Bostonian1962
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2004
- Messages
- 3,096
- Reaction score
- 34
In recent years, we heard how the Patriots had become old and slow. Well, going into this season they were the 11th youngest team in the NFL. See here:
Cowboys, Texans moving in opposite directions age wise | NFL News | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
Now looking at what has been done to the roster since then, the team replaced Moss with Branch, and gained 2 1/2 years of youth. They lost their oldest player Faulk and replaced him with Woodhead, 9 years his junior. Old man Neal is on IR and Connelly is playing right guard, and is 6 years Neal's junior.
There are others, and true enough they got older at the kicking spot due to injury, but I think it's safe to say that the team is now in the Top 10 of youngest NFL teams. Being old and slow is a thing of the past.
Though there is now some quality youth, you can't even say inexperienced, because some of the key youngsters have played all year, and have been key to this team with the best record in the NFL. Guys like Gronk, Hernandez, Woodhead, LawFirm, Spikes, Cunningham, Mesko, and others are now tested, and we have youth, but experience to some degree too. This "difficult" schedule that these players played, mostly in games WON, should bode well for the playoffs, and for many years to come.
Should the team win the Super Bowl, they will likely add two 1sts, 2nd, and 3rd round picks to the team. The Patriots could very well be the youngest team in the NFL, AND defending Super Bowl Champions. If that doesn't speak to the brilliance of BB, nothing does.
Thoughts? Comments? Polite retorts?
Cowboys, Texans moving in opposite directions age wise | NFL News | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News
Now looking at what has been done to the roster since then, the team replaced Moss with Branch, and gained 2 1/2 years of youth. They lost their oldest player Faulk and replaced him with Woodhead, 9 years his junior. Old man Neal is on IR and Connelly is playing right guard, and is 6 years Neal's junior.
There are others, and true enough they got older at the kicking spot due to injury, but I think it's safe to say that the team is now in the Top 10 of youngest NFL teams. Being old and slow is a thing of the past.
Though there is now some quality youth, you can't even say inexperienced, because some of the key youngsters have played all year, and have been key to this team with the best record in the NFL. Guys like Gronk, Hernandez, Woodhead, LawFirm, Spikes, Cunningham, Mesko, and others are now tested, and we have youth, but experience to some degree too. This "difficult" schedule that these players played, mostly in games WON, should bode well for the playoffs, and for many years to come.
Should the team win the Super Bowl, they will likely add two 1sts, 2nd, and 3rd round picks to the team. The Patriots could very well be the youngest team in the NFL, AND defending Super Bowl Champions. If that doesn't speak to the brilliance of BB, nothing does.
Thoughts? Comments? Polite retorts?