2009 NFL Preview: New England Patriots

(See below for Miami Dolphins preview)

By JFein:

I end up getting all of the good ones, don't I?

The New England Patriots are coming off a rough year in multiple ways. Not only were they suffering an 18-1 hangover, but Week 1, they lost Tom Brady for the season with an injury. That being said, Tom Brady is back this year and the New England Patriots are set to once again be the New England Patriots. But is Tom Brady the same QB he was a year and a half ago? And are the New England Patriots the same team that they were a year and a half ago? Randy Moss is not getting any younger and with the improved strength of the overall AFC East over the past few years may present a tough ride for the Patriots.

The Return Of Brady: Sadly, Tom Brady is back with the Patriots. and even more sad is that he may make his unofficial return to the football field this Sunday against my beloved Eagles. For his sake, it is certainly a good thing that Trent Cole will not be playing in that game. Then again, Brodrick Bunkley and Mike "Baby Sapp" Patterson most likely will be. But there are certainly questions surrounding the once untouchable superstar, including the question of will he be the same QB he was before the injury. Those surgeries can do some pretty crazy things to you, just look at Carson Palmer. And while it's true that he does not have near the same supporting cast that Brady does, Carson Palmer, in my view, has not reached the level he was playing at before the injury.

The Brady Bunch: Don't groan! You guys would have gone with the same pun as I did. But now that we discussed Brady, why not discuss his whole Bunch of backs and receivers. For starters, there is Randy Moss. As I said above, he is not getting any younger and questions loom as to whether his prime has come and gone. But even if it has, there is still a dynamic nature to Randy Moss that results in him being very dangerous to defenses around the league and if Brady can still get the ball to him like he did in 07, this could be a dangerous combo. The Pats have found a replacement for Dante Stallworth and his name is Joey Galloway. And while he is at the end of his career, don't count him out. Injuries last year caused him to not be effective, not old age. I've seen what Joey Galloway can still do when he is healthy and belive me, it is not a pretty site. And seeing as I like to laugh at the Pats all I can say is HAHAHAHAHA! PATS GOT GREG LEWIS! Expect to see 5 deep passes thrown to him this year and expect him to drop all 5. Or for his sake, maybe he'll suffer Jabar Gaffney Syndrome. Pats would love that. And now the RBs: Now the Pats have Fred Taylor. Oy ve. Same thing as Galloway: this guy can still get the job done. Add that to Sammy Morris and the aging yet always effective Kevin Faulk, and this is not an offense I would want to mess with.

The Curious Case Of Tom Brady's Back-Up: Matt Cassel is now a Kansas City Chief. So now, what to do with Tom Brady's back-up? Oh, what to do? Even though Cassel had not started a game since high school before coming in for Brady last year, he was in the system for quite a few years and was familiar with the players and personnel so the transition was much easier. Now they just have 2nd year man Kevin O'Connell to back-up Brady in case tragedy strikes Foxboro again. This is the part where I'd question if he can get the job done, but seriously, the Pats turned a kid who had taken a snap since high school to stardom, I think these guys know what they're doing. And as much as I hate to admit this and as much as I hate the Pats (so much so that I openly rooted for the Giants that fateful night in Glendale), I was sort of rooting for Cassel to do well. Then again, if he threw 6 TD passes and the Pats lost 45-42 through no fault of Cassel, that would have been the perfect scenario for me.

The D: Goodbye Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison. Hello Jarod Mayo and Leigh Bodden. The question is though are those upgrades? I would be inclined to say yes, they are. The Patriots are not stupid, they know what they are doing. Vrabel and Harrison were way up there in terms of age and Mayo and Bodden are a lot younger and may be just as good as Vrabel and Harrison would be now (not in their primes, though). The bottom line is if Brady and the offense can be successful and score points, even if it is not a repeat of 2007, then this defense will have little to worry about. Unlike some teams, the Pats do not need an awesome defense to win the Super Bowl. Actually, if Brady is healthy and the offense comes through, this could be your AFC Super Bowl contender. And that's if the defense is middle of the road this year.

Video: This never gets old!




Despite his crappy call of the Tyree catch, I thought that Joe Buck redeemed himself a bit with a great call of the Burress TD. I honestly swear I'm one of the few who does not think that he's an awful announcer. He's not my favorite, but I have a tolerance for him (more so on football than baseball where he is mediocre at best).

Prediction: 12-4, 1st place AFC East. If Brady stays healthy, that is. Their schedcule has it's stretches including playing what I feel is a very tough AFC South division. More on this later, but that is my pick for Division Of The Year. And they also open against Buffalo, @ New York Jets, and against Atlanta and Baltimore. Those are 4 playoff contenders right there. The Pats won't be perfect this season. They may not even be the last unbeaten team this year. But they will win the AFC East and in all likelihood will be the #1 or #2 seed in the AFC. It kills me to say it, but there's a difference between hope and reality.