The New England Patriots: Is The Reign Over?

When Tom Brady went down at the beginning of the 2008 season, the hearts of Patriot Nation dropped everywhere.  In fact I believe there was a spike in 911 calls as I myself tried desperately to get through with my own malady of disbelief.  Patriot denizens were seen wandering the streets of Foxboro dazed and confused. No one could help them now, it was over. That day the future was as cloudy as this wintry game day photo of Bill Belichick.

After narrowly missing obtaining their fourth championship ring the unthinkable happened. The Patriots had to depend on Matt Cassell.  Cassell hadn't started a game since high school and had done very little to distinguish himself before.  Some how he did manage to follow the game plan and the team finished with a respectable 11-5 record. 

During the season the Patriot brain-trust tried to plug the leak in the secondary with James Sanders, Ellis Hobbs and various other fringe players. This put a lot of strain on the aging line backer corp of Bruschi and Vrabel. 

Their running game was non-existent and Randy Moss lost focus at critical times during games. Teams did their homework and exploited those weaknesses. 

Corner Back:

The Patriots sought to upgrade their secondary by drafting Patrick Chung. Chung is known as a player who never takes plays off.  Great positional player that will fit in and may start right away. He could be the long awaited replacement for Asante Samuel.

The Patriots offseason activities included trading Vrabel and releasing their best return man in Ellis Hobbs.

The Patriots now have three promising players for the corner-back position Terrence Wheatley, James Sanders, and Patrick Chung.  They are the key players slotted for the corner back position.  Wheatley and Chung will compete for one as I believe James has already solidified his position as a starter.

Terrence is a question mark since he never played a down after the first game of the 2008 season; he had sustained a hand injury.  Competition will be fierce I'm sure.

LineBacker:

Jerod Mayo more than lived up to the billing as the tenth pick in the draft, he now makes it much easier to lesson the load on Bruschi who will probably retire after this season.  The defensive rookie of the year led the team in tackles and has a bright future.

Unfortunately for the Pats their diamond in the rough Tyrone McKenzie is lost for the season with a torn ACL. It is now more important than ever for Pierre Woods to go from spot duty to full time player.  Hopefully he can develop the consistency needed to compliment Mayo.

Running Back:

The enigma himself Laurence Maroney was a highly touted rookie that has been a game time bust.  Maroney has not been able to complete one full season because of constant injury concerns. 

Remember the Tonka dump trucks you had as a kid you would sit on it, ride it do all kind of things to it; and it would never break.  That is what you think off when you see Maroney but his body screams infirmary instead. 

The Patriots haven't had a good running back since Cory Dillon.  They could have used him last year, but he burnt that bridge.  They used various combination of Faulk who is better suited as a third down back and Sammy Morris when he was healthy.

This year Maroney claims he is ready to prove himself well I 'll reserve judgement on that till lets say November. 

They picked up Fred Taylor in free agency; a questionable move at best.  They still have Benjarvus Green-Ellis an unheralded rookie who did more than an admirable job in his brief outing.  The kid makes decisive cuts to the hole and does not shy away from contact.  Something Maroney should definitely emulate.

Fred Taylor and Maroney must do what they do best and pound the defensive line into submission with a hard and decisive running game.

The Patriots have a prolific passing game with a future Hall of Fame QB in Brady and possible future Hall of Famer Randy Moss at wide receiver.  A Hall of Fame coach and more active Superbowl experience then most organizations.  Only time will tell if Tom 'terrific' can be himself again and the secondary and running games bring the balance that they need to go far into the post season.

Patriot Nation is on life support after the last two years of unthinkable events, you can hear the slow resuscitation of the Nations pulse.  Operators are standing by because they are only one phone call away from finding out if Tom Brady's knee can hold up.

I myself have the number on speed dial.