This time the Patriots traded up to grab Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski. He missed all of 2009 due to injuries, but is considered to be one of the best tight ends in the draft. They also drafted Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez, whose stock fell due to off the field issues. This fills a huge need for New England at the position. Sticking with Florida, they drafted defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and linebacker Brandon Spikes.  People were shocked to see Cunningham go before Carlos Dunlap, but Cunningham is a better fit in New England. Spikes brings them a thumper in the middle who will probably be starting next to Mayo at the end of the year. Receiver is a little thin in New England so they went after Ohio wideout Taylor Price. Price brings lots of potential, but the Patriots aren’t known for developing rookie receivers so he’s a major project.

The line was given some depth, drafting North Carolina State center Ted Larsen and tackle Thomas Welch from Vanderbilt. Either one of these guys, or both could be starters one day considering the Patriots churn out o-lineman so easily. Both defensive end Brandon Deaderick from Alabama and defensive tackle Kade Weston from Georgia look to add some bodies to a d-line that needs it. Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko could compete for the starting job right away possessing great leg strength and touch. Running with only one backup quarterback last year had New England primed to pick a quarterback. Oklahoma States Zac Robinson should help out at the position. With a young, talented defense, and Tom Brady leading the offense, the Patriots look to make another run.

Technorati Tags: 2010 NFL Draft, New England Patriots, NFL

This year the questions surrounding the team aren’t about who will be able to beat them. All the questions have to do with what’s wrong with them.

New England has dropped three of their last 4 games, the worst 4 game stretch for the team since losing 4 straight back in 2002.

The main problems have to do with their young inexperienced defense. There doesn’t seem to be any pass rush to speak of and the secondary has been shredded recently. Good coverage and pass rush are completely interrelated, and New England doesn’t have either right now.

The offense seems to be struggling as well, but not to the same extent as their defense. Brady seems to be really missing that third receiver he can count on when there’s heavy coverage on Moss and Welker. And turnovers at inopportune times are killing drives for them.

Before counting them out of a deep playoff run remember this, no coach thrives on being the underdog more than Belichick. He can take any little disrespect show to them and turn it into fuel for the fire. If New England can get in the playoffs look out. They’ll be the underdogs and I have a feeling that’s where Belichick wants his young team to be.

Technorati Tags: New England Patriots, NFL

Brees lit it up throwing 5 touchdown passes and no interceptions. The defense was able to keep Brady out of synch coming up with 2 interceptions. This game was all New Orleans.

Big play after big play ruined the Patriots chances last night. And just when they seemed to be getting something going the Saints stepped up and made plays.

New Englands offense didn’t look nearly as bad as their defense. The secondary was out of position all night, allowing Brees to find open guys for huge chunks of yardage. The pressure put up by the Patriots front 7 was non existent.

The Saints are the team to beat right now. With Dallas being the only team remaining on their schedule looking remotely capable of beating them, the chances of them running the table are really good.

As for New England, the fact that they can’t seem to finish off elite teams seems to be a real problem. If they can’t fix their second half woes they won’t be going anywhere this year.

Technorati Tags: New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, NFL

But there’s more to the Saints than just passing. Their running game is proving to be one of the best in the league.

When most people think about the Saints they think passing. But the numbers tell a different story. The Saints have passed the ball 320 times this year for an average of 8.6 per pass. The Saints have run the ball 324 times for an average of 4.8 per rush.

I’m having a hard time recalling a team that has had this kind of balance mixed with the explosiveness that they have. I mean, it’s one thing to have balance on an offense that’s middle of the road, it’s another when said team is top 5 in both and on pace to set a scoring record.

The Patriots are going to have their hands full this Monday. This will be their toughest challenge yet. If the Saints can win this game I don’t see them losing this year, at least not in the regular season. But when you look at the balance on offense combined with an exceptional defense, there may not be a team that can stop them.

Technorati Tags: New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, NFL

Jim Caldwell has done an excellent job replacing Tony Dungy, although you can never really replace a guy like Tony Dungy. But Caldwell has quietly been a part of the Colts great success since joining them as quarterbacks coach in 2002. After three years as quarterbacks coach he spent up until this season in the role of assistant head coach.

The Patriots seem to have things falling into place for them. Tom Brady looks like he’s becoming more in sync with his offense, and their young defense seems to be finding ways to make plays without guys like Bruschi, Seymour, Vrabel and Harrsion.

You can talk about matchups or whatever in this game but the bottom line is that it’s going to come down to mistakes. The team that’s able to capitalize on the others teams mistakes is going to win this game. There won’t be many. The big thing to look for is red zone efficiency. In a close game sometimes the key is the team who can get 7 instead of 3 in the red area.

Technorati Tags: Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, NFL, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady