Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

Just a thought, if you look at the depth at almost every position the Pats have a lot of talent on their team. Even at QB.

On offense, Brady probably has the most options he has ever had in his career. The Additions of Lloyd and Gafney give Brady 2 more weapons who are familiar with the system. Ridley/Vereen are going to break out this year, Im excited about Vereens quickness and his ability to catch the football Not to mention Gronk, Hernandez, Welker, and Branch. Also don't forget Jake Ballard who if can come back this season is a very good option at TE as well.

I'm excited to see how Nate Solder responses to being Bradys blindside protector. I think he will be an excellant left tackle for years to come I love his size and his technique. Seabass needs to stay healthy, him and Solder would make a top 5 OT tackle tandem in the league if he stays healthy. And Marcus Cannon is a very big offensive lineman but talented. I really like his future here.

Mankins is tough as nails and I fully expect him to back for the entire season, but I like the depth of signing Robert Gallery (who could probably even play a little bit of tackle) Re-signing Koppen means Connolly could possibly be relegaded to his old role of multi-roled offensive lineman lining up at FB and TE and still fill in on the offensive line.


On defense is where I'm really excited. Ever since 2005 we all knew the Pats had to rebuild the defense, well it took 7 years but we finally may be on to something special. The Depth in the front 7 is the deepest its been since the Dynasty days, first round picks Chandler Jones, and Dont'a Hightower add tremendous versatility and athleticism to the defense. Even as rookies they will be big contributors. Chandler Jones has me excited he has great length and athletic ability, we may have just gotten that pass rusher we have been striving to have all these past years. I cant wait to see him on the field.

I love the FA additions of Jonathan Fanene and Trevor Scott. I always liked Scott while he played at UB and has a high motor, he will fill the void left by Mark Anderson. I think Fanene could take Kyle Loves spot in the rotation. He was mis-used in Cincy and could thrive here next to Wilfork.

Linebacker is where our defense is special. Jerod Mayo is on his way to being one of the best in the game, Brandon Spikes in his 3rd year I feel has taken a leadership role in himself. Rob Ninkovich can play stand up linebacker, he can rush the passer, he can put his hand down. Hightower will be used like Belichick wanted to use Adalius Thomas. He has the ability and size to play just about any position in the front 7 that you cant him too.

Our secondary is still probably our weakest but the potential is there. If McCourty can bounce back and have a year like his rookie year our defense can really have a bounce back year. Patrick Chung continues to grow every season as a leader in the secondary. Sterling Moore can play both corner and saftey. Ras-I Dowling showed flashes against Miami last year but went right on IR after that. He has to stay healthy.


With that being said I'm looking forward to this upcoming season and seeing how the team bounces back after the Superbowl Loss. I think they will come out motivated and ready to go and its really hard seeing them not win the division and possibly the AFC and be right back in the Superbowl next Feb. Cheers

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

Slow down there chief. We don't even know what the defense is going to look like yet. On paper this could be the best offense they have ever had, but the Pats have some question marks on the o-line and at RB.

Talk to me in October when we see the pieces together.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

This offseason seems longer than most. :bricks:

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

On Paper I would still give the nod to the 04 and 07 teams. Especially if we start with the preseason rosters of each (prior to any injuries they dealt with in season). I think 03 might be close and I would say on paper this is better then 01 (but as 01 proved on paper means shyte).

I give 04 the nod because of Corey and a vastly better D.
I know I said preseason roster so I shouldnt use hindsight but I had to in giving the nod to 07 as on paper I could reason this the better team but what I saw in 07 is impossible to ignore.

In the end I think there is enough talent on this team for it to potentially be the best ever but there has been to much greatness the past decade plus to go there yet.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

I know this is just in response to the OPs comment but compared to last year I actually feel like this has been a quick offseason. Last year truly was the longest offseason. the offseason started sooner :mad: and lasted slightly longer due to the strike and all with the fear of losing games.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

I'll bite, whether its a silly exercise at this point or not.

I would reframe it and say that my expectations going into this season are the highest they have been going into a Patriots season for a long time.

2004, repeat always seemed possible, adding Dillon just made this team lethal.

2007, we knew they were stacked, but who knew Moss would be that good?

2008, they were pretty high, and that got derailed a quarter in obviously.

I would say my expectations are similar to 2004. For all intents and purposes, the outcome of our season was pretty much the same (replace Welker-Brady misfire with a completion and the Kasay kick out of bounds and you might even flip the results) - and our offseason this year rivaled that one. No addition is as big as Dillon, but we were very proactive, productive and efficient this offseason.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

Last offseason, losing to the Jets left a sour taste in our mouths. But we were able to move on quickly to 2011 - the loss wasn't even worth playing the what-if game about.

This offseason, I don't think I've personally mentally progressed much past February 6th, 2012. I'm ready for training camp more than ever.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

2004 might be the most complete team in Patriots history. Aren't you setting the bar pretty high? The Pats had a top defense and a top offense that year with very little or no real holes.

I see a more likely scenario (assuming the Pats are the quality of a team that went to the Super Bowl in the past) being closer to 2003 or 2007 with the Pats being dominant on one side of the ball and good on the other. On paper the offense is stacked and the defense should be improved. I don't see this team being balanced on both sides of the ball though. This will should be a top 1-2 offense and a top 10 defense if everything hits right including McCourty rebounding, Dowling staying healthy, at least one of the rookies making a near immediate impact, Solder making the seamless intergration to LT, etc.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

This coming off of what some were claiming was the worst defense ever in the history of the NFL. OK, it wasn't even the worst in the NFL last year by official standards (thank you, Green Bay) and no where near the worst by other more important standards, but the pass defense consistently stunk (eyeball test) and it will take more than starry-eyed projections for me to jump on this bandwagon.

There's plenty of reason for optimism, but also more than enough reason for a "show me" mentality. Counting on rookies (perhaps other than at running back) is a doubtful proposition at best. Which McCourty will show up? Certainly he was the biggest disappointment I saw from last year. I'm not convinced at all that our OL is better than last year (which was certainly good enough) as we have less options at tackle should someone go down with an injury. Pass rush remains the ever present question mark. Will 2012 be the year when the Patriots get into the top 10 or even the top 5 in this important category? Perhaps, but the odds remain against them.

That being said, there continues to remain the possibility of a record setting offense ala 2007. The weapons are there, the coaching is there and the QB is there.

Re: Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?
 

Too many questions on defense.