Pats 2010 Predictions

[ChileMass]

How do you think the Pats will do this year? I have them winning either 10 or 11 games. I'll be optimistic and say they win 11. They go 4-2 in the division (lose 1 each to Jets and Miami), and also go 4-2 among the Balt/Minn/SD/Colts/Pitt/GB games, and manage to lose one other game they shouldn't somewhere along the line. Tough schedule, but in Bill we trust. And - assuming Brady's little car crash today won't be a factor in the Cincy game Sunday.

Pats win the AFC East, play SD in the playoffs and win again (natch), then beat Baltimore at home for AFC title and beat GB in 1997 Super Bowl rematch. Hey - I can dream, right?

 

[drjeff]

My gut instinct says 11-5 this year. If Brady has a good year, and his receiving corp stays healthy they're going to put a ton of points on the board as he's got more options than pretty much any team in the NFL, and just like a few seasons ago, most of their "running" game may very well be either the quick screen/dump pass to Maroney/Faulk/Morris, or even the quick inside pass to Welker. Their 2 new tight ends, Hernandez and Gronokowski(gotta learn to spell that one) look like they're both players and could very well give Brady more options at that position than he ever had. That offense, if it stays healthy has the ability to score enough points that the defense *should* be able to allow 21, 24 or maybe even 28 a gain and the team still can win the game.

On paper atleast they've got a tough schedule, but as we football fans know all too well, a team that looks on paper to be a tough opponent at the start of the season may be a non issue once the season begins, and vise versa. That's why they play the game, and that's why I love the NFL, because IMHO there's far more evenness between the "best" and the "worst" team than in any other major sports league

 

[mondeo]

And - assuming Brady's little car crash today won't be a factor in the Cincy game Sunday.

Why was he leaving his house at 6:15AM?

We all know how this one ends. Rumors start swirling. Brady holds a press conference. Retires to focus on his "family" for the next 6 months. Everybody's distracted. Divorce ensues. When he returns next year, he's nowhere near form. Bellicheck gets fired.

(I kid, I kid.)

 

[drjeff]

Why was he leaving his house at 6:15AM?

We all know how this one ends. Rumors start swirling. Brady holds a press conference. Retires to focus on his "family" for the next 6 months. Everybody's distracted. Divorce ensues. When he returns next year, he's nowhere near form. Bellicheck gets fired.

(I kid, I kid.)

As I regular listener to WEEI, I can tell you that his regular on air segment usually occurs around 6:30AM as he's in his car driving down from Boston to Foxboro for practice/workouts.

My guess is that somehow a Jet fan was involved :lol: :smash:

 

[deadheadskier]

As long as Tom Brady starts 16 games and Moss and Welker are mostly healthy, they'll win 10-11 games at minimum.

Yes, the defense is suspect. The Colts have had some equally terrible defenses and put up on 12-13 win seasons based on a prolific offense. The Pats offense will be as good or better than last season with the improved TE corp.

 

[2knees]

My prediction....









































PAIN!

 

[Beetlenut]

My guess is that somehow a Jet fan was involved :lol: :smash:

I heard Revis was driving the other car!

 

[Geoff]

I'll wager the Patriots defense turns out to be much better than the pundits are saying. This is sort of like the pundits saying the Red Sox were going to have amazing pitching but would have trouble scoring runs. Turns out they scored their usual number of runs and the pitching was lousy.

 

[ChileMass]

....Gronokowski (gotta learn to spell that one)....

Doc - Gronkowski looks like a monster. 6-6, 280, he can run and block and catch. That hop/skip/jump TD 2 weeks ago was an instant classic. Fingers crossed - he's the next Mark Bavaro....

 

[wa-loaf]

Looking good today ...

 

[drjeff]

Looking good today ...

Very solid effort! Brady looked as crisp today as he has since maybe the 2007 season, and even though they still have some gelling together to do as a unit, it was GREAT to see a Pats defense that was able to run up/down/side to side and keep up with the other team!

Plus, it got pretty loud in Gillette when Welker caught his 1st TD of the game - 1 heck of a rehab/comeback for him!

BIG game next week - My guess is that based on his "what the media is going to try and make a big deal out of, but after listening to it, didn't seem like all that much of a big deal" post game comments that Moss will have a BIG game next week, and show Revis a thing or two

 

[ChileMass]

Had to bring this thread back after the Pats latest win. I had them penciled in for 11 wins and they're already there, which is hard to believe given where this team started. Toughest schedule in the league, youngest untested defense in the league, Mankins holding out, Moss being a prima donna and then traded, Welker coming back from major knee surgery. And they look as good now as they ever did in 2007. This is Belichek's best coaching season.

Pittsburgh or Baltimore could give them a little trouble in the playoffs, and I don't know enough about Atlanta to say how the Pats would do head to head with them, but basically anything less than a strong playoffs and Super Bowl will be disappointing.

It's great to be a Boston sports fan right now....

 

[2knees]

Had to bring this thread back after the Pats latest win. I had them penciled in for 11 wins and they're already there, which is hard to believe given where this team started. Toughest schedule in the league, youngest untested defense in the league, Mankins holding out, Moss being a prima donna and then traded, Welker coming back from major knee surgery. And they look as good now as they ever did in 2007. This is Belichek's best coaching season.

Pittsburgh or Baltimore could give them a little trouble in the playoffs, and I don't know enough about Atlanta to say how the Pats would do head to head with them, but basically anything less than a strong playoffs and Super Bowl will be disappointing.

It's great to be a Boston sports fan right now....

the guys on weei were handing them the lombardi trophy this morning. they were literally saying there is no way the pats won't win the superbowl. I know they're homers and all but there is still a ton of football left between now and the superbowl. upsets happen all the time and things change so quickly.

that being said, it's hard, right now this morning, to envision anybody beating that team.

 

[deadheadskier]

short memory in New England. 2007 isn't that long ago.

The Giants game plan is the same as I'd employ against this New England team. Get very physical with the wideouts at the line of scrimage, have a strong enough defensive line to generate a pass rush with 4 guys and then solid coverage by the linebackers in the flats.

New England does have more weapons this year though, especially the tight ends and a great route runner in Dion.

 

[smitty77]

short memory in New England. 2007 isn't that long ago.

The Giants game plan is the same as I'd employ against this New England team. Get very physical with the wideouts at the line of scrimage, have a strong enough defensive line to generate a pass rush with 4 guys and then solid coverage by the linebackers in the flats.

New England does have more weapons this year though, especially the tight ends and a great route runner in Dion.

That one still stings, but...

In the last drive of that game the Pats had the ball with, what, 1:24 on the clock? IIRC, they got to somewhere around their own 40 and threw 4 bombs into the end zone and Randy couldn't come up with one. Play that drive again with THIS offense (which is very similar to the underneath 5-8 yard throws as we saw in 2001, 2003, and 2004) and the Patriots win that Superbowl. The difference is the tight ends - they can block AND catch the ball. Watching Gronkowski catch that TD Sunday after being locked up with Urlacher spoke volumes. Brady doesn't NEED to look into the deep corners of the end zone anymore. This team has lots of threats between the hash marks.

 

[Geoff]

At the beginning of the season, I thought the Jets were likely to win the division with a strong defense and really good running game. Ty Warren went down for the year. Leigh Bodden went down for the year. I figured they'd get eaten alive with no defensive ends and a lousy secondary but score enough points to make the playoffs.

As it turns out, the Chargers knew what they were doing with Tomlinson and the Jets o-line wasn't dominant this year. Billachick has done a great job coaching up the kids on defense. The Pats o-line with Mankins back is opening holes for running backs nobody has ever heard of.