Looking Ahead to the 2015 Season
Defending
the crown is always the toughest thing to do for a champion as winning back to
back titles is almost unheard of in a league with so much parody. But, the
Patriots will try to do just that this season as many obstacles stand in the
way. First and foremost, the Patriots as an organization need to get past this
Deflate Gate garbage and focus on winning games. Bill Belichick is the best in
the business at keeping his teams focused in the face of adversity, so I would
expect a Pats team that is ready to roll over opponents. The Tom Brady
suspension is still looming over the team and no one knows just how long he
will be out. If it is indeed the full four games this could dramatically change
playoff standing for the Pats. There's a chance the suspension is completely
rescinded as well but that's more on the unlikely side, so the Pats must
prepare second year QB Jimmy G to start some games this season. The positive
about the suspension is since it was handed down so early; the Pats have had all
off season to fully prepare Garoppolo to be the Day 1 starter. He’s shown a lot
of improvement, at least in my eyes, from last preseason to this one. While possibly
seeing the greatest QB ever have to sit out some games sucks, I must say I'm
very excited to see what Garoppolo can bring to the table for the Pats if he is
indeed needed.
Outside
of the entire unknown at the QB position to start the year the Patriots also
must deal with an inordinate amount of roster turnover at the cornerback
position. A spot that was considered a strength of the team last season is now
the glaring weakness heading into the season. Darrelle Revis left town to go
back to the Jets for the money. The Pats then did not pick up Brandon Browner's
option as they didn't see the need for him with Revis gone. Then, Belichick
decided to complete the position overhaul by releasing Fonzie Dennard and Kyle
Arrington. Both guys quickly found new homes so any chance of a reunion went
out the door too. So the team lost four of its most talented corners and now the
depth chart is full of question marks. The Patriots signed two guys with
experience who haven't had amazing careers in Bradley Fletcher and Robert
McClain. There is also the prospect of some young guys stepping up this season.
The Patriots seems to
be putting all their eggs in the Malcolm Butler basket, which is a bold move
considering he’s never seen real starter time in the NFL. I could see both
Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler finding a niche here as starters in New England,
but I could also see them fall victim to the rough history the team has with
young corners progressing. Both have certainly shown flashes of good potential
and then both quickly make me second guess that. It’s nice though that the
safeties behind these guys are a very talented group. Devin McCourty is a top
safety in the game and Chung’s career was revamped last season and hopefully he
continues to build on it. Duron Harmon is still young and has potential as
well. That is the bright spot in the secondary; the back end is strong and can
help make up for the possible struggling corners. This group is the most
important on the team in that if they come out and ball the defense could be
really good with the front seven Belichick has built. If the secondary
flounders, we may be in for a rough year watching teams convert long third
downs all day on us. Even though the unknown at this position is scary, I’m
going to cross my fingers and hope for the best when season gets under way.
There
are the positives though and that would be the front seven on defense. This
area was greatly improved and seen as a spot that needed to be addressed based
on drafting by Belichick. The Pats signed Jabaal Sheard to a 2 year deal and
there is a sense of high expectation for this guy coming in. I'm sticking with
the wait and see approach, but hopefully he can come in and contribute
immediately. He definitely looks the part so far and I can’t wait to finally
have a legit sub for Ninko and Chandler out there at end so both don’t have to
play 90%+ snaps a game. With these three possibly being able to rotate in and
out keeping fresh legs, the pass rush could be potent this season. The line
backing core is the most talented group on the team, health permitting obviously.
We have yet to get a full season of the anticipated Collins, Hightower and Mayo
combo, but if this is the season we do, we’re all in for a real treat. Jamie
Collins is already a stud and only getting better, same with Hightower. Mayo is
a seasoned vet who is very dependable. All three players complement each other
very well and these guys should be the playmakers for the defense this season. Belichick
also went out and drafted two edge guys in Geneo Grissom and Trey Flowers. The
DE/OLB position is now suddenly a deep one for the team as it includes a good
mix of vets and young guns. This should make for some great rotation among the
defensive line during the season keeping rushers fresh. The glaring hole left
at defensive tackle by Wilfork's departure was quickly filled as the Patriots got
a steal in the first round in Malcom Brown who will now be the man in the
middle hopefully for the next decade. The team still has high hopes for
explosive Dominque Easley as well. And the depth of the position is finished
out with run stuffers Branch and Siliga. The front seven is full of variety and
talent which will make up for the possible weaker secondary. If this front
seven can generate consistent pass rush quickly on QBs, the secondary won't be
asked to do too much and the defense could flourish. The key word there is could as we haven't seen the Patriots
have a consistent and potent pass rush since the dynasty days. Even last
season, it was the secondary that would be so great at times it would bail out
the slow pass rush because of the talent back there. That won't be the case
this season. If the defense gives QBs time like they did to Rodgers in the
Green Bay game this past year, we will see shades of the horrid 2011 defense
back. It all starts up front with this defense. They have the talent to be the
impact players on defense so it’s time for them to meet that potential.
Offensively
the Patriots look to be a juggernaut again with Brady at the helm. They did a
great job addressing needs in the draft as they grabbed Tre Jackson who could
be a plug and play starter this season at guard. They also drafted Shaq Mason
who will provide depth at the guard and center spot. The offensive line is
always the key when it comes to this team. Example A would be last season when
the offensive line was horrible the first four weeks we saw the
"decline" of Brady at the team started 2-2. Once the OLine got its
shit together and gave Brady time the team went on a tear and eventually won
the Super Bowl thanks to great OLine play in January for the first time in a
while. Solder and Vollmer are both mainstays on the line and I trust both
to consistently do their job week to week. Tre Jackson, Bryan Stork and Ryan
Wendell inside together are going to be a nice combo, and I have a lot of expectations
for them. It always starts up front and the offensive line does have a solid
deep group that should be able to keep Brady upright and happy throughout the
year.
The
skill positions for the Patriots are ever so talented. The Pats added Reggie
Wayne to further bolster their receiving core. Brandon LaFell has yet to get
himself off the PUP and it looks like he may head into the season on it as
well, but the addition of Wayne and the depth with Edelman and Amendola should
make up for his absence in the meantime. Edelman is still going to be the man
of this group this season, but I am excited to see if Amendola can build on his
great postseason and make this season his best yet in New England. The tight
end group is deep again and by deep I mean two deep. Normally it’s just Gronk
and that’s it, but now the addition of Scott Chandler makes for some nasty 2 TE
sets on offense with two big boys in the middle. The red zone offense is going
to be scary good with the height these two bring to the table. Obviously Gronk
is going to be far and away the best receiver on the team and put up the most
stats, because, well, he’s Gronk. But I expect a very under the radar but solid
season from Chandler as well.
The running back group is weaker
than it has been in recent years in my opinion, but Blount will be the main
work horse which I have no problem with. Blount should be in for a pretty good
season if he gets the main workload week to week, but we all know how Belichick
runs out random players some weeks and lets them shine. Brandon Bolden is still
here and always a dependable option in the backfield. James White has shown his
flashes of Vereen-type play, but those are some really big shoes to fill if he
really wants to be compared to Vereen. Jonas Gray is a guy that people want to
see more of after his outing against Indy, but I’m indifferent on him. All I care
about is whoever is getting the carries is making the most plays with it and
getting positive yards almost every time. I always hope the Pats turn to the
run more and more every season and I’m still going to preach that now. If
Blount comes out and balls getting the carries, the Pats should ride him as
much as they can. A successful bruising run game only makes passing the ball
easier and making things easy for TB means great things will happen.
Overall the team improved at almost
every position in the offseason and preseason except for cornerback. The
offensive and defensive lines got some talent and depth. The skill postions are
still good and the line backers are maybe the most talented group. This is
still a great team we have here and the ending record really depends on Brady’s
status. If Brady gets no suspension, I fully expect another division title,
probably another bye week too and full on contention for a repeat. If Brady
does get four games, I still expect the Pats to win the division it will just
be a closer call and they may not get the bye week in the playoffs. No matter
what, if the Patriots have overall good health and Tom Brady playing QB in
January, this team always has a chance to win it all. This team again will be
in the thick of things late in the season and this time they are defending
champs looking to REPEAT. How great would that be? A repeat… It’s still early,
but I can dream. Just remember one thing through it all: LETS GO PATS!!!
