Looking at the upsides

[BTTA]

A guy can dream, right?

Looking at the units on both sides of the ball, and defining "upside" as:

1. everyone has a good year (as defined by their past)
2. no significant injuries, and speedy recovery from last year's
3. the young players (2nd and 3rd years) have a reasonable jump in performance from last year
4. high potential rookies make a contribution

Then our WR and DB could be as good as we've ever had.

Discuss.

 

[WhiZa]

You can't top the WR corp from 2007. Besides having loads of talent, they really came out and took everyone by surprise.

The way I look at this team is the same as last year without the bad apples. If you subtract the 4th quarter meltdowns from last year you will have the team this year.

 

[Kontradiction]

Welker comes back and plays like the Welker that we all know and love by Week 1. Doubtful, but we're being positive, right?

 

[resdubwhite]

THe focus will be on the Jets again.
There is less focus on BB's preparation

Rexy opens his mouth daily to the press.
BB just gets on with the job. the perfect situation. Nothing like hype to distract a team.

 

[BelichickFan]

The way I look at this team is the same as last year without the bad apples. If you subtract the 4th quarter meltdowns from last year you will have the team this year.

I think you're being a little conservative.

- We had a big rookie class last year, they should be better this year as they aren't rookies any more.

- Although Gronk is a rookie, the combination of Crump and Gronk has to be better than the Watson/Baker pairing, especially blocking.

- Holt has to be an upgrade over Aiken. And in the unlikely event Holt is done, we have good options like Tate, Edelman (when Welker returns) and Price, one of which, again, has to be better than Aiken.

- Although you can't count on rookies we look like we have an exceptional class and with 4 of those picks in the first two rounds we just have more chances at a good contributor than most teams do.

The fly in the ointment, of course, is when and how well Welker returns.

 

[Kontradiction]

I think you're being a little conservative.

- We had a big rookie class last year, they should be better this year as they aren't rookies any more.

- Although Gronk is a rookie, the combination of Crump and Gronk has to be better than the Watson/Baker pairing, especially blocking.

- Holt has to be an upgrade over Aiken. And in the unlikely event Holt is done, we have good options like Tate, Edelman (when Welker returns) and Price, one of which, again, has to be better than Aiken.

- Although you can't count on rookies we look like we have an exceptional class and with 4 of those picks in the first two rounds we just have more chances at a good contributor than most teams do.

The fly in the ointment, of course, is when and how well Welker returns.

Don't forget Hernandez. I believe he'll make an impact in the receiving game quicker than Price or Tate.

 

[kkpat]

THe focus will be on the Jets again.
There is less focus on BB's preparation

Rexy opens his mouth daily to the press.
BB just gets on with the job. the perfect situation. Nothing like hype to distract a team.

Don't you know? JETS won superbowl next year. Last year they won in the second game of the season against us. Now they won in May itself.

ESPN Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl
Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl

Rex Ryan yesterday called Patriots quarterback Tom Brady "a smart guy" for praising the Jets and saying the AFC East won't be a walkover for New England this season.

"We have only one goal and that's to win the Super Bowl," Ryan told 1050 ESPN Radio. "And that's what we plan on doing this year."

It is all done.

 

[kkpat]

Don't forget Hernandez. I believe he'll make an impact in the receiving game quicker than Price or Tate.

Addition by subtraction... AD Thomas is gone...

 

[Kontradiction]

Don't you know? JETS won superbowl next year. Last year they won in the second game of the season against us. Now they won in May itself.

ESPN Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl
Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl



It is all done.

We should just forfeit the entire season.

 

[BelichickFan]

Don't forget Hernandez. I believe he'll make an impact in the receiving game quicker than Price or Tate.

He could well - and I truly think he'd be an upgrade over Aiken as a WR if it came to that. More likely, though, Holt will do fine and Hernandez will be a lesser role player IMO. I expect Crump and Gronk to be a brutal (in a good way) combination in some matchups - READ : WEEK 2 VS. The Jets.

All of a sudden it looks like we're back to tons of interesting options. Last year our #3 WR couldn't play and all our TE were mediocre. Now we have a real #3 WR, three young developmental ones (Edelman, Price, Tate), two classic TE and one move TE who could easily be a Dallas Clark type.

I know, cut out the exuberance over all these new unproven guys; but these are actual, real talents unlike the likes of Aiken and Baker. Tate is the interesting guy, everyone with the Pats who is asked mentions how much they like him.

I'm expecting to see Hernandez a good amount Week 1 vs. the Bengals, btw, then for the offense to morph to two huge blocking TE Week 2; the best way to stop the Jets pass rush will be to put Crump and Gronk in there to gash the defense vs. the run and also provide extra OL when pass blocking.

 

[BelichickFan]

Don't you know? JETS won superbowl next year. Last year they won in the second game of the season against us. Now they won in May itself.

ESPN Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl
Woody: Gang is headed to Super Bowl

It is all done.

LOL at Rex

With them opening with Baltimore at home then the Pats on short rest (after a physical game vs. Balt) I fully expect the Jets to start out 0-2.

 

[BradyMossWelker]

I think you're being a little conservative.

- We had a big rookie class last year, they should be better this year as they aren't rookies any more.

- Although Gronk is a rookie, the combination of Crump and Gronk has to be better than the Watson/Baker pairing, especially blocking.

- Holt has to be an upgrade over Aiken. And in the unlikely event Holt is done, we have good options like Tate, Edelman (when Welker returns) and Price, one of which, again, has to be better than Aiken.

- Although you can't count on rookies we look like we have an exceptional class and with 4 of those picks in the first two rounds we just have more chances at a good contributor than most teams do.

The fly in the ointment, of course, is when and how well Welker returns.

Agree. I still don't believe when people in this board has the same quality than last year. Even without Welker(which will be back by, at least the middle of the year), this WR corps are so much better. I'm so anxious to see Tate, cause everybady in the Pats seems to love him. When Welker is back, he'll(Tate) be the number 3 reciever, putting Holt as the 4th reciever, now tell me how's that not a HUGE upgrade, even with Edelman as the slot reciever.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Here's the main thing to keep in mind.

Belichick and Brady and all the leaders on the team know they need to get back to being the tough underdogs who recognize that each player on the roster has a role to play and is committed to performing that role to his highest ability.

In doing so the sum of the whole is more than that of the parts.

Belichick is going out of his way to bring back the gritty attitude that's been lost in the last 2 years or so.

They know this is a winning formula - Torry Holt can attest to that for the guys in the locker room who don't remember.

 

[Patspsycho]

I think the biggest factor by far is that Brady is completely recovered from his injuries. It takes two years to fully bounce back from ACL surgery. The first one is physical and the second is mental. Everyone is bemoaning our lack of pass-rushing, or defensive aggressiveness, but we had a very uncharacteristic lapse in the one thing we have been known for doing in the BB era: holding on to a lead in the 2nd half.

I believe that that was the difference between 10-6 and 13-3.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

Y'all forget to mention Buddy Farnham. He will get playing time this year.

 

[BradyMossWelker]

I think the biggest factor by far is that Brady is completely recovered from his injuries. It takes two years to fully bounce back from ACL surgery. The first one is physical and the second is mental. Everyone is bemoaning our lack of pass-rushing, or defensive aggressiveness, but we had a very uncharacteristic lapse in the one thing we have been known for doing in the BB era: holding on to a lead in the 2nd half.

I believe that that was the difference between 10-6 and 13-3.

Thats a huge factor, that no one is counting, that and the growing up of our defense.

 

[jah]

I feel like Edelman showed a lot of potential last year. Is it possible that he will see a decent amount of playing time when Welker comes back? He might even end up being better than Tate. I'd start Edelman over Tate because he's actually shown SOMETHING, not that I don't believe in Tate or anything.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

You can't top the WR corp from 2007. Besides having loads of talent, they really came out and took everyone by surprise.

The way I look at this team is the same as last year without the bad apples. If you subtract the 4th quarter meltdowns from last year you will have the team this year.

If you take away the 4th quarter meltdowns we're a 14-2 team (13-3 if you count the first Bills game as a L, since that was a meltdown on their part). But I'd still take that. Question is will a no longer rusty Tom Brady, Torry Holt and the new TE's solve the offensive 2nd half woes and make that difference. I already think the defense will be improved even without significant new contributions. Each player has one more year under their belt and Mayo will hopefully be full strength, plus BB is taking the reigns.

 

[kkpat]

Y'all forget to mention Buddy Farnham. He will get playing time this year.

Ha Ha Ha... ROTFLMAO

You couldn't hold back on that. Could you?

 

[BostonPatriot]

If you take away the 4th quarter meltdowns we're a 14-2 team (13-3 if you count the first Bills game as a L, since that was a meltdown on their part). But I'd still take that. Question is will a no longer rusty Tom Brady, Torry Holt and the new TE's solve the offensive 2nd half woes and make that difference. I already think the defense will be improved even without significant new contributions. Each player has one more year under their belt and Mayo will hopefully be full strength, plus BB is taking the reigns.

I love this argument: "if you take away".

If you "take away" Manning's game ending int, he had a really good game in the sb! If you "take away" Mark Sanchez's int's during the regular season and focus on what he did in the playoffs, he had a really good year, too!!!

We were never a 14-2 team, and changing out the things you mentioned does not mean we will be a 14-2 team next year, because if we were trully a 14-2 team, you wouldnt have to "take away" the thing(s) that made us a 10-6 team.