Bills and Jets will battle for AFC east title next season

[Orton's Arm]

Pats and Jets will BOTH most likely have worse records next year. Which will most likely mean Bills have a better record.

 

Here's why:

 

PATS

 

Many holes to fill here and I don't think they can do it all in one season.

 

MLB: Teddy Bruschi is all but retired and if he doesn't Bill & Kraft won't waste any time retiring him. No more "Invisble Man" impersonations from this guy;

 

RB: Dillon is about a year away from being put out to pasture too. As for Maroney he has not proven he's #1 material: he had 13 yards on 8 carries against Chargers and 5 yards on 5 Carries against Colts, when he's needed most.

 

WR: their decisions not to keep top WRs have finally come back to haunt them. Does anyone really think Branch wouldn't have been the difference maker in Indy after seeing Caldwell "Deer in Headlight" eyes drop pass after pass?

 

SS: Harrison is old and often injured and he was a huge key to Pats 2nd and 3rd Super Bowl wins. He's their Bob Sanders that makes the whole defense click.

 

Those are 4 high profile hard to fill positions. I don't care how much under the cap or how many 1st rounders a team has, getting the "right guy" for all those slots in the same year is extremely challenging. And that also assumes they resign super high priced Asante Samuel in the secondary ... a huge "if" for a team that doesn't like to overpay free agents from a player that called their initial offer "insulting."

That was a good post, but I don't agree with your conclusion.

 

- Bruschi: not what he once was.

- Dillon/Maroney: Maroney's averaged 4.3 YPC in 2006, as opposed to Dillon's 4.1. The Patriots have their starting RB, but would need to sign a change of pace back if Dillon retires.

- WR: I agree the Patriots need to address that position.

- SS: Again, another need.

 

Assuming the Patriots did nothing with their draft picks, which positions would be a much bigger problem next year than they were this year? Very few. Most of the needs you identified for the 2007 Patriots team existed for the 2006 team as well. All the Patriots have to do is to successfully fill some of those needs to improve on their 2006 performance. Bear in mind that a) they almost made it to the Super Bowl in 2006, and b) they have an extra first round pick because of Branch.

 

I fully expect the 2007 Patriots to credibly compete with the best teams in the league for a Super Bowl title.

[Hollywood Donahoe]

Um, you did realize that Rashad Baker was SIXTH on the depth chart at safety and basically played the entire AFC Championship game?

You are correct, the Patriots have been probably the most injured team in the league since the start of the 2003 season. Anyone who thinks injuries will be their downfall hasn't been watching football the past four years. The Pats getting hurt more by injury in the future is a virtual impossibility.

[truth on hold]

That was a good post, but I don't agree with your conclusion.

 

- Bruschi: not what he once was.

- Dillon/Maroney: Maroney's averaged 4.3 YPC in 2006, as opposed to Dillon's 4.1. The Patriots have their starting RB, but would need to sign a change of pace back if Dillon retires.

- WR: I agree the Patriots need to address that position.

- SS: Again, another need.

 

Assuming the Patriots did nothing with their draft picks, which positions would be a much bigger problem next year than they were this year? Very few. Most of the needs you identified for the 2007 Patriots team existed for the 2006 team as well. All the Patriots have to do is to successfully fill some of those needs to improve on their 2006 performance. Bear in mind that a) they almost made it to the Super Bowl in 2006, and b) they have an extra first round pick because of Branch.

 

I fully expect the 2007 Patriots to credibly compete with the best teams in the league for a Super Bowl title.

thats a good response and your point that "most of the needs you identified for the 2007 Patriots team existed for the 2006 team" is worthy of direct reply:

 

- seau was brought in to make up for bruschi's obvious drop off in play. seau actually outplayed bruschi and when he went down bruschi was really exposed and the pats run defense suffered .... e.g. where was bruschi on the addia game winning TD run? seau will be 39 next year and im sorry but 40 year old LBs are not to be counted on;

- maroney's performance declined throughout the season as defenses keyed on him when he lined up in the backfield, culimating in his abysmal 8 for 13 & 5 for 5 performances at san diego and indianapolis. there are huge questions hanging over his head as #1 back. personally he doesn't scare me;

- WR is the one area on the list they can actually be better next season cuz one guy could make the difference and might not be impossible to find;

- SS: harrison played a lot last season, to his credit after total knee reconstruction and subsequent broken shoulder blade. that second knee injury and his age, i just dont see how he can possibly be the same player next season that he was 2 years ago. SS is a difficult position to fill too.

 

and of course they could still easily lose asante to free agency.

 

so from 4 obvious needs identified i only see 1 instance - WR - that persisted all of last season. and there could easily be another major hole to fill if asante leaves for greener pastures.