Like it’s been for the last decade and a half, the New England Patriots are expected to be the best team in the NFL. It’s hard to go against a team that’s reached double figures in victories 15 times in the last 16 seasons and has played in seven Super Bowls while winning five of them. And with their offseason acquisitions, the Patriots might be better than last season’s Super Bowl winning club, which is a scary thought for other teams.
New England Patriots Futures Odds at BookMaker.eu
Patriots Over 12.5 Wins -130
Patriots Under 12.5 Wins even
2017 New England Patriots Offense Preview
The Pats may have caught a break last season with Brady’s early suspension. Playing only three-quarters of a season Brady performed his best when the Pats made a stirring comeback to knock off the Falcons in the Super Bowl. However, there were some anxious moments at the start of the year. Without Tom Terrific, the Pats were able to win three of the four games during his hiatus for the Deflategate scandal and the team elected to hold onto backup Jimmy Garoppolo.
That’s because Brady will be 40 years old when the season starts and for those of you over that age, you know things start falling apart. But Brady claims to be in the best shape of his life and he has all kinds of weapons to work with after the acquisition of speedy receiver Brandin Cooks and back Mike Gillislee. The Pats could have their best group of receivers in some time and that’s not including Rob Gronkowski, who returns after back surgery.
The offense is solid behind a steady line and playmakers that will allow Brady to pick defenses apart. Barring any major injuries, the group should at least be as productive as last season and could be even better.
2017 New England Patriots Defense Preview
The Pats added Stephon Gilmore to the secondary and with Malcolm Butler they now possess the best set of cornerbacks in the league. That will come in handy as the schedule has them facing some of the top quarterbacks in the league. And that was the one area where the team struggled, if you can call it that, last season when the Pats ranked 12th against the pass allowing 238 yards per game. Those numbers were skewed a bit as opponents played catch up a lot and threw the ball in an attempt to do so.
There really are no weak spots on the defense. The line is solid and David Harris was added to help the linebackers out. The heart and soul of the group, Rob Ninkovich, retired and that could leave a void, but there’s always someone ready to step up. Trey Flowers and Alan Branch were stellar up front last season helping the Pats lead the league in points allowed per game.
It might be difficult to replicate those numbers against what should be a more difficult schedule, but the Pats have the versatility and depth to be another sound defensive squad.
2017 New England Patriots Schedule Analysis
The Pats will be good but the schedule gets a bit more difficult in 2017 and the total of 12.5 wins leaves little margin for error. The AFC West and NFC South cycle around this year and New England will face some of the best quarterbacks in the league. The AFC West could be the toughest division in football with the Raiders and Chiefs among the favorites to contend for the conference championship. The Broncos are a quarterback away from being legitimate and the Chargers are always a wild card.
There’s a Super Bowl rematch with the Falcons in Week 7 that completes the Pats’ tour of the NFC South. Two difficult road games have them at New Orleans and Tampa Bay at the beginning of the slate. Two other AFC hopefuls are thrown in with Pittsburgh and Houston hitting the schedule again. Revenge is a great motivator and both the Steelers and Texans lost twice to the Pats last season, including in the postseason. The Dolphins could give the Pats a scare in the division, but wins are likely against the Jets and Bills.
The Final Verdict
The Pats have won at least 10 games in 14 straight seasons and they’ve topped 12 victories six times in that span. The talent is present to reach double figures again, but the schedule leaves us concerned about getting 13 victories. Even if the club stays healthy, facing as many as six legitimate Super Bowl contenders leads us to believe a few setbacks are in store.
As good as the Pats and Brady have been, the rest of the league will catch up at some point. Or the Pats will stumble. In the era of salary caps and free agency, what New England has done in this dynastic run is unparalleled. They may be favored to win the Super Bowl again, but they’ll do it by winning fewer than 12.5 games.
NFL Odds: New England Patriots Under 12.5 Wins
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