The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl last season but unlike many other Super Bowl winning teams, the Patriots decided that wasn’t good enough. Instead, the Patriots went all in to try to give quarterback Tom Brady a chance to win another one as he turns 40-years-old. One season after winning 14 games in the AFC regular season, New England looks even better for the upcoming 2017 Nfl Season. With the NFL training camps starting this week, here is a look at the 2017 New England Patriots preview.
Patriots offensive breakdown
The New England Patriots offense begins and ends with quarterback Tom Brady.
As he prepares to turn 40, Brady finished last season with 28 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He also helped his Patriots come back from a 28-3 deficit in the Super Bowl to win his record-setting fifth Super Bowl ring. His backup is Jimmy Garoppolo, who many teams have inquired about trading for and they also have last season’s third-round NFL Draft pick in Jacoby Brissett.
The Patriots went a long way this offseason to give Brady the most weapons he has ever had, and that speaks wonders after winning five Super Bowls in his career. While the team lost star running back LeGarrette Blount, they have four players contending for the starting role including former Buffalo Bills back Mike Gillislee, who ran for an NFL-high 5.7 yards-per-carry last year.
Joining him is Super Bowl superstar James White, pass-catching back Dion Lewis, and Rex Burkhead.
At wide receiver, the New England Patriots traded for New Orleans Saints superstar Brandin Cooks. He joins a strong receiver corps that includes superstar Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, and Danny Amendola. Of course, the team also has Rob Gronkowski at tight end, one of the best in the NFL at his position.
Patriots defensive breakdown
The New England Patriots defense is the one spot that they don’t have proven superstars. They lack a defensive line edge rusher and only had 34 sacks last season. Trey Flowers did come up with 2.5 sacks in the Super Bowl and the Patriots hope he can do that in the regular season as well. They lose Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard and will try to replace them with newcomer Kony Ealy and rookie linemen Derek Rivers and Deatrich Wise.
The New England Patriots also traded away one of their top linebackers in Jamie Collins last year but they still have a great blazer in Dont’a Hightower and a great three-down backer in Kyle Van Noy. The defensive backfield is where the Patriots shine. They have all four starters returning in Malcolm Butler, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, and Duron Harmon.
Patriots 2017 NFL prediction
The New England Patriots are favorites to win the Super Bowl in the 2017 NFL season. They have improved over a team that won it all last year and offer Tom Brady a chance to increase his five Super Bowl title.
