Patriots improve on last year's regular season? (1 Viewer)

[Unlucky]

I'm in the middle of my projections, and just finished the Patriots. Wow, their schedule is CAKE. AFC West, NFC West, and 6 vs. MIA, NYJ, and BUF. (Plus PIT and @Indy) CAKE. I see 2 losable games, at Indy and at San Diego. That's it.

I even think Matt Cassel could QB this team to 10 wins.

I know it's insane to think they repeat last year's numbers, but why not? The Superbowl loss only helps fuel the hunger. Some teams that gave them fits last year, BAL, PHI, NYG aren't on the schedule. Only personnel loss is Stallworth, but Jackson should fill that role, or Moss will just catch more passes.

I would have zero reservations about drafting Brady and Moss in the top 5. You can't get more automatic production with less downside besides LT.

Full projections coming by Saturday morning.

 

[puckalicious]

Explain how they improve on 16-0

Watching them play towards the end of last season, I think teams are starting to figure out how to stop them. Not effectively stopping them (except for NYG) but slowing them down considerably. I am pretty sure NE will fall back to earth this year, but Brady may still lead the league again.

 

[Truman]

Just lost their best defender in FA, so their secondary is worse, plus there's no way their defense will be as good with a lot of key guys getting a year older and their staying relatively injury-free.

When teams were gunning for them down the stretch they didn't look like the same team as in the first few months of the season. We can also expect teams to load up the rush on Brady, so they're gonna need to do a better job stopping that than they have.

 

[Tanner9919]

Just lost their best defender in FA, so their secondary is worse, plus there's no way their defense will be as good with a lot of key guys getting a year older and their staying relatively injury-free.

When teams were gunning for them down the stretch they didn't look like the same team as in the first few months of the season. We can also expect teams to load up the rush on Brady, so they're gonna need to do a better job stopping that than they have.

Mayo aside, the LB position is old and slow...teams can run on NE, and many did just that down the stretch of last season..the Jets will have a much improved rushing attack, as will Buffalo..Miami will be an improved team with a stronger rushing attack, etc..and , with the way the NFL is now with parity ( teams like N.O. go 4-12 one year, play in the NFC Championship game the next), you just never know what to expect. just because the Pats have the easiest schedule on paper, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to win all 16 games or even 12 for that matter..Teams can turn things around quickly in the NFL, from one year to the next..so many of those 'cakewalk' games the Patriots will play, might actually be more difficult than advertised..

The defense was ransacked by free agency, and that is going to lead to longer drives against N.E., which in turn will continue to wear down the old men they have playing LB, which in turn will lead to Brady and Co. sitting on the sidelines for longer periods of time..its going to be a whole trickle down effect if that defense can't hold water..

I'm not saying NE is going to finish 8-8, but eventually, all good things must come to an end, right? NE is at or near that point, IMO..I think teams have spent the entire off-season finding ways to stop Brady and Co and the Pats have done little to bolster their aging, depleted defense.

 

[Bills_Fan11]

Explain how they improve on 16-0 Watching them play towards the end of last season, I think teams are starting to figure out how to stop them. Not effectively stopping them (except for NYG) but slowing them down considerably. I am pretty sure NE will fall back to earth this year, but Brady may still lead the league again.

Yah I'd say that's all true. I also don't think a sample size of 1 game is enough to say Philly & Baltimore necessarily posed terrible matchup problems....perhaps NE just had an off game or 2 like everyone else (magnified by oppenents starting to figure them out a bit).While I've basically never believed in the Seahawks as a true contender, there's no reason to think a game like that isn't "losable".

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Explain how they improve on 16-0

Point differential. Although I don't think they will improve off last year, that's not the point. The point is they have an easy schedule, expect the Pats to be right in the thick of the SB hunt and expect a lot of big fantasy numbers from star players on that team.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

I'd still tend to think that The Hoodie will go across the grain in their game plans, using the SB as a example. If Brady is getting dinged or if the Pats start looking like an unbalanced team (weak D) then they might have to play a bit more ball control style.

 

[Road Warriors]

I'll go on record that there is no way the Pats go undefeated in the regular season again. They have the team and schedule to just about guarantee a playoff spot, and likely a bye week, barring a Brady injury, but too many things have to go right for a team to go undefeated.

However, the demise of the Patriots is being overstated, IMO. The LBs are getting older, but Mayo, Crable and Hobson add needed youth to the position. The D-Line is still one of the best in the league. The secondary concerns me, but adding Capers to coach up the youngsters they've brought in will help tremedously.

The other argument I see is that teams will load up the rush, effectively copying the NYG SuperBowl gameplan. Thats all well and good, but there are very few teams with the personnel to win the 1:1 battles that the Giants did to get that kind of pressure up the middle of a very good pass blocking O-Line. I don't think that teams will be able to stop the Pats offense, and I also believe that the Patriots coaching staff adjust to a more balanced attack, which will neutralize some of the "pin the ears back" mentality.

All in all, the Patriots still look like a top contender, and if they stay healthy and if they've found a couple of players in the draft & FA to fill in adequately on D, they should be right there in the end.