I think that it’s safe to say that this season has gone well for the New England Patriots so far. At the midway point they are sitting atop the “competitive” AFC East, and are tied for the number 1 seed in the AFC at 8-0. This NFL season as a whole has been incredible so far and it starts with the amount of successful teams. After week 6 there were 5 unbeaten teams and after week 9 concluded last night with the Phillip Rivers led collapse of the San Diego Chargers, which I love, there are 3 unbeaten teams remaining. The Patriots, the Carolina Panthers, and the Cincinnati Bengals all stand at 8-0 currently. It is the first time in NFL history that 3 teams opened the season 8-0. But, as much as I love and respect the rest of the NFL, this is a Patriots blog. Tom Brady has continued to play the best football of his already unbelievable career and is on pace to throw 44 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. At the age of 38 he looks like he could play for another 10 years if he really wanted to (which would be every Patriots fan’s dream). This is the first time that the Patriots have gone 8-0 to start a season since they ran the table in the regular season in 2007. The similarities from that season to this are very similar in that Tom Brady had weapons to throw to. In 2007 it was Randy Moss, Wes Welker (who just signed with the Rams yesterday) and Donte Stallworth who were TB12’s main targets. This year he has Edelman, Amendola, Jojo Lafell and the big man Rob Gronkowski. The 2007 team had an elite defense, something that Tom Brady has been gifted with only a few times, but every time he has, the season has been special. And something that is weird and unorthodox is their schedule. Obviously they play the Jets, Bills and Dolphins two times every year because they play within the division. But the non-divisional opponents are eerily similar. The Steelers seem to be an opponent every year, but the way that the schedule was set up this year is that they play every team from the NFC East. That means that the Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins and Giants were 2007 regular season foes, just like this season. In fact, the Ravens, Chargers, Bengals and the Browns are the only teams from the 2007 schedule that are not on the 2015 schedule. I’m sure that in the grand scheme of things this means nothing but it is just an interesting irony. So what is there to look forward to in the second half of the season? The next stop on Tom Brady’s “F*** You” Tour is to the meadowlands to play against the New (Jersey) York Giants. This game goes MUCH further than the rivalry between Boston and New (Jersey) York. I will never forget what happened in Arizona in 2007 or in Indianapolis in 2011. And as a diehard Patriots fan, that was the worst feeling I have endured watching a sporting event, with Aaron effing Boone’s walk off homer off of Tim Wakefield in the 2003 ALCS. The worst part about it is the fact that the fans of the Yankees are typically Giants fans, making it 300 times worse. And from an actual football standpoint it is a tough matchup for the Patriots. JPP and his 1.5 hands are back on the field and although he is not in mid-season form yet, he is someone that needs to be located on each play because of his ability rushing the passer and defending the run. Although they don’t light up the stat sheet they do a lot of good things. Say what you want about Odell Beckham Jr. being overrated but he is a ball player. Already with 7 touchdowns he is leading the team in catches, yards and touchdowns by a landslide. Eli has bounced back following a historically bad season a year ago and has 19 touchdowns and 6 interceptions to add to a Rashad Jennings led rushing attack. The Patriots need to find a way to get pressure on Manning and get him rattled early. Expect a big game from guys like Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich coming off the edge and pressure up the middle from Donta Hightower and (if healthy) Jamie Collins. It will be tough for the secondary to try and match up man to man for a lot of the game so I wouldn’t be surprised if they used some safety help from McCourty, Chung and Harmon over the top of Beckham to force Manning into using short passes and make the other receivers beat them. It is tough to go an entire season and not lose a game, but as I look at each individual matchup I don’t see the Patriots losing. With teams like the Giants and Broncos on the road, the Eagles at home and each divisional opponent again still remaining on the schedule it will definitely be a challenge but if they keep playing well defensively and Tom Brady continues playing like the MVP of the league, there is no reason that the road to Super Bowl 50 wouldn’t go through Foxborough.
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Pat O'Hearne
Just a kid from Boston trying his luck in Cleveland Archives
March 2017
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