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Ranking the Threats to Patriots’ AFC Dominance

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All the best sportsbooks have the Patriots among the iron of the NFL, favored to once again be in the hunt for the Super Bowl. But much can change over the course of season and injuries, hot and cold streaks and other factors come into play.

As a Patriots blogger I have a pretty good sense of the teams that are on the right track to beat the Patriots. Here’s my list of the AFC teams that scare me most.

5. Baltimore Ravens: I’m not sure how much bearing we can put into the Patriots 2013 dismantling of the Ravens in Baltimore. Every game going back to 2007 had been fairly close until then, but I believed the Ravens would not be able to play the Patriots the same way without Ed Reed and Ray Lewis and I still think that is the case. The Ravens were one of the few teams that were never afraid of the Patriots, but without Lewis and Reed, they lost some of that. Still, the Ravens are well-run and will emerge from their defensive overhaul as the Pats did. The Ravens are similarly constructed and the result is (almost) always a physical contest that comes down to the end.

4. Miami Dolphins: Miami pulled out a win over the Pats last season, but, like the rest of the division, just can’t seem to pull off the upset in New England. Still, they have a promising young quarterback in Ryan Tannehill and with a re-built offensive line, New England won’t be able to get as blitz-happy against them this year.

3. New York Jets: Outside of a few Patriots blowouts, the Jets and Patriots almost always have close ones. The Pats are 2-3 in New York since 2009, though all anyone remembers is the ButtFumble. Rex Ryan’s defense was rebuilt on the fly and now has as promising of a front seven as any team in the NFL. They are another team unafraid of the Pats’ mystique. If their revamped offense can find it’s stride by the time the head to Foxboro in mid-October they could be primed to pull off an upset. They haven’t won in New England since the 2010 playoffs though they came within overtime of doing it in 2012.

2. Indianapolis Colts: It hasn’t looked like the Pats have much to fear from Andrew Luck in the first two times they faced him, including last year’s playoff game, but both contests were in Foxboro. Now the Pats must travel to Indianapolis, where the Colts are a different team.  Hakeem Nicks should help improve the offense with Reggie Wayne and if their offensive line fixes its problems, Luck should make some throws, even against the revamped Patriots secondary. This November 16th matchup could determine where the playoff rematch is played. The Pats will have their work cut out for them against a Colts team that will be looking to make a statement against them.

1. Denver Broncos: Who else would be number one? The Broncos handles the Pats in the AFC Championship and both teams had notable offseasons. However I think the Pats have the edge, or at least will have the edge by January. The Broncos depth is frightening, especially on defense. They have little margin for error and if Peyton Manning’s game declines (along with Wes Welker’s), the Broncos could be going the “old and slow” route to another disappointing playoff run. The Pats do have depth concerns of their own, but their ability to overcome injuries was well-documented in 2013, and there’s little chance New England sees that kind of attrition for a second season in a row.

Patriots.com: Five million “Likes” for Patriots

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Patriots.com: Five million “Likes” for Patriots

This video is pretty great, with the best highlight coming from Edelman banging out his five millionth squat while Amendola spots him (no impure thoughts please, ladies). The nod to BB’s social media aversion is pretty classic too.

But perhaps my favorite part was the cut-short clip of the PFW guys.

Congrats to Pats on Five Million Likes.

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My favorite yet from DesigningSport.com!

https://www.patspropaganda.com/my-favorite-yet-from-designingsportcom/

Patriots Post-Draft 53-Man Roster Projection

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It’s still early and there will likely be some more roster tweaking between now and the opening of training camp (Dustin Keller anyone?), but heres  a first crack at a 53-man Patriots roster.

Make your own at PatsPicker and share it below!

QB (3) Brady, Mallett, Garoppolo – no surprises here, could Mallett go if Garoppolo picks things up quickly?

RB (4) Ridley, Vereen, White, Bolden – still feels a little light here, we’ll see how the undrafted rookies play out. Wouldn’t set Bolden’s spot in stone.

WR (6) Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell, Thompkins, Slater – Dropped Boyce, Gallon goes to practice squad, though I could see him beating out Boyce for a roster spot.

TE (4) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui, Jones, Wiliams – feels very light here as well, a lot hinges on Gronk’s health. Could swap Williams for Keller if he signs.

C (2) Wendell, Stork – it’s possible Stork wins this outright and Wendell gets cut, but we’re playing it safe at this point.

G (3) Mankins, Connolly, Halapio – Josh Kline misses the cut to Halapio. Connolly stays on, if he slips in camp he could be a casualty with Halapio/Kline sliding into a starting role. Or maybe even Cannon?

T (4) Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming – Cannon could slide to guard and the Fleming becomes the swing backup.

DE (5) Jones, Ninkovich, Smith, Buchanan, Armstead – Good group, wish they had one more impact edge rusher but Buchanan will have to do.

DT (5) Wilfork, Kelly, Easley, Siliga, Jones – really good group here with a solid mixture of strengths and experience.

LB(6) Mayo, Hightower, Beauharnais, Collins, Hull, Gordon – not great depth here but a really solid top three. Question is who is the #4 guy? Pencilling in Beauharnais for now.

CB (4) Revis, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington – Browner starts out suspended, but not a better top-to-bottom group in the NFL.

SS (3) Harmon, Chung, Ebner – Harmon slides into the top SS spot, but not great depth behind him.

FS (1) McCourty – Jemea Thomas could sneak on here given the lack of depth at FS.

ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken – Obvs.

SUSPENDED 4 games – Browner

PUP potential – Easley, Gronk, Wilfork, Kelly

And for fun here’s my ballsy choices that involves a bigger youth movement.

QB (2) Brady, Garoppolo
RB (4) Ridley, Vereen, White, Finch
WR (7) Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, LaFell, Thompkins, Gallon, Slater
TE (3) Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui, Jones
C (2) Connolly, Stork
G (3) Mankins, Cannon, Halapio
T (3) Solder, Vollmer, Fleming
DE (6) Jones, Ninkovich, Smith, Buchanan, Armstead, Bequette
DT (5) Wilfork, Kelly, Easley, Siliga, Jones
ILB(3) Mayo, Hightower, Beauharnais
OLB(3) Collins, Hull, Gordon
CB (4) Revis, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington
SS (3) Harmon, Chung, Ebner
FS (2) McCourty, Thomas
ST (3) Gostkowski, Allen, Aiken

Patriots select DT Dominique Easley in First Round

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For perhaps the first time in the Belichick reign in New England, the Patriots’ first move in the NFL wasn’t much of a surprise. Easley was not only the number one player on my Patriots-only Top 50 draft board and also my projected first round pick in my final mock draft but he was all over many Pats pundits’ radars.

Yes, there were rumblings that the Pats loved Easley, but I was all over him from the moment I first saw him on film. I’ve been beating the interior pass rush drum for nearly the life of this blog – four-plus years. 

Simply put, the Pats just haven’t been able to generate enough pass rush up the gut since Mike Wright and Jarvis Green circa 2009.

Easley instantly makes the Pats pass rush better, not only with what he does (explosiveness), but with the attention he will draw, easing things up on Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich on the edges.

I’m not worried about Easley’s ACL tears. We might not truly see the ceiling of his explosion until his second year, but he’ll still be the Pats best interior pass rusher.

Needless to say I’m thrilled with the pick. It’s a great way to kick off the draft, and with seven more picks to go and a major need already filled, the Pats are in great position to really take their team to the next level.