This team was known for making spectacular second half adjustments and preying on opponents’ weaknesses which were noticed throughout the game. Unfortunately, this year has been a vastly different story.

The Patriots lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Jets, Broncos, Dolphins, and most notably, the Colts. In their most recent failure against Miami, the Pats managed just 7 second half points, a fluky touchdown to Sam Aiken who made a great reception and ran 70 yards to the end zone.

In all of these contests, the other team has seemingly shut down the juggernaut Patriot offense in the second half, with Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Tom Brady and a decent running game.

What does this say about the team, offensively?

Does New England not have the personnel/players to succeed? Do the players get fatigued? Is Tom Brady not fully healthy? Why aren’t adjustments being made on New England’s side of the ball?

Well, the Pats are not short of talent, as previously mentioned, Welker and Moss are two of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL, Sam Aiken is developing into a solid third option, and the Pats have a viable running back in Laurence Maroney (8 TDs in 7 games).

Offensively, fatigue is never as much of an issue as it is on the defensive side of the ball, with all the opportunities for substitutions.

Tom Brady is clearly healthy, as he put up monster numbers against weaker teams such as the Buccaneers, and managed solid numbers against even the Colts. Is he at his 2007 form? Maybe not at this point, but he is certainly at a high enough level where he can be considered healthy.

So, this leaves the question, why doesn’t the team seem to make any offensive adjustments? Brady’s offenses have always had great offensive coordinators, with names such as Charlie Weis and Josh McDaniels. This year, with Bill O’Brien holding the reigns of the offense and mainly in charge of playcalling, there seems to be a problem.

Bill Belichick deserves some negativity, but it is O’Brien who is unable to make his unit better in the second half.

Against the Dolphins, not only were offensive adjustments not made, but the play calling was borderline horrific.

The fullback run with a yard to go inside the five during the second quarter was a poor idea. Morris never had the opportunity to build up speed to plow through the line of scrimmage, as he started just a couple of yards behind Brady. A simple running play would have been a better option for Morris, or a quarterback sneak with Brady.

Against the Colts, Kevin Faulk was stopped short on 4th down. O’Brien had the right idea, a quick slant to Welker or Faulk, but why have Kevin catch the ball on a quick out?

Instead of breaking out on his route, Faulk should have broken in. The linebacker covering Faulk, shown in the replay, was clearly a step out of position but had time to react, as the ball was in the air for a long enough period of time. Had Kevin broken inside at the same distance, the linebacker would have half as much time to react, and Faulk could have dived forwards and saved the game for New England.

The time the ball would have been in the air would have been shorter had Faulk cut up the middle, giving the linebacker less time to react.

Two examples of bad play calls by O’Brien, both in important situations.

I don’t think you need examples of situations where the Patriot offense looked flat in the second half. I can think of at least eight games (out of 12 the team has played) where the New England second half offense looked like the Browns’ offense.

Defensively, the Patriots are not an awful team.

They have an average defense. Unfortunately the defensive backs take a lot of heat, when it is the front seven who cannot generate pressure on quarterbacks and give wide outs all day to run their routes. Some heat is deserved, like Meriweather’s blown coverate in New Orleans, but some pressure they take is just unwarranted.

A perfect example came in the Dolphins game. Greg Camarillo had time to run a double move route, with Jonathan Wilhite in coverage. At the last second, Camarillo turned around in button hook fashion and caught the ball, with Wilhite right behind him.

Yes, Wilhite slightly stumbled, but after over 4-5 seconds in coverage, wide receivers inevitably get open.

Nevertheless, holding the Dolphins to 22 points should have been enough. However, the Patriot offense managed to run minimal time off the clock in their two possessions in the final few minutes (the defense was able to make two stops), and gave Miami the chance to win.

I never thought it would come to this, but it is the Patriots’ offense which is at fault.

Yes, the defense can play better, but the Patriots’ offense, with the lineup they have, should be able to put up massive numbers against Miami, and should be more than competitive in “shootouts”.

Matt Cassel torched the Dolphins, and Tom Brady is capable of doing the same (is there really any question of that). So, Bill O’Brien, if you want to keep your job, you need to think about strategies that put the stacked New England offense in a position to win. If not, then you will be changed.

Charlie Weis, anybody?

Guess what? They were right.

When Tom Terrific was given Randy Moss and a Wes Welker as wide receivers, he threw a record 50 touchdown passes in one season, previously a record held by Peyton Mannig (49).

For most, the debate was settled. Brady was clearly the better quarterback, as he had compiled more rings with weaker targets, and he had finally started to compete with Manning statistically.

Brady detractors scoffed he had done in one season what Manning had been doing his whole career. Unfortunately for Manning, the NFL is about winning. More players are remembered for winning than putting up great numbers.

No quarterback has won as much as Brady has this decade. Manning measures just 1/3 of Brady in the hardware department (Super Bowl rings, 0f course), and Brady has his statistical record of 50 TD’s in one season.

Despite the statistical juggernaut the 2007 Patriots offense had become, the New York Giants defeated them on the NFL’s biggest stage: The Super Bowl.

Following the devastating Super Bowl loss which was filled with controversy, desire, drive and a few tears from me, I expected Tom to put up spectacular numbers in the team’s 2008 campaign. Immortal Brady was ‘mortalized’, and for that matter hospitalized, as he tore major ligaments in his knee during the season opener.

The season and off-season was filled with hope from Patriots fans that Tom Brady would return healthy. Uncertain throughout, us Pats fans can now stand on sturdy ground in terms of Tom Brady’s health. How? Because if Brady had not been ready to go at 100%, Matt Cassel would never have been traded.

Tom Brady is healthy. If not, the Pats’ upper management blew it, and are clearly willing to gamble with player injuries. Just remember, when I say upper management I’m talking about Robert Kraft and Bill Bellichick, two of the best in the league.

In 2007, Brady threw an amazing 50 touchdown passes. Of those 50, 31 of them were to either Wes Welker or Randy Moss, and another 7 to either Ben Watson or Kevin Faulk. Thus, the four targets accounted for 38/50, or 75% of Brady’s TD’s. If no other player had caught a touchdown, Brady would still have managed a sensational 38 touchdown passes.

The other 12 TD’s were to a combination of an inconsistent Donte Stallworth, a very fallible Jabar “Gaffe” Gaffney, Chad Jackson (who couldn’t run routes or consistently catch a ball), and blocking extraordinaire Kyle Brady.

Chad was consistently a non-factor, and doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned. Jabar Gaffney, despite his many dropped passes, was still a threat. He is no longer with the team, but his role in terms of a slot/wide receiver is assumed to be taken over by Greg Lewis, who is a better route runner, receiver, and a touch quicker. Lewis has never been an extraordinary wide receiver, but he does not drop passes and will fight for extra yardage.

Donte Stallworth was a formidable receiver, who made his money from his deep receiving abilities.

The Patriots acquired WR Joey Galloway this off-season, and he figures to be a Stallworth type receiver. Galloway is older now, but can still catch a deep ball and possesses great speed. Joey had a statistical dip last season, but that’s because he only played in 9 games. In 2007, he caught 57 passes for 1,014 yards and 6 touchdowns.

As if the wide receiver additions weren’t enough, the Pats also added depth at tight end by signing Chris Baker and Alex Smith.

Essentially my point is that Brady has better receivers than he did in 2007. Oh, did I mention a better running game too? Fred Taylor is obviously an older running back, but he will not be working alone. He will join forces with Sammy Morris, Laurence Maroney and the ever-consistent Kevin (or as I like to call him “Quicks”) Faulk.

The three will create a consistent ground attack which has big run ability as well as a sledgehammer option.

Can you imagine that? Tom Brady throws a few quick passes to Wes Welker, to get New England a first down. They break to a four receiver set with any RB in the backfield and hand it off to him. Line up in the same position the next play, run a play action, and just try to tell me that Moss, Welker, Lewis, Galloway and even the running back will be covered?

This offense is a quarterback’s dream. Put it in Brady’s hand and this offense is a defense’s nightmare.

It will take strong play from the Offensive Line, which I fully expect to happen. Last season, it took them a few games to get used to Matt Cassel, but they clearly settled down towards the end of the season, as Cassel had time to throw the ball accurately without getting sacked.

The “Bearded Brothers” will be back with Tom Brady, and will be energized to help him through the season, considering the last time they went out on the field for a major period of time they gave up five sacks in the Super Bowl.

Obviously the defensive unit is much improved, and has been injected with youth and is coached by Bill Belichick, so it has the potential to be among the top five-seven defensive units once again.

In all, opposing teams will be torched, and then extinguished by New England next season.

As Brady’s rejuvenated offense steps onto the field next season, and for the first time in a long time snaps the ball, I recommend watching…. Amazing will happen.

They were able to limp to an 11-5 season last year, despite a depleted starting line, both offensively and defensively. Star quarterback Tom Brady was injured, as were running backs Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris, along with guard Stephen Neal.

Defensively, the Patriots were missing the majority of their secondary, including Rodney Harrison and Terrence Wheatley. At linebacker, the Pats were without their strong outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, and were thin at the inside linebacker position as well.

The Patriots need to stay healthy to win next season’s Super Bowl. New England can win games despite injuries; however, the team will need to be at full strength to win a title.

Offensively, the Pats merely need to come close to what they did over the past two seasons, and they will blow away their opponents. With Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker, the passing game will not be an issue.

The Patriots acquired RB Fred Taylor over the offseason. This means that they will feature three prime running backs: Maroney, Morris and Taylor. Each back can put up solid offensive numbers, and each poses a threat for the defense. Taylor and Morris are both hammering backs, and if they have the opportunity to lower their shoulders, they will take it. Maroney is a little bit more of a scat back, and while he can run defenders over, he can also use his quickness to blow by them.

Defensively, the Patriots have the best defensive line in the NFL, and only improved it by picking Ron Brace in the draft. With Brace, Wilfork can get rest while the offensive line still must deal with a monster defender in terms of size.

At linebacker, the Patriots are good, but not great. Jerod Mayo was the rookie of the year last season, and he will only get better. Tedy Bruschi will play alongside him, and while Bruschi is aging, he still makes smart plays and tackles with great consistency. At outside linebacker, the Patriots have Adalius Thomas, who is not only a threat to sack the quarterback, but also is a dominant run stuffer, who can cover the best tight ends in the league.

Opposite Thomas will be Shawn Crable or Tully Banta-Cain. This position is the biggest hole in New England’s defensive lineup; however, Bill Belichick and the rest of the coaching staff have displayed a great amount of confidence towards Crable, and believe he can be a great player. If the genius responsible for three Patriots’ titles puts his trust in a player, you can believe it’s true.

In terms of New England’s secondary, they can be dominant if they remain healthy. In the secondary, Brandon Meriweather and James Sanders are solid safeties. Behind Sanders and Meriweather on the depth charts is Patrick Chung, who can be the hard hitting safety the Pats missed with the absence of Rodney Harrison.

Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden, the two apparent starters for the Patriots, have both proven themselves to be successful corners in this league. Behind Bodden sits younger corners including Jonathan Wilhite, Terrence Wheatley, and Darius Butler. Butler was considered the best corner back available in the draft by some, while Wheatley and Wilhite both demonstrated solid play last year. Wilhite started to come into his own at the end of the year, while Wheatley was able to shut down Reggie Wayne of the Colts before he was injured.

For the Patriots to miss the playoffs, they would need to catch the injury bug. Literally, they would need to have more injuries than last season, because this year they are deeper, more experienced, and better.

The only injury which could truly halt the Patriots’ season would be one to Tom Brady, as Kevin O’Connell still hasn’t proven himself. While O’Connell’s skill is unknown, Belichick may have found himself another gem late in the draft. Hopefully, the Pats will not have to see his skill development this season. The reason I think Brady’s knee will be a non-factor is because if there was any doubt about his health, Bill Belichick would not have dealt Matt Cassel.

The Patriots will win Super Bowl 44, barring more injuries than they experienced last season.

For More Patriots News, Go To New England Sports Online

No the market was not as big as the Pats hoped for Cassel due to his price tag, but maybe trade just him for a second rounder. Not Mike Vrabel too! Ultimately, the Patriots turned a 7th round draft pick and a low-priced veteran linebacker into a high second round pick, but considering what the Patriots could have received in return. Despite the Pats clearing up some cap space, the Chiefs struck some black gold here.

1. Tom Brady will be back. Matt Cassel played well. Extremely well, however he was not able to fully utilize the deep threat to Randy Moss. Cassel is a great accurate, dink-and-dunk quarterback, similar to Brady when Tom was younger, however Tom can make the short throw AND the long throw. Cassel was great, but Brady is better.
2. Our Running Backs will be healthy. Okay, last year was crazy. Three out of our four running backs were injured, and all for significant periods of time! No way that happens again. Even if one, or two go down, we have a lot of depth there. Sammy Morris is a great runner for 4-5 yard carries, consistently, as he is fairly quick and packs a punch when he runs into a defender. He also is very good at hitting the holes. Lamont Jordan is a great guy for those tough, 2-3 yard situations, just because of his size and because he’s so hard to bring down. Laurence Maroney is good for 5 yards a carry, if he achieves his potential. He can run over defenders, juke them out, and has a powerful stiff arm move. If BB can utilize these three running backs so that Jordan gets 4 carries a game, Morris gets 10, and Maroney gets 10, meaning they split the load, then they will stay healthy and fresh. Plus, Kevin Faulk can always be thrown into the mix. If any of the backs get tired? No problem, there ar at least two more capable starters. And yes, I believe that Maroney will stay healthy this year, as will Morris, as both are learning to keep their bodies healthy, specifically Maroney, who is learning that it’s better to get tackled than to get injured.
3. Our cornerbacks are good. Ellis Hobbs is a solid corner, and can cover pretty much all the #2 wideouts in the league, and can occasionally shut down a #1 guy. He is a little bit slow on the deep ball, however with Brandon Meriweather’s ball hawking skills and recovery speed, that should be less of a problem. Also, Jonathan Wilhite showed promise at the end of last season. He was able to intercept the ball, and make some big defensive plays. He is a great option to cover the #3 receiver, and occasionally the #2 wideout. Now, not he showed his rapid improvement towards the end of last season, and if he continues to improve, he can become a very, very good corner in this league, because of his instinct. Lastly, Terrence Wheatley was getting better before he injured his wrist.  He is very similar to Wilhite, except that he is a little bit more of a speed corner as opposed to a wrap-up tackler. He is a good tackler, and if improves at the pace he was before he got injured (He shut down Reggie Wayne while playing the Colts before he went down), then he will be a great corner in this league, even a shut-down one. Just because he wasn’t a first rounder, doesn’t mean he can’t be good. Even Jonathan Wilhite. Remember, Asante Samuel was a 3rd rounder.
4. The safeties will be better. James Sanders is improving, and Brandon Meriweather led the team in picks (4) despite only starting 10 games. Sanders is a good, consistent tackler, and Meriweather is a great ball hawk, who is quick and has developed a real knack for the ball. He is working on his tackling, and once he becomes a better wrap-up tackler, his occasional big hit will be glorified. Also, Tank Williams, who was overlooked to to his pre-season injury, is a great safety. He also can play linebacker if need be, and he is a very, very consistent tackler, who posesses enough speed to flow with tight ends and most wide receivers.
5. The line is good. Both lines. The offensive line last year was great after getting used to Cassel’s style, and with Brady back, (or even with Cassel if Brady can’t go) then they will dominate, similar to the ’07-’08 season. Last year, we saw what the Pats defensive line could do with the three men healthy. Warren did go down towards the end of the year, however when they are healthy (which they were for 14 games last year, and will do the same next year) they are dominant. Richard Seymour. Need I say more? Quick, powerful, great at batting down passes and rushing the passer. Vince Wilfork is just a mountain in the middle, and Ty Warren is an underrated run stuffer, who has the ability to get to the QB.
6. Ben Watson will be better. He will be used more offense, as he has become a better blocking tight end, and his route running has improved. He is a great run after the catch tight end, and like Antonio Gates, is very athletic and very fast.
7. Our linebackers will be better. Jerod Mayo will improve, Adalius Thomas won’t be injured, and Mike Vrabel will at least be consistent. Also, Pierre Woods will be a stronger back-up, and a more useful option after his experience last year. Also, Gary Guyton showed promise according to Bill Belichick before getting injured, so he will provide some depth. If Bruschi can come back after his injury, great, he is not great anymore, but he is good, and knows how to play. Also, the Pats will probably address their linebacker issues in the draft, even with Rosevelt Colvin and Junior Seau.
8. The defense will be deeper next year. Similar to last year, the Pats will probably go all out defense during the draft, to address depth issues at linebacker and safety, as well as grab a #3-#4 cornerback. The Pats will either go safety or linebacker in the first round, and whichever way they don’t go, they will probably choose in the second. I think they will choose a linebacker in the first round, especially after how well Jerod Mayo played last year. Then, in the 3rd, they’ll probably go for a corner, and in the 4th and 5th round they’ll look for secondary players in general. Because they have Tank Williams, who can play linebacker, they don’t need to draft 3-4 backers this year, rather only 2-3. That’s why I think they’ll draft a backer in the 6th round, and then leave the 7th round up to possibly a special teams guy who’s primary position is cornerback.

I think this is how the draft will shape up:

Round

1. Linebacker

2. Safety

3. Cornerback

4. Cornerback/Safety (somebody who has the versatility to play either)

5. Safety/Cornerback (same as above, however more of a safety)

6. Linebacker

7. Lineman/Small Linebacker

Overall, the Pats will just be better defensively, and will be able to utilize all of their weapons offensively. Even though the Pats lost Pioli and McDaniels, I believe that that the coaching of Bill O’Brien will be fine in replacing Josh, and Belichick has a very similar and uncanny knack for getting a steal pick, similar to Pioli.  Plus, I don’t expect the Pats to get hit with 20+ injuries again this season. And when healthy, this team has shown (2007-2008) that they really can’t be beat*. So, if the Pats made, and almost won the Super Bowl* with an extremely similar team, which has an improving defense, then shouldn’t they be able to do it again?

• *Note: The Giants won because of an attrocious offensive game, and the David Tyree catch 1) never happens again and 2)Richard Seymour and Ty Warren were being held on that play (look at the replay)