16 Game predictions for 16 2015 Patriot games

The NFL released all 32 teams 2015 schedules last night, lets dive into the +New England Patriots  and jot down  quick prediction for each game
                                                                               

                                                                               
Opening Day Week 1 VS. +Pittsburgh Steelers 

  The Patriots open up the 2015 season with a Super Bowl banner being  raised and an 8:30 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Former teammates and starting Running Backs will suspended for the game which means we could see a hole boatload of passing. I expect a high scoring game and the Pats are 3-0 when raising the banner following a Super Bowl win. 31-28 Patriots Record 1-0

WEEK 2 @  +Buffalo Bills                                                                                                                 
 Don't expect anything to change from Rex Ryan from New York to Rex Ryan in Buffalo, New York. A vaunted front seven, with pressures from every spot and a mix of coverage to keep Tom Brady and his receivers guessing. Buffalo and its new coach will get the Patriots at home in a close one. 24-21 Bills Record 1-1

WEEK 3 +Jacksonville Jaguars 

The Patriots face a young team with huge potential but that potential will not be enough against the Patriots at home. New England follows its loss to the Jets with blowout win at home. Patriots 42-14 Record 2-1

Week 4 BYE

The Patriots host the earliest bye of any team this season which can be a benefit but also a burden. Following the bye the team travels to Dallas for a 4:25 game against the Cowboys.

WEEK 5 @ +Dallas Cowboys 

The Patriots under Bill are 11-4 after a BYE week. Dallas will pose a tough challenge with Tony Romo and Dez Bryant to defend. You also can not forget about the great offensive line of Dallas so the Patriots will be on their heals in this one. Dallas 28-24 Record 2-2

WEEK 6 @ +Indianapolis Colts 

After a loss to Dallas the Patriots will travel back north for a prime time game versus Andrew Luck and the Colts. This time around the Colts look to have more fire power but can they stop the run? As history states Indy has been very vulnerable to the Patriots run game, and Andrew Luck has struggled versus the Patriots defense. I expect those trends to continue as the Patriots win in Indy. Patriots 34-20 Record 3-2

WEEK 7 +New York Jets 

In the Patriots second divisional game of the season this time versus the Jets at Gillette the Patriots will see a familiar face- Darrelle Revis. That alone brings a ton of press for this 1PM game. Expect the Patriots to expose Revis as they roll to their 4th win of the year. Patriots 29-21 Record 4-2 

WEEK 8 +Miami Dolphins 

Back to back home games, back to back divisional games and back to back wins for the Patriots.This win improves them to 2-1 in AFC EAST play. Patriots 24-21 Record 5-2

WEEK 9 +Washington Redskins 

Another home game for the Patriots. This time the Washington Redskins. Last time these two teams played was in 2007 and that game saw the Patriots blowout the the Redskins 52-0. I don't expect that to happen, so much has changed since then but the Patriots will cruise to their 4th straight victory. Patriots 38-17
Record 6-2

WEEK 10 @ +New York Giants 

An away game against the Giants, We all know the Giants play the Patriots extremely well every time they face and I expect that to continue. Shane Vareen will square off against his former team while New England will have their hands filled with ODB and Victor Cruz, Although that won't be enough. Patriots 27-24 Record 7-2 

WEEK 11 +Buffalo Bills 

The first time around Rex Ryan and the Bills caught the Patriots. The Pats have not loss to the same divisional opponent in one season since 2000. The Patriots blow out Buffalo in this one. Patriots 48-17
Record 8-2

WEEK 12 @  +Denver Broncos 

The Pats will head to Mile high in what could be the last time we ever see Brady VS. Manning. Manning will be 39 Brady will be 38. I believe this will be Manning's last season, Brady will get the upper hand in the potential end to a great QB match up. Patriots 31-28 Record 9-2 

WEEK 13 +Philadelphia Eagles 

New England will face an Eagles team with a backfield seen like no other featuring D. Murray, R. Matthews and D. Sproles. Tim Tebow could also be the starting QB for the Eagles or not, we all like to dream. The Eagles fast pace attack and the depth at Running Back will be to much for the Patriots as they fall to the Eagles at home. Eagles 28-14 Record 9-3 

WEEK 14 @ +Houston Texans 

Talk about a family reunion. Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, Romeo Crennel, Vince Wilfork and Mike Vrabel. The Patriots travel to Houston to face familiar foes. This game will be tightly contested  as J.J Watt and Vince Wilfork will be a "BIG" task to get by but New England prevails. Patriots 21-17 Record 10-3 

WEEK 15 +Tennessee Titans 

One week later the Patriots host the Titans. For the first time in their careers the McCourty twins will face off. The Patriots will ride to their 11th victory on the season. Patriots 38-14 Record 11-3 

WEEK 16 @  +New York Jets 

New England will finish the season with away games starting with the New York Jets. The Jets always play the Pats tight but not this time around. Tom Brady has a field day as the Pats cruise to Victory.
Patriots 34-17  Record 12-3 

WEEK 17 @ +Miami Dolphins 

The last game of the season see's the Patriots heading out to Miami. Last season the Patriots struggled in the heat on opening day but that won't be a problem in January. The Pats will wrap up another AFC EAST TITLE and finish the season as the AFC'S top seed gaining  Home Field and a first round bye in the playoffs. Patriots 28-20 Record 13-3 

How long does Tom Brady have left?

People every year say that Tom Brady is regressing, he's not the Tom he once was, he can't win in the clutch anymore. So on and so forth you get the picture, actually Tom Brady has been just as good if not better than than he has in his "prime years". In case you didn't know he just won his 4th Super Bowl and his first in 10 years. He's the only player along with Joe Montana with Multiple Super Bowl MVP awards. Oh and he won the Super Bowl against a defense as good as we seen in the last 25-30 years of football. He threw 4 touchdowns and completed 37 passes which is a Super Bowl record yet he's regressing. Let's take a deeper look into Brady these past two seasons.

2014-2015 Season

This season Brady completed 65% of his passes for 4100 yards 33 Touchdowns and 9 Interceptions with a QBR of 98.1

Brady's receivers featured Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski and Running Back Shane Vareen. Outside of those players there wasn't much production from any others excluding Tim Wrights 6 TD receptions. Amendola really only came on towards the end of the season.

Brady's career average for % of passes completed stands at 64 while he averages 30 TD's a season and just around 10 Interceptions a season. That is 2:1 TD-INT ratio.

His numbers from this past season were right on track with Brady's averages. Meanwhile in the playoffs he was asked to throw the football more than 50 times in 2 games in which he won both games. QB's who throw the ball are 4-50 since the Super Bowl when throwing the ball 50 times in a post season game, 3 of those wins coming from Brady.

2013-2014

Many thought this season was going to TB12 to a downwards trend has he had only 25 TD's two up from his career low of 23 and also threw 11 Interceptions throwing the ball 628 times that season. Brady was throwing to at the time unproven Slot receiver a oft injured Danny Amendola and a never healthy Gronk.

Yet he still lead his team to the AFC Championship game. Despite career lows he continued to show greatness in the clutch with come from behind games against the Browns and Broncos.

I know many people say stats don't prove everything Brady has stuck to his career averages and broken records while also winning a Super Bowl. So with the pace Brady is going at the soon to be 38 year old should have a few more good seasons in him and maybe one more Super Bowl win in him.

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2015 NFL Draft

With the NFL draft creeping slowly upon us let's take a quick look at what the draft really provides.

The NFL is loaded with Talent it's also loaded with other guys aiming to prove them selfs. A 7 round 255 player draft every year allows 255 players every year a chance to make roster earn some money and do what they love. 

What about those undrafted guys many have to go through more workouts land on a practice squad and if they get lucky end up on the 53 man roster because of injury. 

The draft process is rough it opens many dreams but also closes several. 

Patriots Secondary

After recent signings of Bradley Fletcher and Robert McClain the patriots head into the season with the following players at the CB position

Alfonzo Dennard

Kyle Arrington

Logan Ryan 

Malcolm Butler 

Chimidi Chekwa

Justin Green 

Robert McClain

Bradley Fletcher

Kyle Arrington- Kyle has been with the Patriots for several years now and has seen the secondary transform before his eyes. Arrington is great slot corner and can shutdown small speedy receivers as seen by Ty Hilton. As far as lining up on the outside against bigger bodies he struggles although being in the right position. When asked to in 2011 to be a number 1 number 2 corner he did intercept a league lead 7 passes. 

Alfonzo Dennard- A season ago many would have thought that Dennard was the next best corner for the Patriots playing very well in his first two seasons. With additions of Revis and Browner last off season he fell off the chart and never worked his way back up. Dennard  does have a great skill set with the ability to press at the line and play at the number 2 spot other than that he's not very good in the slot and can be caught out of position. 

Logan Ryan- Ryan a year ago picked off 5 passes and looked great all season long. Many would think he'd be even better this season, not so much. Although Ryan wasn't bad he wasn't great. In his second year he showed very inconsistent play at times looking like a premier corner and other times looking like a struggling rookie. Ryan shows great speed and is in good position for the ball, he has good ball skills and should improve heading into his third season. 

Malcolm Butler- The super bowl hero as many know him as. Throughout his rookie year Butler played heavy snaps in a few games showing great physicality and a nack for the ball. Butler is raw and could develop into a good if not great corner under BB. Expectations will be high for the super bowl hero heading into his second season. 

Chimidi Chekwa- Recently acquired Chekwa struggled on the field with the raiders playing high snaps. I believe Chekwa was brought in for completion and if he plays well enough could make the roster. 

Justin Green- Green was mostly on the practice squad this season for the Pats so he knows the system and could battle for a roster spot. 

Bradley Fletcher- Fletcher has had an up and down career a few years ago he looked great ranking high in PPF for corners. Last season Fletcher struggled in the Eagles cover 3 system letting up 9 touchdowns for 1000 yards. Confidence is an issue with Bradley and if he can capture that back he could perform well in a much similar situation to Patrick Chung. 

Robert McClain- McClain brings  great depth. He is a solid corner and plays exceptionally well in in slot which the  Patriots lack outside of Kyle Arrington. Look for Robert to come in and compete right away regardless of role whether it's outside or in the slot. 

3rd Down back New England?

For years and years the Patriots have always came into every season with atleast two pass catching Running Backs. Year after year it was Kevin Faulk who handled the duties then soon after he retired the Patriots brought in Danny Woodhead who starred in the 3rd down role at RB for 3 seasons till he left his way to San Diego for more money. Once he was gone the Patriots drafted Shane Vareen and slowly but surely he caught on and thrived in his role. During his time in New England he caught several passes and has several stand out games. Including a 6 catch performance in Super Bowl 46 with a touchdown and this year featuring a 11 catch performance in Super Bowl 49 which ultimately led to his departure to the New York Giants. Which has led the Patriots in need for a 3rd Down back. Many thought Reggie Bush was going to sign in New England but he ended up signing with the 49ers. Heading into the 2015 season as of right now the Patriots just have James White on the roster who could fill the role. As far as White goes he was drafted last season out of Wisconsin and spent much of his time as basically a red shirt rookie. Pierre Thomas a veteran RB could be a big possibility as NE loves to bring in veterans.

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Should the Pats bring back Vince Wilfork?

Where to start?? Big Vince the constant main stay of the New England Patriots defense. Since 2004 Wilfork has been the key cog for the Patriots clogging up holes stopping running lanes and disrupting Quarterbacks.

Despite missing the entire season in 2013 with a torn achilles many thought Wilfork would never return the same and his career was over. He proved doubters wrong and took a pay cut to return to the Patriots in 2014 and played yet another great season leading the way on defense to New England's 4th Lombardi in 15 years. Fast forward and here we are, the beginning stages of the 2015 season.

The Patriots front office decided not to pick up the 33 year olds $8 million option, Wilfork left heartfelt letter saying his goodbyes to the Patriots and their fans. But is this really the end to Vince Wilforks time in in New England?

Of course many teams have been interested in picking up the Defensive Tackle but Wilfork and his agent have yet to make a move. According to several sources including  Patriots representative of ESPN Mike Reiss the Patriots are much interested in bringing back Wilfork on a new deal. With the recent resigning of Alan  Branch on a 2 year deal worth $6.6 Million how far will the Pats go for Wilfork? Can the two sides come to an agreement and have Wilfork start and finish his career with the Patriots? Leave a comment, what do you think will happen?

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With Revis gone whats next?

So hopefully many of you Patriot fans out there already knew that Revis was not going to be a Patriot for the 2015 season. There was just no way we could have afford him. Only way he would have remained was on a hometown discount. Revis proved yet again that he is a business man returning the New York Jets on a whopping 5 YEAR $70 MILLION DEAL. Including $40 MILLION GUARANTEED over the first 4 years of contract. Well enough talking numbers lets take a quick take on whats next for the Patriots and how they plan to address the corner back position.

Free Agency-

After the recent signing of Chris Culliver to Washington there is not much on the market. Those who stand out among others are recently released former Saint Corey White and Perish Cox a former 49er. I don't expect the Pats to push for neither of these guys but could sign someone else in the market.

Trade-

If the Patriots were to make any big moves at the corner position it would be through trade. I don't exactly see what exact teams would the Patriots be interested in but veterans on teams on likely a target of New England. It is New England though to expect anything as far as trades.

As far as the draft which is approaching soon I'm not sure the Patriots will target corners as the class seems rather weak at the position.