Their schedule: PIT, @MIA, NYJ, @BUF, @WAS, NYG, @NYJ, CLE, @BAL, BYE, @PHI, DAL, @HOU, KC, @CIN, BUF, MIA
Outlook: Some sports media folks are saying the Patriots offense will take a step back with Rob Gronkowski retiring, but i disagree. They were already preparing for life after Gronk in advance when they drafted Sony Michel to help take pressure off the passing game. Sure they will miss Gronk and the physical mismatches he caused for opposing defenses. however, the Patriots seem to be moving away from their reliance on tight ends and reinventing themselves once again. Or maybe perhaps they are revisiting their roots going back to their 2004-07 days? i can see the post-Gronk Pats offense spreading it out more and employing more 4 or even 5 wide reciever sets. Tommy Terrific will sling the ball a little more aggresively down the field to his big wideouts. in fact they currently have 6 recievers(not counting Josh Gordon) at 6'2 and taller on the roster.(hmm?) i wouldnt be surprised if they keep all of them except cut maybe one or two. If Brady can work out the chemistry with his new recieving corp(which is nearly always) then a combination of N'Keal Harry, Demaryius Thomas, Dontrell Inman and Josh Gordon(?) all 6'2 guys lined up on the outside along with Edelman in the slot could be a matchup nightmare for secondaries. If it doesnt work out as expected then the Pats can fall back to the smashmouth run game that was a big part of their success last year when defenses had to deal with Sony Michel or James White catching passes out of the backfield. Also with the best offensive line from last season still remaining mostly intact, Brady can basically do as he pleases. i think the Pats offense will be fine without Gronk and be just as good if not better than last year.
The Patriots defense was a tad underrated last season. they didnt get enough credit for the job they did until after they won the Super Bowl. the secondary is the strength of their defense and their most experienced unit led by New England staples McCourty and Chung but big part of their success was due to Stephon Gilmore having his best year as a Patriot and garnering the shutdown corner label. I see the pass defense improving on last season's rankings and bordering top 10/15 unit. The reason secondary improves will be because they will benefit from the improvements of their young defensive line. The D-line went through some growing pains until they finally started making their mark during the playoffs last year. I see guys like Deatrich Wise and Derek Rivers stepping up with more prominent roles while newcomers like Chase Winovich already making contributions. Michael Bennett replaces Trey Flowers as the team's proven pass rusher and should feel right at home. Patriots didnt lose too many key players on defense so expect the continiuty to benefit them. i see the Patriots fielding a better scoring defense in 2019.
In summary, what the Patriots may have lost during the offseason they gained right back with another stellar free agency and draft. Except for Gronk and Flowers(and maybe Hogan), most of the players that moved on werent prominent contributors so replacing production wasnt too difficult. Their only weakness currently seems to be Tight End with Ben Watson facing a possible 4 game suspension and Seferian-Jenkins presumably not healthy enough to play early on but that position seems to be the least of their concerns. From top to bottom, the Patriots still have an overall solid roster and are the best team in the league until proven otherwise.
Prediction: I can see the Patriots improving on last season's record and finishing anywhere from 12-4 to 14-2(not likely). I had them at 12-4 last year but this time i will predict an 13-3 finish. Taking a look at their schedule they have a fairly easy one, but not much more difficult or easier than last year - about the same.
The AFC East is still weak no matter what changes the other teams go through. i can see the Pats going 5-1 again in their division. I see them sweeping Dolphins this time who usually have been the only consistent thorn for Brady last 5 years but Fitzpatrick has a horrible history against Belichick and they'll take care of Josh Rosen in the season finale. i think the Pats could possibly lose a game to either the Jets or Bills or both(my money is on the Bills). i like some of the moves the Bills made in the offseason. The AFC North is going to see some slight improvements and will be the equivalent of the Pats facing the AFC South of last year. AFC North is a tough defensive division with upcoming talent just like the AFC South was. the Browns and Ravens games will be interesting match for the Pats. those games are back to back. only thing going against those teams is the youth at QB. I will predict the Pats losing one of those games but wont be surprised if they sweep the AFC North but i have them going 3-1 against this division. Browns seem like a trendy pick to hand the Pats their first home loss of 2019. Then we have the NFC East, a division Brady usually doesnt have a problem with in the regular season.. although Super Bowl is another story haha. the NFC East is still weak compared to the NFC North like last year so i dont see the Pats having any trouble going for a sweep against this division.. they went 3-1 against NFC last year i see them going 4-0 this year. Lastly we have the two randoms left on the schedule against the Chiefs and Texans. Seems like losing to the Chiefs is certainly possible as Mahomes tries to go for his 1st win against Brady. I can see the Pats possibly losing one of these two games here. Also, will the Patriots lose one primetime game? They have primetime games against Steelers, Ravens, Texans on SNF. Giants on TNF and Jets on MNF. its possible they lose one SNF game to either Ravens or Texans on the road. Ravens seem to have better primetime success than Texans. also the Patriots have lost at least 1 primetime per season since 2011. theyve gone undefeated in primetime games in 2010 and 2007.
the 3 teams i think Pats lose to are: Bills - week 4 on the road, Ravens - week 9 on the road, Chiefs - week 14 at home. other possible losses include Jets in week 7, Browns in week 8, Texans in week 13. weeks 7 to 9 feel like the toughest stretch in Pats schedule. weeks 13 & 14 is a runner up.
Do I think the Patriots will go to another Super Bowl? I wont be surprised. Someone from the AFC is going to need to step it up big time and Im afraid there really isn't a team that is capable of doing so but if that team does indeed pull it off then they will need good O-line protection, a smashmouth running game with a complementary passing attack, a good pass rush and secondary to compete with those giant recievers the Patriots are planning to deploy.
how bout dem Ravens!! damn, u fuckin psycho bruh.. excuse me psychic lol.. yea that Pat D putting up better numbers this year but nobody could thought the Pats offense would keep changing recievers Belichick is a weirdo
ur prediction mostly been on the spot. anotha gem from the smoking king.
SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
SmokingKing's NFL Off-Season Preview/Predictions
Reply With Quote