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.

Offseason Outlook 2015: Houston Texans

Offense

With the Texans it starts at the offensive line. Losing Chris Myers should not have anybody worried. This is a good O-line. Brandon Brooks is an absolute mauler and his development at RG will be fun to watch. Duane Brown is a franchise LT and everybody in the NFL knows it. Xavier Sua-Filo will most likely be taking over the starting LG spot this year, and I have high hopes for him as I'm sure Houston's front office does too. Ben Jones at C and Derek Newton or Tyson Clabo at RT will be solid yet unspectacular, but these guys are thumpers and between Arian Foster and Alfred Blue, expect some big games out of their running backs. Any casual fan would know that the Texans are lacking a quarterback. Brian Hoyer was decent in the first half of last year, then atrocious the second half, and Ryan Mallet is at best an unproven big arm. That being said, whoever is at QB will have an abundance of weapons. The O-line and running backs I already mentioned, but this team has some talented wide receivers too. DeAndre Hopkins is a star. I will argue that with anybody who wants to argue that, but he is a star WR in this league. The recently signed Cecil Shorts is a talented WR when healthy, and Houston stole Jaelen Strong in the third round this year, as many people, including me, had him going late first. On top of that, expect some development out of their young TE's Garrett Graham and C.J. Fiedorowicz. Bill O'Brien is a very good coach, and he'll get a lot out of his players. In most situations, when an offense lacks a QB it is set up to fail, but this isn't necessarily like that. If the Texans start the big armed Ryan Mallet, which at this point I would say it is likely to happen, then this offense can be an explosive field stretching offense. DeAndre Hopkins can stretch a field by himself, and that will open up huge holes for Arian Foster and the O-line to put in work. Expect quite a few turnovers, but the strength in the O-line and skill position players is very tantalizing.

Defense

J.J. Watt. I should really just end the outlook right there because they have the best player in any sport (sorry Mike Trout) on the planet. I'll move on though because there is quite a bit of talent across the board for the Texans. The enigma that is Jadaveon Clowney will be fun to watch this year. Barring injury, he is so ridiculously talented that it will be hard for him not to post double digit sacks this year, especially across from Watt. Vince Wilfork was a good signing, although I did want to see more of Louis Nix III, getting a proven space eater beside J.J. Watt is good for the whole defense. The Texans have a lot of talent at linebacker too. I mentioned Clowney, but Brian Cushing and the recently drafted Benardrick McKinney are both very talented linebackers. Whitney Mercilus still might end up being a very good player, as the talent is there, but right now he's just an average starter for them. The retooled secondary is where the questions are for this team. Jonathan Joseph will hopefully continue being a good CB for Houston, although he is aging and you can never know when his play will fall off. Kareem Jackson was a good resigning, as he is a very good young cornerback. Kevin Johnson who was drafted in the first round by the Texans this year is a very promising player, but rookie CB's are known to have a rough transition to the NFL (see Justin Gilbert last year) so not much should be expected out of him next year. The safety tandem of the Texans is worrisome though. They recently released D.J. Swearinger so now they have even less depth, but Rahim Moore and whomever steps up to be their other starting safety, be it Stevie Brown or someone else, will need to step up their game. Overall though, the Texans have surrounded J.J. Watt with some extremely promising players, and a lot of talent. A top 5 defense would not be out of the question this year, and a top ten finish should be expected.

The Texans are a quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender. That might be ambitious, but looking at their roster they are stacked with young talent. It will be interesting to see how Bill O'Brien works Mallet this year, as he has done great things with big armed QB's in college like Christian Hackenberg. If he can get enough out of him, then the Texans could be looking at a wildcard berth this year. The future is definitely bright for the Texans, although this year still might not be the year they challenge the Colts and Andrew Luck for the division... But watch your back Luck, Watt and Houston are coming soon.