Attention AFC East: The Patriots Are Coming! The Patriots Are Coming!

Midway through a dizzying offseason, the New England Patriots look to be in good shape to compete for the AFC East title.

Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, however, as Patriots fans found out the hard way last season.

After a perfect 16-0 regular season and a Super Bowl appearance in 2007, fans expected big things out of last year’s Patriots. But only eight minutes into the 2008 season the Pats’ Super Bowl hopes looked on the ropes while New England was in tears.

Even after an injury to star quarterback (and super-model husband) Tom Brady, the team battled to an admirable 11-5 record and nearly notched a surprising playoff berth. 

With Brady back from injury, this year’s team will look to get back in the playoffs and will surely begin the season as the AFC East favorite.

With Tom Brady out of a suit and on the field, the Pats are a Super Bowl contender.

But the team isn’t perfect by any stretch. Though the Patriots’ roster is stacked with talent this season, holes remain in the linebacking corps and at backup quarterback.

All reports indicate Tom Brady’s full recovery, and if he’s even three-fourths the quarterback he was before his injury, he’ll be one of the top signal-callers in the game.  Regardless, he’ll still be throwing to a stacked group of tight ends and one of the best wide receiver tandems to ever play the game.

Combine Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and an improved running game with the addition of Fred Taylor, and you’ll get one of the league’s prolific offenses.

The offensive line returns all five starters and even if Fred Taylor proves too old for the rigors of an NFL running back, they’ll open holes for Lawrence Maroney, Kevin Faulk or last year’s pleasant surprise, BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

Forget about the offense—even as questions about Tom Brady’s knee linger, the real problems for the Patriots remain on defense.

The Pats’ one glaring weakness is at outside linebacker. After the team dealt stalwart outside linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs in a pre-draft trade, the Patriots found themselves without an established starter to take the reins opposite Adalius Thomas. 

Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable, Tully Banta-Cain, and Vince Redd will compete for the open outside-linebacker position in training camp. 

If that list looks unimpressive, that’s because it is.

The four have only a combined 18 NFL starts between them.

Look for Crable to get first crack at the job—he was the Pats’ third-round pick in the 2008 draft. Crable lost his entire rookie season to a shin injury but was considered a quick, athletic prospect who could rush the passer.

If Crable doesn’t win the job, Woods would seem next in line after the team extended his contract this off-season. Woods has impressed on special teams, but wasn’t able to crack the starting lineup over Mike Vrabel.

Without a proven option at outside linebacker the Patriots will surely look around the league for players to bolster their pass-rush.

The team targeted Jason Taylor before he re-signed with the Dolphins and were linked with Carolina in trade reports for Julius Peppers. Obviously New England hopes Crable or Woods wins the job outright, but the prospect of teaming Julius Peppers with Adalius Thomas would give fits to the rest of the league and put plenty of quarterbacks on the turf.

Depth at inside linebacker is also a concern for the Patriots.

Last season, first-year man Jerod Mayo started all 16 games and surprised the league by winning Rookie of the Year honors. While Mayo’s spot seems set in stone, the aging (yet ever-popular) Tedy Bruschi will be playing in his fourteenth NFL season. Though he obviously served as an able mentor for Mayo, Bruschi seemed to have lost a step last year and split-time with Gary Guyton.

After third-round pick Tyrone Mackenzie tore his ACL in rookie mini-camp, the team is concerned about depth behind Mayo and Bruschi.

Rumor has it that the team may be interested in signing linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa to bolster the corps. The six-year veteran just released by the Rams recorded 135 tackles last season, 88 of them solo. Without a veteran signing, the team will lay its hopes with Mayo, Bruschi and Guyton.

Even after trading starter Ellis Hobbs to the Eagles on draft-day, the Patriots still have good depth at cornerback with Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, 2008 draftees Terence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite, and rookie Darius Butler all competing for starting jobs. 

As any Pats fan will tell, last year’s corners looked unimpressive against elite teams. However, with an improved pass-rush, this group of corners should be able to get the job done.

After last season the Patriots know the importance of the backup quarterback better than any other team.

After Brady’s potentially catastrophic injury, backup Matt Cassel stepped in to fill Brady’s gigantic shoes and nearly led the team to the playoffs. With Cassel traded to the Chiefs, the Patriots have to look elsewhere for Brady-insurance.

So far, the Patriots have elected not to pursue a veteran quarterback and may decide to roll the dice with second-year man Kevin O’Connell in the backup slot.

Fourth-year player Matt Gutierrez and un-drafted free agent Brian Hoyer are the only the other quarterbacks on the Pats’ roster. Though risky, with the dominance of sixth-rounder Brady and the impressive seventh-rounder Cassel, Belichick has proved that he knows a good quarterback when he sees one, regardless of position in the draft. 

The Patriots look good—real good. 

But remember Pats fans, they looked good at this time last year too. Barring significant injury (a big “if” in the NFL) this team should be one of the top teams in the league, especially if the organization addresses needs at linebacker.