Offseason Outlook 2015: New England Patriots

Well after Deflategate, I figured I may as well look into the Patriots team. And even with some roster losses, it still looks pretty freaking awesome.

Offense

Yes, Tom Brady is suspended the first four (probably 2) games. That's irrelevant, the Patriots still have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. When a team has an elite QB, they are going to have a potent offense no matter what. Luckily it's not just Brady, the Pats have some weapons too. Rob Gronkowski is the cream of the crop when it comes to New England. Gronk puts in work, and having that type of premier talent helps Brady (or Garoppolo) out big time. New England also signed Scott Chandler, and they have Timothy Wright, so TE depth is not an issue either. At wide receiver, Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell, and Danny Amendola are the three that the Pats will be counting on. All three are solid wide receivers, with Edelman being the best of them, but nothing crazy should be expected out of them. New England has built a respectable offensive line. Nate Solder at left tackle, and Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle are a formidable duo. Inside is where they struggle. Brian Stork is very young and he could still end up being a good center, the recently drafted Tre' Jackson should help with the depth at guard, and Ryan Wendell is decent too. Josh Kline also put in a solid year last year, but he'll be monitored this year and possibly replaced if the time comes. At running back is where the Patriots have issues. This is a very, very thin group of unproven backs. It is led by LeGarrette Blount, who could be okay in an increased workload, but will start the season suspended. The depth is James White, Jonas Gray, Brandon Bolden, and Travaris Cadet. This group is unproven and unspectacular, but knowing Bill Belichick he will get 200 yard games from each of them at some point. The offense is still centred around Tom Brady, and it will rely on him until he retires, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there because right now the Pats offense looks threatening again, and should have no trouble being in the top 5 in points scored, like they have been for the past 5 years.

Defense

Bill Belichick has built one heck of a defense. The only real hole is at cornerback. The loss of Revis, Browner, and the releases of Dennard and Arrington hurt. Now the Patriots will rely on Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, and Bradley Fletcher to shut down opposing wide receivers. So that is pretty rough. The Pats front seven is deadly though. Vince Wilfork is another big loss, but they drafted Malcolm Brown to be an interior pass rusher, which is not really what Big Vince was for, but nonetheless he can be a difference maker inside. Their duo at DE is Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones who are both very good players. If Chandler Jones can stay healthy, expect a monstrous season out of the long armed pass rusher. They also signed Jabaal Sheard who I think will end up being the biggest bargain value in free agency. He'll be a great pass rusher, and can play the run well too. The scariest part about New England's defense is definitely their linebackers. Dont'a Hightower, Jerod Mayo (hopefully he can stay healthy), and Jamie Collins are all outstanding players and will be the difference in the Patriots having an okay defense, or an elite defense. Fortunately for the Pats they resigned their biggest priority this offseason. Not Darrelle Revis no, but Devin McCourty. He is the heart of that secondary, and he'll patrol center field for them making big plays and playing incredible football. This defense should see some regression, as they had big losses at cornerback and they lost Vince Wilfork too. Although that shouldn't worry Pats fans, as they are getting Jerod Mayo back for hopefully more then 6 games this year, and the development of their young linebackers and Chandler Jones should make up for some of the losses.

Pats fans are used to this, but an 11-12 win season should be expected again this year. The AFC East did get a lot stronger this offseason, and Tom Brady is suspended, but that won't be enough to keep them out of the playoffs. Eventually another team will win the AFC East, just not this year, especially after the offseason the Pats had with them being under investigation for Deflategate. Expect them to come out swinging this season.