jmt57

I'll try to get this in quick for this week (before Saturday is over), so I'll keep it short.

Cautiously optimistic about the team. If I have to guess, I'd say the Pats finish the regular season 12-4 - winning the AFC East but missing a first round bye.

While I like the roster moves on defense, I'm still in a wait-and-see mode. I guess I'm a bit pessimistic after convincing myself Duane Starks and Deltha O'Neal were great additions.

Though this team looks just as good if not better on offense on paper, I believe that 2007 is a once-in-a-generation happening and it is not realistic to expect this year's offense to be as productive.

There are several good teams in the AFC: the Pats, Steelers, Chargers, Colts, Titans and Ravens. All have formidable strengths, as well as potential pitfalls. Though the NFC (Eagles, Giants, Packers, Vikings, Panthers, Falcons, Cardinals) are closing the gap, the AFC is still stronger. Right now it is just too close to call. The Pats have just as good a chance as anybody, but I wouldn't declare them to be clear-cut favorites like some are doing; right now there are too many other teams with just as good a chance of winning this year, in my opinion.

Calciumee

I think the Offense will be VERY strong, maybe not 2007 standards, but with more running than 2007.

The defense will struggle I think at first, but will gel VERY quickly, and I can see them being a top 10 D this season.

DarrylS

The offense will pick up where it left off in 2007... there will be some obvious differences, but overall this will be a scoring machine.. the depth at QB bothers me, but said that about Cassel as well.

The Defense will be a pleasant surprise, with the additions and what looks like upgrades to the D backfield, the whole team will be better.. Seymour is a big loss, but the additions of Burgess; Guyton and Mayo in their second year; a lot of "quick" youngsters.. there are a lot of interchangable parts here and suspect that we will see some things that are very interesting..

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gomezcat

I'll take a stab at 13-3. The offence is in good shape potentially, with a couple of caveats. Defensive co-ordinators have now had a couple of years to look at the spread and will increasingly come up with ways of limiting it. I'm also not completely sold on the Tackles in pass protection against the speedier guys. I wonder if Sebastian Vollmer might take the field more towards the end of the season.

Like other posters, I think we will see more running; it would go a long way towards slowing down the speedier D Lines (the Giants come to mind) and making the difference in close games with better clock management. I will stick my neck out and say that Maroney will have a stellar season, especially as he takes over from Faulk as the third down back.

I like the D more than I did and am really looking forward to seeing Burgess and AD off the edge, be that as 3-4 OLBs or as "4-3" DEs. I actually think that the Nickel D will be the predominant look as teams play fewer 2 RB sets. It is apparent that the last couple of draft classes and FA signings have been done with this in mind; faster LBs, an overhaul of the DBs and more speed up front.

Will we win the SB? No idea. I think there are far too many good teams, especially in the AFC, who match up well against us for me to be very confident.

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Gopats!!!

My feelings before the first game are this:

The defense will feel the effects of missing so many great players (Seymour Vrabel Harrison, Bruschi). Even if some of thim had diminished skills the still helped the team. That said, we are younger and faster, and I think that will help us as the season goes on. I believe we will struggle early on defense but come on strong as the season progresses. I think by seasons end the defense will be better than last years.

On offense I think we will be great. I don't think we will reach 2007 levels but I think we will be a top 3 offense. Our running game will be better than the 2007 team.

Special teams wil be interesting. The Ghost will be awesome but the return game could be up and down. I think our coverage units will continue to be strong. Punting will be decent.

Now bring on the bills...

Patriot_in_NY

State of the Pats - Weeks 1

0 - 0 (It is what it is )

Demolition Man

Offense will be explosive this year while the defense will have its growing pains but will hold up enough to carry the team into the playoffs and even the Super Bowl.

Go Patriots!

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signbabybrady

SBB's thoughts

I have seen alot of this team so far but finnally the bullets fly for real.

Merriweather is set to have a big year.

Brady will have 35-45 TDs

The Talent at RB with a healthy Maroney and adding Taylor will take a few TDs from Brady

But the offense will be as tough to stop if not better than 07.

This D is highly underated highly.....Warren, Wilfork, Burgess, Mayo, Thomas, Bodden, Springs, Merriweather is as much talent as most Ds in the league and guys like Guyton and the rooks can step up and make this D top ten maybe even top 5.

19-0 here we go

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JoeSixPat

Here's my "State of the Pats"

Defense... everyone's expectations are far too high... there are far too many new players to expect this defense to come in and dominate a game. The Coaches understand that and they'll be expecting the Offense to dominate the game. The Defense will get better over time.

Offense: There's some new parts here too and Brady has to shake off the rust and the second guessing re: his repaired knee - but with Brady and Moss they should have enough firepower to win.

That being said, while everyone has this down as a slam dunk win against Buffalo, the Bills have a way of playing up against the Patriots.

My feeling overall is that this team will need a loss at some point early in the season to really spur them on to gel and play at a higher level. Should that happen against the Bills I predict one of the great all time NFL story lines... 18-1 in both 2007 and 2009.

maverick4

I am very excited for the season. I think this team is going to win it all, and the Steelers are the only team in the league with a half-credible chance of stopping them. It is the most talented, balanced team of the entire Belichick era, and we are all in store for a 1989-like 49ers season from the Patriots. We will experience growing pains through Halloween as the defense gels, Brady gets comfortable again, and the coordinators figure out what their units can and cannot do. After that we'll be gravy if there are no major injuries. Patriots go 13-3 regular season and win it all.

My confidence comes from two things: all the significant off-season additions to the defense, RB, TE, and O-line, and the departure of Kid McDaniels. I have thought since 2006 that McDaniels was too stubborn/predictable in his play calls, lacked situational awareness (both on and off the field), and he's done nothing in Denver to change my belief on this. I strongly believe we would have one or two more rings if he weren't here due to his coordinator calls as well as our poor offensive draft picks due to his influence/input, and now that he's gone, I think we're going to win it all again.

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"I was leaving late one night, and this tall skinny kid approached me holding a pizza box. I said, "I know who you are, you're Tom Brady, sixth-round pick from Michigan." And he replied, 'and I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.' I was stunned. The amazing thing is he didn't say it to be arrogant...he was sincere. I went home and told everyone about it." - Bob Kraft