2009 NFL Season Preview: New England Patriots

If Tom Brady's past performance is any indicator, indeed it will. Last September during the 2008 season opener, Brady suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Without him, the Patriots went 11-5 for a second-place finish in the AFC East division, missing out on the post-season for the first time since 2002. Contrast this to 2007 when Tom Brady led the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 in the regular season, a season marred only by the 3-point loss to the NY Giants in Superbowl XLII.

If the Patriots had what it took for a near-perfect season in 2007, does the team have what it needs to repeat the feat in 2009?

Patriot's receiver, Randy Moss seems to think so. In May, Moss told ESPN.com's Tim Graham: "The sky's the limit for this offense. I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago. I'm very excited for us as an offense. I'm excited for us as a team."

Mike Reiss, football writer for the Boston Globe, agrees. In an interview with NFL Total Access, Reiss points out that for both Moss and fellow star receiver Wes Welker, the 2007 season was their "first year in a pretty complicated offensive system. And now they're in year three and you get Tom Brady back at quarterback...and this tells me, yes, this could be a more explosive offensive attack."

What, if anything, can stop the Patriots this year?

Stop Brady and you stop the Pats. The Patriots appear to have the ingredients they need for a great team this year. The key will be keeping everyone healthy. This goes especially for Brady.

Reiss suggests we go back to Brady's last full game, Superbowl LXII against the Giants, to see a key weakness in the Pats' game. Says Reiss, "When they lost to the Giants, they [the Pats] got overwhelmed a bit at the line of scrimmage. Can the offensive line hold up when they go to the spread attack? Can they protect so this offense can be the prolific attack it projects to be?"

As broadcaster and former Patriot Steve DeOssie explains it in Tim Graham's AFC East Blog, "Defenses like to smell blood. If they think that there's a little weakness there, they're going to be coming after Brady."

In his blog, Graham cites ESPN stats showing Brady tied for first place among NFL quarterbacks taking hits during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, with a combined 86 hits by pass-rushers. And last year's team didn't do any better at protecting replacement quarterback, Matt Cassel, who got sacked 47 times, more than any other quarterback last season.

All the dreams of a renewed Patriots dynasty are teetering on one reconstructed knee. Pats fans are hoping the surgeon threw in some bionic parts when they rebuilt the knee of their "Six Million Dollar Man" (or, make that 14.6 Million Dollar Man when adjusted for inflation).

Key Games: The Pats have two games against last year's division winner Miami. New England lost to Miami last year to end their 21-game regular season winning streak. They went on to beat Miami later in the season. This year the Pats should have weather on their side as they are in Miami for their November match-up and at New England for the December game. The Pats will need to win at least one of these games if they want to see the post-season.

Season Prediction: 14-2 and back on top of the AFC East

Sources:

Tim Graham, Moss: Pats offense can be scarier than '07, ESPN.com

Tim Graham, Pressure on Pats' O-line to protect rebuilt Brady, ESPN.com

NFL Total Access, NFL Videos: Patriots' 2009 expectations, NFL.com

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