Last Season:
Regular Season Record: 13-3
Conference Standings: 1st
Playoffs: Yes (AFC Champions)
Total Offense: 428 Yards Per Game (2nd)
Points Per Game: 32.1 (3rd)
Total Defense: 387.6 Yards allowed per game (31st)
Points Allowed Per Game: 21.4 Points Allowed per game (15th)
Review
The New England Patriots had yet another dominant regular season last year as they finished 13-3 and had the best record in the AFC. They put on a clinic offensively as they averaged over 30 points a game and got over 400 yards per game. Tom Brady had a fantastic season throwing for over 5000 yards and Gronkoski emerged as the best TE in the NFL. Questions about how far the Pats could go towards the end of the season arose because of how poorly the defense was playing during the year. But the defense played better towards the end of the year and with one of the best offenses in the league the Patriots navigated their way through the AFC playoffs and got to the Super Bowl where they were maybe a missed opportunity away from winning the title.
This Season
Key Players Lost: DE. Andre Carter (unsigned), RB. Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis, LT. Matt Light
Key Acquisitions: WR. Brandon Lloyd (Free Agency), DE. Jonathan Fanene (Free Agency)
Key Draft Picks: DE/OLB Chandler Jones (21st Overall), MLB Donta Hightower (25th Overall),
Offseason:
The Patriots quietly made their team better during the offseason using a combination of free agency and the draft. They signed two significant free agents in Brandon Lloyd and Jonathan Fanene. More good news is that the Patriots really didn't lose many impact players either. Andre Carter and Matt Light are the only truly significant players from last years team not on the team right now. Carter isn't their mostly because he got hurt at the end of the year and reports are the Patriots wanna make sure he's healthy before they sign him. Matt Light retired.
2012 Outlook
For the 2012 season you should expect what we've gotten from the Patriots pretty much every season since their last championship and that's a dominant regular season team that falls short in the postseason. I think the Patriots will win the AFC East with ease and then lose at some point in the playoffs even if it's in the Super Bowl. I just can't pick the Pats to win it all. So many people have been picking them as one of the favorites every year and they never get it done. At this point their living off reputation for the most part and I'm a what have you done for me lately kind of guy and the Patriots haven't won win it counts most lately. Offensively the addition to Brandon Lloyd gives them another weapon but the team still lacks a true deep threat WR that stretches the field. Defensively the Patriots should definitely improve but overall I don't expect them to be any higher than middle of the pack in total defense. Which means how far they go will ultimately come down to Brady and if he can get it done and lately he hasn't been able to the latest example of that being in the Super Bowl when he missed a wide open Wes Welker on a play that could have iced the game. Also my final worry about this Patriots team is what are they gonna get from their running game. Green-Ellis is now in Cincinnati and Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead just aren't feature running backs.
2012 Schedule
Projected Starters
Offense:
QB. Tom Brady
RB. Steven Ridley
WR. Wes Welker
WR. Brandon LLoyd
TE. Rob Gronkowski
TE. Aaron Hernandez
LT. Nate Solder
LG. Logan Mankins
C. Dan Koppen
RG. Brian Waters
RT. Sebastian Vollmer
Defense (3-4)
DE. Jonathan Fanene
NT. Vince Wilfork
DE. Gerard Warren
OLB. Rob Ninkovich
MLB. Jerad Mayo
MLB. Brandon Spikes
OLB. Chandler Jones
CB. Devin McCourty
CB. Ras-I Dowling
S. Steve Gregory
S. Patrick Chung
Special Teams
K. Stephen Gostkowski
P. Zoltan Mesko
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