressure.

Secondly, the Patriots seem to be running an incredibly unbalanced attack, relying almost exclusively on the pass. With a running back corps featuring Sammy Morris, Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, and Kevin Faulk, there is more than enough firepower in the backfield to produce a solid rushing attack.

There are some comments out there about the offensive line and how they are totally focusing on protecting Brady's knee and how it must be difficult for them to rapidly switch back and forth between heavy pass protections and run blocking.

This shouldn't be a problem. Switching back and forth between run blocking and pass protection is part of the job description for these professionals, no matter how difficult it is. Also, it could help protect Brady, as he won't consistently face blitzes and a pass rush.

Sooner or later, the Patriots are going to need to start running the ball if the offense is going to be successful.

Another problem is the timing in the passing game, which seems to be off so far this season.

One big problem that some people seem to be overlooking is the absence of wide receiver Wes Welker from the lineup. While Randy Moss may be the fireworks for this offense, Welker has caught over 200 passes the past two seasons, and he has proven to be the glue that holds the Patriots offense together.

In addition to Welker not being 100 percent so far this entire season (and dating back through the entire preseason as well), Brady is trying to establish chemistry with two new receivers as well—Joey Galloway and rookie Julian Edelman, the latter of which has been converted from quarterback since he joined the Patriots in training camp.

Chemistry between a quarterback and a wideout is not something that comes easy. It takes time. Plus, the New England offense is a complicated one. It takes time to learn and comprehend.

It may take Brady and his new receivers several weeks to establish the chemistry the fans are used to seeing, and that process could be extended if Galloway and Edelman continue to have difficulties absorbing the offensive playbook.

There are many issues with the 2009 version of the New England Patriots, and the concerns listed above are just some of them. So far, they have proven to be an issue for the Pats, as the team struggled to a Week One win, and then looked totally ineffective in Week Two.

However, Patriots Nation should resist the urge to jump off the Zakim Bridge in downtown Boston. Remember back in 2003, when the Pats opened up against the Bills and lost 31-0? Remember where the Patriots were at the end of the season?

By no means am I guaranteeing that the Pats will rebound spectacularly, finish 14-2, and win the Super Bowl. Is that the goal? Sure. But the Patriots are missing the necessary leadership, defensive intensity, and the coherent offense necessary to make such a turnaround.

Bill Belichick and his coaching staff have the ability to turn this thing around. Despite the early struggles, there is plenty of talent in Foxboro. All the kinks just need to be smoothed out in practice. However, given New England's current state, it may be a little too much too ask for that 13-3 or 14-2 record and another Super Bowl berth.

So what can we really expect from the Pats in 2009? Let's say a record of 11-5 and an exit from the playoffs in either the divisional round or the AFC Championship game.

But we'll see...when Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are on the same team together, anything is possible.