I can see us being a legitimate Superbowl contender by 2011, with Brady hopefully still in his prime and our young players start entering their primes too.
Here are some of the players I can see becoming very good NFL players by 2011:
CB Darius Butler - One of the best athletes on the roster, showed lots of promise in his rookie campaign and if he develops he can use his athleticism to be a top flight corner for years.
SS Pat Chung - Great work ethic and attitude, with only 20% of playing time as a rookie but should start to see more playing time. If he develops then he can be the hard-hitting enforcer in our defensive backfield that makes receivers think twice before going over the middle.
OLB Jermaine Cunningham - Lead by example type, high-motor guy who will hopefully help our pass rush issues and also be solid against the run. It's tougher to try and project DE/OLB conversion types but the potential is there.
WR Julian Edelman - Showed lots of promise in his rookie year, especially since he was converting from QB into playing WR in the NFL. If he continues to progress then imagine trying to cover Edelman and Welker on the field at the same time. Hopefully, he can turn into a reliable receiver when he builds chemistry with Brady, and plays like Welker with better juking ability and with a 2nd-Gear as well.
TE Rob Gronkowski - Huge physical presence at 6'6" 265 lbs who is a 1st round talent with a back injury. If he stays healthy, he will hopefully be a strong blocker against blitz-heavy teams like the Jets, and also work the middle of the field, occasionally be a deep-threat and essentially be Brady's security blanket.
TE Aaron Hernandez - Athletic TE/WR/FB hybrid with good route-running, speed and catching ability. Hopefully, he will also help with the development of OC Bill O'Brien as he provides another weapon for O'Brien to work into the offensive creatively to exploit matchup problems.
ILB Jerod Mayo - We all know just how good Mayo is but hopefully being fully healthy and a few more years experience leading the defense will let him take the next step and become one of the league's top 2 ILBs (along with Patrick Willis). Should hopefully be able to make more plays with him using his instincts instead of thinking about co-ordinating the defense and making the calls.
CB Devin McCourty - Admittedly, I don't know too much about him but according to several scouting reports, can be a shutdown corner along with being one of the best special teams players in the NCAA last year.
ILB Tyrone McKenzie - Hopefully another piece in the ILB puzzle. Was a solid all round player at South Florida and has recently bulked up with several pounds of muscle. This should help him be a 'thumper' in the middle which should compliment Mayo and free him up to make some plays.
WR Taylor Price - A potential steal as his production in college was limited in college as a result of the system he played in and an under-developed QB. He has good speed, good hands and has shown he is fearless taking hits in the middle after the catch. Hopefully, with a full year under his belt and with Tom Brady throwing him the ball, he will become a big part of the offense by 2011.
DT Myron Pryor - Showed lots of promise as a rookie as a pass rusher. If he continues to develop he could be a real asset against the pass-heavy teams like Indinapolis and New Orleans. He should be a good penetrator in sub-packages to get some pressure on the elite QBs, which is essential in the modern NFL.
ILB Brandon Spikes - Nasty and intense player, in a good way. He is a big ILB who was the heart and soul of the Florida defense with his leadership and aggressiveness. Should be a big run stuffing LB that also shows some instincts in pass coverage and makes some plays in the passing game, while also helping bring the nastiness to our Defense.
WR Brandon Tate - 1st round talent who slipped to the 3rd round because of injury issues. He can beat defenders with his speed as shown at UNC and even in the Wembley game and can make people miss in the open field. It also doesn't hurt that he was one of the best returners in the NCAA before getting hurt. If he can keep healthy, I expect him to be one of Brady's favourite playmakers for years to come.
LT/RT Sebastian Vollmer - Was the star of the '09 draft class, filling in for the injured Matt Light and doing a wonderful job. He showed that he can be a star in this league when he was controlling Dwight Freeney in one-on-one situations. That is simply sensational, especially for a rookie. I fully expect him to be one of the top tackles in the league for years to come and be a regular Pro Bowler at 6'8".
Bottom Line
Now, I know that I might have went a "little" overboard with this post but the point that I am trying to make is that we have added so much talent in the last few years that there is a lot of potential for the start of a new dynasty, whether that be in 2011 or later.
This list of players just shows how much potential this team can reach with one of the greatest QBs of all time and the greatest coach of all time pulling the strings.
Also, this is just a brief list of the talent on our roster which doesn't include players like Rich Ohrnberger, Ted Larsen, Darryl Richard etc who can also surprise us by possibly developing into quality NFL starters.
Not to mention, that we have two 1st round picks in the 2011 draft (one potentially a top-10 pick) and also two 2nd round picks as well. This gives us another great opportunity to add another bunch of talent to our team, with us hopefully grabbing a stud day 1 starter with the Oakland pick.
Now, there is going to be some growing pains with the young players development but over the next few years we will be lucky enough as Pats fans to witness the re-birth of the dynasty that dominated the league for nearly a decade.
Again, sorry about the long post but IMO, this will be one of the elite teams in a couple of seasons that will be a Superbowl contender every year.
