NFL Football – Team Profile: New England Patriots
2005 Season Synopsis: The New England Patriots battled a lot of injuries last year. Losses in the secondary and along the offensive line hurt the Pats early in the season. However, with the return of Bruschi, the Pats returned to their usual form late in the season. Also, Tom Brady emerged as a prolific passer for the first time in his career. By throwing for over 4,000 yards Brady opened up the Pats offense tremendously. However, the decline of Corey Dillon hurt the core of their offense, which was the running game. In the long run, the paucity of a running game was probably the only deficiency of a team that would have otherwise been competing for a Superbowl. There were some lapses in run defense and pass defense that occurred in their loss to Denver, but it seemed to be more from a lack of performance than a lack of ability.
Off-Season:The Patriots have not had a very big off-season, and they usually do not. However, they have been responsible for the acquisition of players that they lost from the 2005 season. Letting Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri go to free agency are moves that will undoubtedly come back to haunt the Patriots. These were well-respected leaders on the team, and two of the most influential participants from their three super bowl wins. However, the argument can be made the Patriots have overcome the loss of players to free agency many times before. They let SS Lawyer Milloy go right after their first Superbowl win, and they won the Superbowl 2 years later. After their 2nd Superbowl victory, they won without the services of veteran CB Ty Law. However, the loss of a lot of coaches over the years will probably hurt the Patriots more than the loss of players.
2006 Draft:The Patriots had another great draft, which is probably why they can probably afford to have sub-par off-season. Drafting Lawrence Maroney in the first round was brilliant. He is the best pure running back, with out any baggage, coming out of college. He can run inside and out, he can block, and he can take on a lot of carries after being in that tough Minnesota offense. The Pats’ move to trade up and get Chad Jackson was also brilliant. He was rated the top wide receiver by many prospects, and he has the potential to be a #1 wide out at some point in his career. Drafting Chad Jackson also gives the Patriots negotiating room to convince Deion Branch that he is not as important to them as he once was.
Season Prediction:
Holes:
LB: The acquisition of Junior Seau was not enough. They need help stopping the run, especially with OLB McGinest now in
Cleveland.
CB: The Patriots once showed signs of being able to win a Superbowl without a great cornerback, but last year they showed that they were now susceptible to the long pass.
The Pats’ biggest problems are going to come from the defensive side of the ball. In last year’s playoff lost against the Denver Broncos, the Patriots had the ball run down their throat and they were hurt by the long play action pass game. Loosing McGinest is going to make this run and pass defense a little worse. I think the only hope for the Patriots on the defensive end is to add more blitzing to their packages. And I believe they will, because it seems that many teams have picked up on their zone coverages and schemes Offensively, the Pats only need to worry about replacing Branch, should he be traded or decide to hold out. It will not be a major issue, as Tom Brady is quite capable of running the offense via spreading the ball around. However, Branch is Brady’s favorite target, so there has to be some residual effect of Branch’s departure.
Strengths:
The Patriots look to have a very prolific offense this season. With Tom Brady showing that he can run an offense in the same manner as Peyton Manning, the Patriots will look to throw the ball down field and often. The Pats have some of the best TE’s in the league, and it allows them to pass the ball out of running formations more than any other team in the league. And it also gives the team a great short-yardage passing game. Corey Dillon should bounce back to have a better season than last year, and with rookie RB Maroney paired alongside him, he should be well rested at the end of the season when the games really count. Defensively, the Pats need to stop the run, and they are going to have to do that via the run blitz. With the smart characters they have, blitzing the run is really going to hurt other teams because the Patriots are very disciplined and therefore are unlikely to miss assignments that would allow for a big run. The Patriots will get into he playoffs, and they will go much further in the season if the blitz works against the pass as well.
Projected Patriots 2006 Record:
Overall: 10-6; Division 5-1
