Could this be the Pats most talented team ever?

[captain stone]

I agree with you supa. The problem I've had with Chung is his decision making and skill/speed execution. Unfortunately the two plays the define Chung right now are the Superbowl catch (which he should have been across quicker to help) and the Jets playoff audible. Both big plays, both negative outcomes for the Patriots. It's unfair to single him out, but until he shows an ability beyond mediocre, I won't be pumping his tires.

And don't forget the reg-season loss to the jints in Foxbro, which for all intents & purposes put them in the POs. In the 4th qtr, Chung practically lost the game all by himself.

The DBs, and the Safeties in particular, still scare the bejeebus outta me.
And the pass-rush is, until proven otherwise, all Ifs & Buts.

 

[BaltimorePatsFan]

 

[IllegalContact]

talk to me when they have a viable running game....until then, they're just another passing team

I think this could be the best pats team ever, but the offense needs to be more diverse than just calling the plays that brady needs to call (ie, passes over 20 yards when the opponent is clearly in his face consistently)

 

[Kid~Brady]

talk to me when they have a viable running game....until then, they're just another passing team

I think this could be the best pats team ever, but the offense needs to be more diverse than just calling the plays that brady needs to call (ie, passes over 20 yards when the opponent is clearly in his face consistently)

Although these points are true.... don't forget we have the easiest schedule in the league this year, thats all we really need.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Although these points are true.... don't forget we have the easiest schedule in the league this year, thats all we really need.

Easiest schedule based on what?.....the media uses this and is a wasted tool.

2011 good and bad teams stayed in 2011....no guarantees they remain that way.

Some 2011 teams that sucked will be much better while some 2011 teams that were good will not be as good.

That is why easiest schedule is simply B.S....teams Change rosters and raise or lower talent level year after year.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Most talented in one facet of the game - passing offense.

I'd easily take the 2003/2004 rosters, despite the 'team' concept the Patriots are known for we quickly forget just how many great players that defense had - Law, Seymour, Rodney, Vrabel, McGinnest, TJ, Bruschi, Warren, Asante (he wasn't quite the CB he was in his prime yet but the 2004 Asante still probably would've been the #1 CB on this team last year). Wouldn't suprise me if we never field a defense like that ever again.

 

[Rusty Coupe]

Decided to double down on this, Tomase is that you?

 

[patsinthesnow]

The 2010 Patriots were the 9th best offense in NFL history. The 2011 Patriots were the T-10th best offense in NFL history. (PPG) Add another year of experience for Hernandez, additions of Lloyd and Gaffney, Fells/Ballard as insurance, another deep O-line, replacing O'Brien with Mcdaniels, and we'll see what we have.

Throw in the fact in 2012 the pats avoid playing: Packers, Saints, Patriots (duh), Lions, Panthers, Chargers, Falcons, Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Raiders, and Steelers.
That is all the top 9 offenses in PPG and top 12 offenses in YPG. The toughest offenses we face are the Texans, Ravens, 49ers, Broncos, and Jets.

I just feel we are going run crazy scores on teams and regardless of how the defense plays, these teams won't be able to keep up.

As to the question could it be the most talented patriots team ever, it all depends on the defense. If it plays like last year, then hell no.

 

[Kontradiction]

And don't forget the reg-season loss to the jints in Foxbro, which for all intents & purposes put them in the POs. In the 4th qtr, Chung practically lost the game all by himself.

The DBs, and the Safeties in particular, still scare the bejeebus outta me.
And the pass-rush is, until proven otherwise, all Ifs & Buts.

It was yet another instance of poor decision making displayed by Chung. He wasn't in position for the INT and should have simply laid Ballard out to force the incomplete. He takes fundementally bad angles on tackles and isn't particularly strong in coverage. The best asset he brings is the occasional highlight reel hit. If the money isn't right, I wouldn't lose sleep if we don't bring him back next year. Extremely overrated by many in the media and this forum.

 

[BradyFTW!]

It was yet another instance of poor decision making displayed by Chung. He wasn't in position for the INT and should have simply laid Ballard out to force the incomplete. He takes fundementally bad angles on tackles and isn't particularly strong in coverage. The best asset he brings is the occasional highlight reel hit. If the money isn't right, I wouldn't lose sleep if we don't bring him back next year. Extremely overrated by many in the media and this forum.

100% this. I have no idea how so many people on this forum don't see it. The best compliment that I can give him is that he's probably a better-than-average starting safety leaguewide. I can't rank him higher than that because he's a DB who can't cover very well in a passing-dominated league. Ten years ago, I probably would have felt a lot differently about him.

If he makes anything in the neighborhood of what Michael Griffin got, I'm going to be confused and disappointed. And if he suddenly displays the ability to be a plus in coverage, I reserve the right to pull a 180 on this opinion... but that seems unlikely.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Most talented in one facet of the game - passing offense.

I'd easily take the 2003/2004 rosters, despite the 'team' concept the Patriots are known for we quickly forget just how many great players that defense had - Law, Seymour, Rodney, Vrabel, McGinnest, TJ, Bruschi, Warren, Asante (he wasn't quite the CB he was in his prime yet but the 2004 Asante still probably would've been the #1 CB on this team last year). Wouldn't suprise me if we never field a defense like that ever again.

Yeah, I'd probably take the 2004 or 2007 teams over this one, at least at the moment. Patriots should have won SB 42 anyways, but if any of Brady, Colvin, or Neal had been healthy, they would have taken it comfortably.

 

[Kontradiction]

100% this. I have no idea how so many people on this forum don't see it. The best compliment that I can give him is that he's probably a better-than-average starting safety leaguewide. I can't rank him higher than that because he's a DB who can't cover very well in a passing-dominated league. Ten years ago, I probably would have felt a lot differently about him.

If he makes anything in the neighborhood of what Michael Griffin got, I'm going to be confused and disappointed. And if he suddenly displays the ability to be a plus in coverage, I reserve the right to pull a 180 on this opinion... but that seems unlikely.

He's good in the box against the run but suspect in coverage. If he gets in the neighborhood of what Michael Griffin make immediately and it takes Welker until next season to get a contract, BB should immediately have his head examined.

 

[voluntarysaftey]

I felt better about the 04 and 07 teams heading into the season.
Felt really good about last year's team as well, but many defensive players either didn't progress as expected or regressed. Hopefully this year the defensive players do progress.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I felt better about the 04 and 07 teams heading into the season.
Felt really good about last year's team as well, but many defensive players either didn't progress as expected or regressed. Hopefully this year the defensive players do progress.

I think the defense will be a surpise to some this year in their improvement over the last two years, the offense should be great without question. I dont expect a 2007 type season (nor do I want one) but I think a sold 13-14 win team and if healthy and playing at their best at the end of the season could be a great ending this year.

 

[brdmaverick]

The most confident I felt heading into a season was the 2008 season. How could you not be confident? Sure they lost the Super Bowl but all the key pieces were returning from their 18-1 record breaking season AND they had one of the easiest schedules to boot.

We all know what happened next.

 

[brdmaverick]

I think as fans we always get caught up in the here-and-now and overhype the current team. It's a natural thing to do. After all, even if last year's team did win the Super Bowl, I still wouldn't have ranked them above the '03 or '04 teams.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Offensively this team has the potential to be even more talented and explosive than the 07 team. And that is a scary thought. Remember that McDaniels engineered the 2007 offense? Well he's baaack! Let's see what he does with all his shiny new toys on offense!

The 2011 offense was already excellent, scoring 30+ppg each week. Now add Brandon LLoyd, Gaffney, and Stallworth to the mix. Now we've added vertical passing game. On the ground, we've ditched '3 yards and a cloud of dust' BJGE and have what looks like an upcoming stud in Ridley. If Vereen contributes, that is just gravy on an already delicious looking dinner.

At tight end the Pats have historic tight end in Rob Gronkowski and versatile matchup nightmare Aaron Hernandez. Fells adds nice depth, and Ballard adds long term depth. At offensive line we have pretty much everyone coming back, except Solder replaces Light. Solder is bigger, longer, and more athletic than Light. He should be able to better handle athletic, fast speed rushers.

On defense, the Pats have added key free agents who just might work out in Trevor Scott, Fanene, and Gregory. On top of that they added two first round picks in Hightower and Jones who offer additional versatility and passrush ability to the linebacker corps. There is work to be done here integrating the new parts but I see a big talent upgrade for the defense. Patricia takes over DC duties here. I think BB is giving him the keys because he feels his defense is ready to be taken over. I have a good feeling about that.

Overall, talking purely in terms of talent on paper, offensively this could be the best Pats team ever. Defensively, they have a lot to prove, but doubling down on 1st round linebackers to me shows a big step forward in defensive talent, assuming that they work out. Of course this is ON PAPER but the 2012 Patriots squad definitely looks like Superbowl contenders, perhaps even Superbowl Favorites, based on the fact they lost nearly nobody of note and upgraded several positions both through the draft and free agency.

 

[signbabybrady]

The most confident I felt heading into a season was the 2008 season. How could you not be confident? Sure they lost the Super Bowl but all the key pieces were returning from their 18-1 record breaking season AND they had one of the easiest schedules to boot.

We all know what happened next.

The most confident I felt going into a season was 04. Coming of our second win and adding Corey to the team I felt for the first time like saying 19-0 wasnt just being a nutso homeboy fan.

I felt extremely confident in 07 and also predicted 19-0 but I think the confidence was slightly less not much but slightly I thnk two things contributed here our D had shown signs of aging the past few seasons and as it turned out this was the last hurrah for several of them but I think the bigger factor was Moss' injury in TC. While with hindsight it is foolish to think that made us nervous but at the time none of us new the chemistry that was there between Moss and Brady.

With Hindsight knowing how 07 went it has hard to say that I think this year will be better but taking hindsight out of it I may actually be more confident in my preseason thoughts of this year vs 07. I doubt it ends up as statistically magical but I think this team could be close to that level of play. I dont think it is crazy to think this team is better than last years and there is only a few games more that can be won.

 

[TruthSeeker]

The most confident I felt heading into a season was the 2008 season. How could you not be confident? Sure they lost the Super Bowl but all the key pieces were returning from their 18-1 record breaking season AND they had one of the easiest schedules to boot.

We all know what happened next.

I expect you're referring to the 1-15 Dolphins overtaking the 16-0 Patriots.

 

[mgteich]

Perhaps this offense could be as good as 2007, perhaps not. It certainly is one of the top 4 in the nfl.

With regard to the defense, I think that we are kidding ourselves somewhat. Other than Wilfork and Mayo, we have all question marks.

The 2012 team figures to be better than the 2011 version, because some of the defensive question marks are likely to be improvements over 2011 when the defense did well enough to have in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, we did not have a long-ball threat or Gronkowski. We ended up depending on a key pass play which was not executed well.

BOTTOM LINE
We are AFC favorites, especially with our weak schedule. IMHO, we are far from the most talented patriot team ever. We are 2-3 defensive stars away from that possibility.

Recall that in 2007 we had the #4 defense in the nfl. Going into TC, this team may not be as good as 1976, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 or 2008.

Offensively this team has the potential to be even more talented and explosive than the 07 team. And that is a scary thought. Remember that McDaniels engineered the 2007 offense? Well he's baaack! Let's see what he does with all his shiny new toys on offense!

The 2011 offense was already excellent, scoring 30+ppg each week. Now add Brandon LLoyd, Gaffney, and Stallworth to the mix. Now we've added vertical passing game. On the ground, we've ditched '3 yards and a cloud of dust' BJGE and have what looks like an upcoming stud in Ridley. If Vereen contributes, that is just gravy on an already delicious looking dinner.

At tight end the Pats have historic tight end in Rob Gronkowski and versatile matchup nightmare Aaron Hernandez. Fells adds nice depth, and Ballard adds long term depth. At offensive line we have pretty much everyone coming back, except Solder replaces Light. Solder is bigger, longer, and more athletic than Light. He should be able to better handle athletic, fast speed rushers.

On defense, the Pats have added key free agents who just might work out in Trevor Scott, Fanene, and Gregory. On top of that they added two first round picks in Hightower and Jones who offer additional versatility and passrush ability to the linebacker corps. There is work to be done here integrating the new parts but I see a big talent upgrade for the defense. Patricia takes over DC duties here. I think BB is giving him the keys because he feels his defense is ready to be taken over. I have a good feeling about that.

Overall, talking purely in terms of talent on paper, offensively this could be the best Pats team ever. Defensively, they have a lot to prove, but doubling down on 1st round linebackers to me shows a big step forward in defensive talent, assuming that they work out. Of course this is ON PAPER but the 2012 Patriots squad definitely looks like Superbowl contenders, perhaps even Superbowl Favorites, based on the fact they lost nearly nobody of note and upgraded several positions both through the draft and free agency.