umm good question? New England has lots of holes on both sides of the ball. They have lost a from last year's Super Bowl team. They are only dressing four wide receivers. One of them Harper is a undrafted rookie. Arron Dopson third-year bust on his last chance to show something. Brandon Lafell, is out until week eight. Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are both healthy. Running backs Shane vareen and Stephen Ridley are Gone, Blount is suspended. Jonas Gray had a solid preseason, but had issues Belichick and was cut. Undersized Dion Lewis and James White are the only options, primarily third-
down backs. I believe patriots will try 2 move the ball where Brady is comfortable, the short passing game. They will go 2 tight ends sets majority of the time. GRonk and newly acquired Scott Chandler, both at 6' 7 will cause matchup problems. Line is a complete disaster, best guard Dan Connolly retired, Bryan Stork
(concussion) out until week eight, Ryan
winDell just started practicing this week. Rookie Trey Jackson injured during camp out definitely. This will leave undrafted rookie Andrews starting at center, and rookie Shaq Mason starting at guard. Mason is from Georgia Tech and very solid run blocker, very poor pass blocker is understandably yellow jackets very rarely pass the ball. Mason will be a project in pass protection. Last year patriots struggled out of the gate going 2-2, as the line could not protect Brady if we give him ample time. I would expect the same growing pains this season.
Defensive side of the ball the front seven has the potential to be very good. Sheard acquired from Cleveland is probably the best off-season acquisition. He will play the left end, Chandler Jones on the right. Big Vince is gone from the middle, Belichick going with younger, quicker interior defensive line to try to pressure the quarterback. Last year first round pick Dominique Easley and 2015, first rounder Brown are the defensive tackles.
Secondary is a complete mess. Revis, Browner, Arrington, and Denard were all starters,, and are all gone. Malcolm Butler literally won New England a Super Bowl, but he is far from a shutdown corner. I'm not sure he is even average. He certainly cannot lock down guys like Antonio Brown. He is a undrafted kid from a Division II program, and not even a decent program at that. Last year, Belichick built the defense through the secondary. With all the changes this year. He is hoping the front seven Can pressure the quarterback and somewhat cover for the secondary's deficiencies. The linebackers are very solid, Collins, Hightower, Mayo and Rob Ninkovich. If they cannot pressure the quarterback they will give up a lot of passing yards.
Steelers missing Bell and Bryant, is definitely a factor. Historically Brady has been ridiculously good against Pittsburgh. 7-2 20 touchdowns and three interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.
