2011 New England Patriots Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
While the New England Patriots failed to get back to the Super Bowl, they proved they are still one of the elite teams in the AFC after finishing 2010 14-2. New England would lose to the New York Jets at home 21-28 in the playoffs, but were much better than anyone expected coming into the season. The Patriots had a number young players make a big impact last season, and this year they have added two big name free agents to put them over the hump in wide out Chad Ochocinco and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
Offense:
Tom Brady turned in one of his best seasons ever in 2010, despite the team deciding to part ways with wide out Randy Moss halfway through the season. Brady went back to spreading the ball around to a number of different receivers, and finished the year with an outstanding 36 touchdowns to just four interceptions. While the 34-year-old has to regress at some point, all signs point to another outstanding year in 2011.
The addition of Ochocinco figures to make the Patriots passing attack one of the best in the game this year, but the veteran has to learn to do things the Patriots way or he won’t last long in New England. While Ochocinco will garner a lot of the attention, Brady favorite target will be Wes Welker, who caught a team-high 86 passes for 848 yards. Brady also welcomes back wide outs Deion Branch and Brandon Tate, along with second-year tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.
The Patriots rushing attack featured a couple of unknown players in BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead. Green-Ellis pounded a team-high 1,008 yards with 13 touchdowns, while Woodhead rushed for 547 yards and caught 34 passes for 379. New England decided to add even more depth by drafting Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, who both figure to get a chance to contribute in 2011.
It looked as thought he Patriots might lose star left tackle Matt Light to free agency, but they were able to re-sign the veteran and keep the offensive line intact. They have an emerging young player at right tackle in Sebastian Vollmer and one of the top guards in the NFL in Logan Makins. They drafted Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder in the first round, but he will likely be a backup unless Light or Vollmer go out with an injury.
Defense:
After years of running a 3-4 defensive scheme, the rumor is the Patriots plan on running a lot of 4-3 this season. If that is the case, New England will have one of the best defensive tackle duos in the league with Vince Wilfork and Haynesworth. They also added in veteran Shaun Ellis. The key for the Patriots will be finding a couple of defensive ends to put pressure on the quarterback, something they didn’t have a whole lot of success with in 2010.
If the Patriots do switch to a 4-3 this season, it will be interesting to see what they do at linebacker. Outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain has departed, leaving Rob Ninkovich as the only true outside linebacker with starting experience. There’s a chance New England could move Jerod Mayo to the other outside spot and leave second-year linebacker Brandon Spikes in the middle. If they decide to keep Mayo in the middle, someone like Jermaine Cunningham, Dane Fletcher, or Gary Guyton could take over on the outside.
In the secondary, the Patriots appear to have struck gold with corner Devin McCourty, who intercepted seven passes as a rookie. They also have a couple of talented safeties in Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung. The other starting corner spot figures to belong to veteran Leigh Bodden, but rookie Ras-I Dowling could emerge into a starter by the end of the season.
Prediction: 1st AFC East, 14-2 Overall – New England knows the window is closing with Tom Brady at quarterback, and the moves they made this offseason show that this team is going to do whatever it can to win the Super Bowl this season. The offense will be one of the best in the league, while the defense figures to only get better. The Jets will give the Patriots all they can handle in the East, but if New England can stay healthy they should walk into the postseason with the AFC’s best record.
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