New season, same expectations

The 2011 New England Patriots season ended in a disappointing fashion in a 21-17 loss against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. After an embarrassing trashing at home to the New York Jets in the 2010 divisional playoffs many experts predicts the Patriots wouldn't even make the playoffs. The Patriots proved the doubters wrong yet again and dominated the AFC East division (and all of the NFL) and ended the regular season with a stellar 13-3 record. However, Belichick and Brady are seeking for not another trip to the Super Bowl, but the return of the Lombardi Trophy in New England.


With a revamped offense adding wideout Brandon Lloyd and the return of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the Patriots will look to lead the league in almost every offensive category again. The loss of the rock steady producer Benjarvus Green-Ellis will be a hit. Green-Ellis never fumbled in his 4 years with the Patriots. The trio of Shane Vereen, Danny Woodhead, and Steven Ridley will look to be integral components of the offense Vereen and Ridley will look to battle it out in training camp for the #1 back. Oh, and lets not forget Tom Brady. Brady should be as motivated as ever after two losses to Eli Manning in the Super Bowl. Brady will look to once again light up the stat sheet and carry this team back to the Super Bowl. Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker will be go-to targets for Brady once again. After the "Summer of the Gronk", a healthy Rob Gronkowski will look forward to getting back on the field and performing at the level he's capable of.


The Defense will have everything to prove this season. The 2011 Patriots defense ranked #31 in total defensive statistics. The #32 ranked defense? The Green Bay Packers. Though the NFL is now a pass happy league, you can't win in the postseason without a strong defense. The Packers cruised through the regular season with a 15-1 record, but lost in the divisional round to the Giants in a 37-20 upset. With first round picks Dont'a Hightower and Chandler Jones expected to make impacts, the defense is looking more like a reliability than a liability. Linebackers Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo should continue their steady play up the middle as long as they can stay healthy. Cornerback Ras-I-Dowling is expected to make an impact after only playing in 2 games last season. Devin McCourty did not have the Pro Bowl season he had in his rookie year, but should at least be able to make quarterbacks think twice before throwing his way.


The window of opportunity to win a championship should be open for a few more years as Bradys career comes to a close. This years squad has the perfect opportunity to win a title this year. The league has conveniently made the Patriots schedule the easiest in the league. With talks of another 16-0 season, the Patriots will look to once again dominating the NFL. When all is said and done, one team will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the Superdome on February 3rd, 2013. This time, the Patriots will be sure to leave the field not in defeat, but as champions.

Offseason Catch-up

Hi Pats fans and welcome to Armchair Nation!  Lots of stuff going on in New England that you should know about.  First things first, the veteran RB Joseph Addai has been dropped from the roster.  I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I thought Addai was going to be around at least for this season.  Alas, no.  Reports out of the northeast state that Addai simply quit during a conditioning test.  As unfortunate as it is to not have a veteran presence in the backfield, I think we'll be okay this year.  Besides, who wants an RB that can't cut it physically?  Anyways, we have Ridley and Vereen, and I have high hopes for the pair.

I loved Ridley against the Raiders last year and was hoping to see more from in 2011, but he wasn't ready to be a dominating force then.  Now with BJGE gone to the Bengals and a full offseason under his belt, Stevan Ridley has the opportunity to really stand out this season.  I have the feeling that we could look to the run quite a few times this year and I hope that Ridley is the go-to man.

Guard Brian Waters was a no-show for Day 1 of Patriots Training Camp yesterday.  Coach Belichick was quoted to say that Waters was "excused for personal reasons" similar to June's mandatory minicamp.  At this time, we know Brian is considering retirement and that would just be one more blow to our already depleted O-Line.  I know that BB will have a solution worthy of his past genius.

And just a quick note on Wes Welker.  What a beautiful machine!  You know, Tom Brady is one of the greatest QBs of all time and the Gronk had the best season for a TE, but Wes is my favorite Pat.  I personally think he deserves a long-term contract despite his age and what some think, a decline in skill and production.  Last year he had 122 receptions for 1569 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Sure, not as many TDs as say, Megatron, but I have confidence in his ability.  Wes produces, plain and simple.  Not everybody is a long bomb receiver.  You have to have the slot guys like Welker to move the ball downfield and into the redzone.  Regardless, he signed his $9.5 million franchise tag and is back to getting into "football shape" as he says on Twitter.  Here's to you, Wes!  I pray that you have an insane season even with all the competition, and blow BB's mind.

Tom Brady is going to be 35 in just a few days.  Don't let that scare you!  I have faith that he has 3-5 more good years in him if we can keep a strong enough O-Line.  I'm calling it now; Thomas is going to break the passing record again this year and take it from Brees (Sorry, Drew, but gotta go with my QB, no matter how talented you are!).  40 plus TDs with the combination of Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Lloyd.

Day 2 of training camp has kicked off and I can't wait to hear the news from them today.

Pat's Nation, I believe we're going to have a great year!

Written by Will Spaid

Photographs by John Tlumacki (Boston Globe)