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How about this

magoo

magoo

Oh Magoo! You've done it again!
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Nearly every pundit has the Pats winning the AFC East. Yep, it's the sexy call. Mostly, it's because Tom Brady is back. They all seem to be blinded by the 50 TD passes he had in 07. However, not many are considering the very real issues they have.

Offensively, pass protection was a problem in 08 as they allowed nearly 50 sacks. On the heels of the Haynesworth sack of Brady this is not good if your a Pats fan.

In my eyes that's not the teams biggest problem.

I am an outsider (Steeler fan)... Mark my words the Patriots defense will be a joke this year. Last year they were a so-so defense. However, their weakness was... allowing 27 TDs via the pass. Look for that to be exploited this year.

With Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi no longer around the torch has been passed. The question is --who-- did they pass it to?


Off season acquisitions Leigh Bodden was released by the Lions in February, and Sean Springs is 34. I'm no expert but neither of them seem like a major upgrade.


Last year they had a below average pass rush and opponents had an 89.8 passer rating against them.

Preseason is not an accurate barometer, nevertheless, the Pats defense finished dead last in total defense. Meanwhile, the Dolphins finished 3rd from the top, behind the Vikings and Ravens. The Steelers finished fourth behind the Dolphins. Not bad company.

Meanwhile, Brady used to be able to sit back in the pocket surrounded by excellent protection... It says here those days are over.
 
I've kind of felt the same way about the Pats. I don't disrespect them, but they have always been a team whose sum was better than all the parts. In large part that was due to some smart leadership on the field. Vrabel, Bruschi and Harrison were the heart and sould of that defense. The intangibles they brought cannot be easily replaced. BB is a good coach, but he has been losing his best assistants yr after yr and that eventually will take its toll.
Every great run comes to an end and that includes the Pats.
Yes, they have Moss and Brady, but that type of combination will not win playoff games alone.
At one time (about 5 yrs ago) I thought Fred Taylor was the best RB in the league, but he couldn't stay healthy. He's not that same player anymore, which is why J-ville didn't try to keep him. Their top 2 RB's are injury prone and that's not a good thing when an NFL season is more of a marathon, rather than a sprint.
All in all I think the AFC east will be a lot more competitive than the pundits think and I wouldn't automatically crown the Pats division winners.
Geez, Prisco has them labeled as the most talented and deepest team in the league. I'm not sure how he can backup such a statement and I think the Steelers have something too say about that
 
magoo said:
Nearly every pundit has the Pats winning the AFC East. Yep, it's the sexy call. Mostly, it's because Tom Brady is back. They all seem to be blinded by the 50 TD passes he had in 07. However, not many are considering the very real issues they have.

Offensively, pass protection was a problem in 08 as they allowed nearly 50 sacks. On the heels of the Haynesworth sack of Brady this is not good if your a Pats fan.

In my eyes that's not the teams biggest problem.

I am an outsider (Steeler fan)... Mark my words the Patriots defense will be a joke this year. Last year they were a so-so defense. However, their weakness was... allowing 27 TDs via the pass. Look for that to be exploited this year.

With Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi no longer around the torch has been passed. The question is --who-- did they pass it to?


Off season acquisitions Leigh Bodden was released by the Lions in February, and Sean Springs is 34. I'm no expert but neither of them seem like a major upgrade.


Last year they had a below average pass rush and opponents had an 89.8 passer rating against them.

Preseason is not an accurate barometer, nevertheless, the Pats defense finished dead last in total defense. Meanwhile, the Dolphins finished 3rd from the top, behind the Vikings and Ravens. The Steelers finished fourth behind the Dolphins. Not bad company.

Meanwhile, Brady used to be able to sit back in the pocket surrounded by excellent protection... It says here those days are over.
Click to expand...


How many of those sacks were the result of an inexperienced QB holding onto the ball too long?

The Pats D wasn't great but it was good and the divsions best last year. They lost the heart of their D which should be big but they will still have a good defense. They have some excellent vet talent and some good young talent. Sure they have holes like most Ds but they also have a great defensive mind to help cover up those weaknesses.

I HOPE you are right but I'll need to see it first before I believe it. As long as Brady stays healthy this team will win about 12-13 games and run away w/ the division.
 
magoo said:
Nearly every pundit has the Pats winning the AFC East. Yep, it's the sexy call. Mostly, it's because Tom Brady is back. They all seem to be blinded by the 50 TD passes he had in 07. However, not many are considering the very real issues they have.

Offensively, pass protection was a problem in 08 as they allowed nearly 50 sacks. On the heels of the Haynesworth sack of Brady this is not good if your a Pats fan.

In my eyes that's not the teams biggest problem.

I am an outsider (Steeler fan)... Mark my words the Patriots defense will be a joke this year. Last year they were a so-so defense. However, their weakness was... allowing 27 TDs via the pass. Look for that to be exploited this year.

With Vrabel and Tedy Bruschi no longer around the torch has been passed. The question is --who-- did they pass it to?


Off season acquisitions Leigh Bodden was released by the Lions in February, and Sean Springs is 34. I'm no expert but neither of them seem like a major upgrade.


Last year they had a below average pass rush and opponents had an 89.8 passer rating against them.

Preseason is not an accurate barometer, nevertheless, the Pats defense finished dead last in total defense. Meanwhile, the Dolphins finished 3rd from the top, behind the Vikings and Ravens. The Steelers finished fourth behind the Dolphins. Not bad company.

Meanwhile, Brady used to be able to sit back in the pocket surrounded by excellent protection... It says here those days are over.
Click to expand...

There is no other ILB for them other than Meyo. They are counting on alot from there rookies. Butler will be starting before long. But they are counting on Chung and Brace to be spectacular.

I am sorry folks but New Englands drafts are the most overrated thing to come down the pike. They have gotten their stars recently from FA. BB has clearly lost something with losing all his assistants. Not that Brady cannot still run the offense very effectively, but the roster decisions are very suspect to me the last few years.

It seems like every year they have 5 TE's on the roster and none of them end up being Ben coates. Baker is the lastest experiment.

The AFC East is tough now with us and Jets. That is 4 games Brady will take a beating IMO. Not to mention Baltimore and few others. I have gone down the roster for them. If any DL or Meyo go down, their D begins to suck bigtime. If Brady goes down, forget it.

Welker seems nicked up, if he were to go down, well, that means Seans Smith job just got easier cus we will double up on Moss.

No depth on the Pats relying on rookies. Not good if you ask me while the AFC East gets tough. The 15-1 season was when the rest of us sucked.
 
Tend to agree with a lot of what folks say here. I still think the Patriots will be very, very tough to beat. That offense will most likely be the NFL's best and they always seem to hide there deficiencies on defense with all the 1st round picks they have on the D-line.

The biggest thing for NE will be protecting Brady because teams are going to get after him this year. That O-LINE is very good, 3 pro bowlers in Koppen, Mankins and Light, but we've seen in the past it can be had (our very own JT gives it fits on a consistent basis). Nonetheless they will probably win a lot of 45-38 games this year. I expect them to set the tone for the pundits right in week 1 but dismantling Buffalo who looks to be in disarray right now.
 
I think the Pats will win the division, but I think we have a real shot. I made a post a month or two back about uncertainties on each team. While we're building toward becoming a complete team, the Pats still have fewer uncertainties. That's not to say that all our question marks won't come through, but it's hard to bank on.

Our offense and defense should be much improved, but we won't know how everything comes together - really - for a few weeks.
 
j-off-her-doll said:
I think the Pats will win the division, but I think we have a real shot. I made a post a month or two back about uncertainties on each team. While we're building toward becoming a complete team, the Pats still have fewer uncertainties. That's not to say that all our question marks won't come through, but it's hard to bank on.

Our offense and defense should be much improved, but we won't know how everything comes together - really - for a few weeks.
Click to expand...

With Seymore traded the Pats will now have 6 new faces on Defense. I'd say they have some uncertainties.
 
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