Patriots' Moves Make Them Team to Beat
The New England Patriots will enter next season as the league's clear-cut Super Bowl favorite.
The Patriots already had a good team, reaching the AFC title game last season even after leaving themselves shorthanded at wide receiver with the September trade of holdout Deion Branch to the Seattle Seahawks. They have addressed their receiver need by trading for the Miami Dolphins' Wes Welker, signing Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington as free agents and, on Sunday, sending a fourth-round draft choice to the Oakland Raiders for Randy Moss.
No, Moss isn't the player that he once was in Minnesota. But he should be far better for the Patriots than he was for the Raiders. If anyone can get him to be focused, well-behaved and productive, it's Patriots Coach Bill Belichick.
Quarterback Tom Brady now has some help in the passing game, and an already sturdy defense has been bolstered even further by the free agent additions of linebacker Adalius Thomas and cornerback Tory James. While the Patriots have been adding, their fellow AFC heavyweights have been running in place or moving backward. The San Diego Chargers changed coaches and the Indianapolis Colts have followed their Super Bowl triumph by losing a string of contributing players. The Patriots aren't an overwhelming favorite, but Belichick and Brady have won Super Bowls with clubs far less talented and complete than this one.
By Mark Maske |
May 1, 2007; 10:11 AM ET
| Category:
Patriots
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Posted by: Gonzo, MD | May 1, 2007 11:11 AM
I'm not even going to think about that last post. I have no desire to find out whether Matt Cassel pilot a team to a championship. Only Bird's back has given me as much concern as worrying about a helmet on the side of Brady's knee.
I'm looking forward to wideouts who can't be covered one-on-one. I don't envision many safeties making plays in the backfield like they did to us last year. I'm talking about you Bob Sanders. This should really open things up for the TE Watson, Welker in the slot, and Maroney and Faulk out of the backfield. Think of Watson and Welker being covered by either safeties who are too small or linebackers who are too slow.
Posted by: Pats Fan | May 1, 2007 11:49 AM
It will be interesting to see if Kraft has more success at buying the superbowl than the Danny
Posted by: Anonymous | May 1, 2007 1:19 PM
Moss hasn't lost anything! He will get 20-25 td's with qb like Brady! He hasn't played with a good qb since he was a sophomore at Marshall University.
Posted by: Pete | May 1, 2007 4:00 PM
If anyone can get him to be focused, well-behaved and productive, it's Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. That`s what people said about TO and Andy Reid and look how well that turned out.
Posted by: crc | May 2, 2007 11:04 AM
By mid-season Moss is going to start to make things difficult, even if the Patriots are winning. Why? One reason Brady is so darn effective is that he spreads the ball around. Defenses have to cover everybody, not just a favorite receiver or two like most QB's have. Moss isn't going to get 20-25 TD's like one post said. No way, not even half that. And because he's not going to get 90 receptions and 15 touchdowns like he did early on in Minnesota, he's going to bellyache. Moss isn't T.O. or Keyshawn--he'll make his point in other less-grandiose ways. How Belichick handles Moss from mid-season onward will make for some interesting theater. Goodness knows the media will be covering this drama like Anna Nicole Smith's baby.
Posted by: Gr Bear | May 2, 2007 12:04 PM
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There's one thing that could derail this team. If I were a defensive end with the Jets, I wouldn't need anyone to tell me what I needed to do for my team to make the playoffs.