As I have previously written, we here at the Millennium blog will spend a lot of our sports coverage on the NFL. Our writers have each chosen their favorite teams to write about (with a small exception) and throughout the year we will be 'covering' our chosen teams, as well as writing about the league in general. Now, initially I was going to write about the 49ers (my team) but when I brought it up with my friends the conversation went something like this:
Me: "So Im gonna do the 49ers then"
Friend: "What?! Why?"
Me: "Well, they are my fav-"
Friend: "That's not the point, we want people to be interested in the blog, write about the patriots, no one cares about San Francisco. It will be much more interesting this way"
Well then.
So as it stands the following teams will get highlighted by us: Patriots, Saints, Eagles, Cowboys. Look for weekly or bi-weekly features on those teams as well as a 'picks/gambling' column Saturdays and articles covering other interesting story lines which are sure to develop. Without further ado I present you the most polarizing team in the NFL... the Patriots!
Love them or hate them you have to show this team respect. There is literally no player who is above the team as we have seen over the years with guys such as Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, and most recently Ty Warren being cut, traded, or released. All of those players were very good at the time of being cut, but so far only Seymour has managed to continue his career effectively; the rest of the players never re-captured the magic and faded to obscurity. I respect sports teams that stick to the age old cliche of 'there is no I in team' and the Patriots swear by it. A second reason this team should have your respect is because of the way they approach everything. To them it is about the hard work and sacrifices, not luck and talent. Say what you will about spy-gate, but this teams record is better following spy-gate then it was before and that is counting an entire missed season from Tom Brady. Lastly, two words: Bill Belichick. Would you WANT to play for any other coach? I never get tired of him finding new ways to mess with opponents and use players out of position to great effect. There truly is not a better coach in the league at this point.
Over the last few years the New England Patriots have not had the playoff success that they would have liked. There are big questions surrounding the team and their ability to contend for what seems like the millionth year in a row. The Patriots tried answering all of those questions by having a very good free-agent and draft stock-up. In fact, the only reason people do not talk about this is because the Eagles made all the headlines. The biggest addition in my opinion will be Albert Haynesworth. The Patriots have not had a true play maker on defense sinse Seymour left and poor Vince Wilfork has had to shoulder the defensive line load by himself. With Haynesworth this changes, look for the Patriots to have a fierce pass-rush and be a top defense once again. People will have their doubts about players clashing with the coaching staff, but Bill Belichick usually turns the biggest cancers into model team-mates. Offensively there really should not be much concern as the Patriots have a top 3 QB (Brees, Manning, Brady in some order) in Tom Brady, Wes Welker returns one year healthier and that offensive line never seems to fail. Look for the Patriots to be one of the higher scoring teams once again with Brady sure to draw some MVP votes his way.
Patriots Report Card:
Offence: A
Defense: B
Special Teams: A-
Coaching: A+
Prediction: A 12-4 finish and a trip to the AFC Championship game, Ochocinco with 10 Touchdowns.
You will get the rest of the NFL's major points of interest from Luka, but I do feel obligated to give a Super Bowl pick, so I will do that with some other predictions:
MVP: Tom Brady
Most Improved team: Lions
Most disappointing team: Ravens
Best potential match-up: Any combination in the Eagles, Packers, Saints NFC trio, I can't wait.
Superbowl match up: Eagles and Patriots
Like the article? Leave a comment or follow me on Twitter at Daki_4. Look for much more NFL content to come as the season starts up.
ravens really...
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