***Official*** Patriots 2011 season thread

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Final 53 man roster:

QB – Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett (3)
RB – BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley (4)
WR – Chad Ochocinco, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Taylor Price, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater (6)
TE – Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez (2)
OL – Matt Light, Sebastian Vollmer, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nate Solder, Steve Maneri (8)
DE – Andre Carter, Shaun Ellis, Mike Wright, Mark Anderson, Jermaine Cunningham (5)
DT – Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor, Gerard Warren (5)
LB – Jerod Mayo, Brandon es, Rob Ninkovich, Dane Fletcher, Gary Guyton, Jeff Tarpinian, Tracy White (7)
CB – Devin McCourty, Leigh Bodden, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Darius Butler, Antwaun Molden (6)
S – Patrick Chung, Sergio Brown, Josh Barrett, James Ihedigbo (4)
Specialists – Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, James Dearth (3)


They just signed Brian Waters and my guess is Tarpinian or Wendell is getting cut to make room for him. Waters, as old as he is, is an upgrade over Connolly at RG and fills a big need.

A few red flags about the final roster, they have no fullbacks and only 2 tight ends (one of which is basically a receiver who lines up at tight end). Maybe it means they plan on bringing Alge Crumpler back or they plan on lining Solder up at TE this year on occasion, but hopefully it doesn't mean there's gonna be more shotgun formations like the 2009 Patriots had.

The other weird thing is at safety. Cutting both James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather was one of the weirder things Belichick has ever done with roster cuts. It likely means Sergio Brown (an undrafted guy in his 2nd year) is gonna be the starter at FS on opening day, and that their backup corners (Dowling, Arrington and Butler) are gonna have to play a lot of safety.

IMO they have another good regular season, win their division, have a top seed, the question will remain what Tom Brady and what offensive line show up to the playoffs.

[Reggie Williams]

Final 53 man roster:

QB – Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett (3)
RB – BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley (4)
WR – Chad Ochocinco, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Taylor Price, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater (6)
TE – Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez (2)
OL – Matt Light, Sebastian Vollmer, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nate Solder, Steve Maneri (8)
DE – Andre Carter, Shaun Ellis, Mike Wright, Mark Anderson, Jermaine Cunningham (5)
DT – Vince Wilfork, Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Love, Myron Pryor, Gerard Warren (5)
LB – Jerod Mayo, Brandon es, Rob Ninkovich, Dane Fletcher, Gary Guyton, Jeff Tarpinian, Tracy White (7)
CB – Devin McCourty, Leigh Bodden, Ras-I Dowling, Kyle Arrington, Darius Butler, Antwaun Molden (6)
S – Patrick Chung, Sergio Brown, Josh Barrett, James Ihedigbo (4)
Specialists – Stephen Gostkowski, Zoltan Mesko, James Dearth (3)


They just signed Brian Waters and my guess is Tarpinian or Wendell is getting cut to make room for him. Waters, as old as he is, is an upgrade over Connolly at RG and fills a big need.

A few red flags about the final roster, they have no fullbacks and only 2 tight ends (one of which is basically a receiver who lines up at tight end). Maybe it means they plan on bringing Alge Crumpler back or they plan on lining Solder up at TE this year on occasion, but hopefully it doesn't mean there's gonna be more shotgun formations like the 2009 Patriots had.

The other weird thing is at safety. Cutting both James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather was one of the weirder things Belichick has ever done with roster cuts. It likely means Sergio Brown (an undrafted guy in his 2nd year) is gonna be the starter at FS on opening day, and that their backup corners (Dowling, Arrington and Butler) are gonna have to play a lot of safety.

IMO they have another good regular season, win their division, have a top seed, the question will remain what Tom Brady and what offensive line show up to the playoffs.

The Pats run a 4-3 right?

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

No one knows. They're supposedly gonna mix in a lot more 4-3 this year even tho the base defense has always been 3-4, more or less it's gonna be a multi-formation defense. The formation they use most is prolly gonna be 4-2-5

[DeadlyDynasty]

They'll breeze through another regular season, just to get upended by the Ravens or Jets again. I'd add the Chargers and Steelers to that list, but New England owns them both in recent meetings.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

I think it's safe to say no one knows who's gonna beat New England in the playoffs this year. The Ravens outside of one dominant playoff game don't really have a proven track record of beating New England, and in the regular season Jets vs. Patriots has recently been decided by whoever has home field.

Their last 3 playoff losses have more to do with them playing like than other teams playing well. If the same team that lost to the Jets shows up to the playoffs again, any AFC playoff team (Chargers, Steelers, Jets, Ravens, Colts) would have a good shot at beating them. On the flip side, if the team that beat the Jets 50something to 3 shows up to the playoffs, the Ravens and Jets would both lose.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I don't know what it is about New England, but they've become a soft team over the last few years. Don't get me wrong they're still elite and capable of 14-2 seasons every year, but they've been punched in the mouth in the playoffs and haven't responded. The last time the Patriots played like the clutch team we were used to was the Chargers PO game in 2006.

The talent is there, the coaching is there, I just don't get it. The only correlation or analogy I can come up with is they remind me of the most recent Yankees dynasty. The Yanks have been a great team for the last 15 years, but they were championship-caliber when they had clutch, tough guys like Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, etc. When those guys retired or left they just signed a bunch of big names, but ultimately mentally weak playoff compe ors.

The Pats were at their best when they had those clutch savvy vets like Milloy, Law, Johnson, Bruschi, Harrison, Seymour, Brown, etc. Granted, their old and gone now, but NE hasn't been the same since the last of that group left/retired. They weren't the most athletic group, but they were smart players, and clutch as .

EDIT: Forgot McGinest and Vrabel too...that D used to be tough as

[TIMMYtoZO]

They'll breeze through another regular season, just to get upended by the Ravens or Jets again. I'd add the Chargers and Steelers to that list, but New England owns them both in recent meetings.

Ravens have a qb who doesnt get it plus they have a weak pass rush. The Jets(@the best team in NY) didn't do to get better either. Chargers have a HORRIBLE coach in Norv Turner and the Steelers want nothing to do with Tom Brady. Plus expect this to be a down year for the Steelers. Teams that lose the superbowl strongly feel the effects the following season.

[TIMMYtoZO]

The Patriots should win the AFC. Problem is that is the best they'll do. They want nothing to do with the Giants and that elite front 7.

[DeadlyDynasty]

The Patriots should win the AFC. Problem is that is the best they'll do. They want nothing to do with the Giants and that elite front 7.

ok

[Lincoln]

The Patriots should win the AFC. Problem is that is the best they'll do. They want nothing to do with the Giants and that elite front 7.

ok

[Axe Murderer]

The Patriots should win the AFC. Problem is that is the best they'll do. They want nothing to do with the Giants and that elite front 7.

ok

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

I don't know what it is about New England, but they've become a soft team over the last few years. Don't get me wrong they're still elite and capable of 14-2 seasons every year, but they've been punched in the mouth in the playoffs and haven't responded. The last time the Patriots played like the clutch team we were used to was the Chargers PO game in 2006.

The talent is there, the coaching is there, I just don't get it. The only correlation or analogy I can come up with is they remind me of the most recent Yankees dynasty. The Yanks have been a great team for the last 15 years, but they were championship-caliber when they had clutch, tough guys like Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, etc. When those guys retired or left they just signed a bunch of big names, but ultimately mentally weak playoff compe ors.

The Pats were at their best when they had those clutch savvy vets like Milloy, Law, Johnson, Bruschi, Harrison, Seymour, Brown, etc. Granted, their old and gone now, but NE hasn't been the same since the last of that group left/retired. They weren't the most athletic group, but they were smart players, and clutch as .

EDIT: Forgot McGinest and Vrabel too...that D used to be tough as

They've lost more toughness on offense than on defense IMO. No question their defense isn't what it used to be, but from 2001-2004 their offensive line never got punched in the mouth like the Giants, Ravens and Jets have done in the last 3 playoff games. Tom Brady also was never panicky in the pocket and never forced the ball to receivers. Since the 2007 Jacksonville game, he's looked noticeably nervous/shaken in every playoff game.

One big problem offensively IMO is Belichick not valuing size/physicality at receiver. More physical corners like Revis and Nnamdi who can press guys like Welker/Branch/OchoCinco and make it tough for them to even get moving make the quick twitch, shorter receivers BB loves way less effective. A big problem against the Jets was how much Branch and Welker were beaten down by press coverage. You need at least one guy who will beat press coverage and has the ability to make a circus catch in traffic if the QB doesn't have someone who wide open to throw to.

The Patriots should win the AFC. Problem is that is the best they'll do. They want nothing to do with the Giants and that elite front 7.

ok

[Tavaris Jackson]

Ravens have a qb who doesnt get it plus they have a weak pass rush. The Jets(@the best team in NY) didn't do to get better either. Chargers have a HORRIBLE coach in Norv Turner and the Steelers want nothing to do with Tom Brady. Plus expect this to be a down year for the Steelers. Teams that lose the superbowl strongly feel the effects the following season.

Shut the up you ing got

[LnGrrrR]

Holy crap I hope Law Firm doesn't get hurt. I've seen 16 league fantasy football teams with deeper RB depth.

[LnGrrrR]

Also, sad that Meriweather couldnt cash in on all those physical attributes. Maybe this means we won't be playing nickel/dime every down and giving opposing QBs a minute and a half to throw.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Holy crap I hope Law Firm doesn't get hurt. I've seen 16 league fantasy football teams with deeper RB depth.

Tbh they have more depth than in past years. Both Vereen and Ridley are capable of getting some carries.

Woodhead howeva shouldn't on the filed unless it's 3rd down

[LnGrrrR]

Tbh they have more depth than in past years. Both Vereen and Ridley are capable of getting some carries.

Woodhead howeva shouldn't on the filed unless it's 3rd down

Tbh, they should just erase Faulk's name from the playbook and write in Woodhead. That would make me happy.

Are Vereen/Ridley north/south runners?

[Booharv]

That no-good, filthy, lying, cheating, three time Super Bowl winning coach is ready for his closeup.

mono and his understudy are probably gonna Skype whilst watching this.




Pantsless.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Tbh you aren't up to speed on ST beefs/alliances. Mono and his understudy are currently at odds and in different crews.

[IronMexican]

Pretty jelly BUMP thought of that troll.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Tbh, they should just erase Faulk's name from the playbook and write in Woodhead. That would make me happy.

Are Vereen/Ridley north/south runners?

Ridley seems like a hard nosed, North/South runner, Vereen is more an east/west guy but he was productive in a pro style offense in college and from what I saw is pretty good at running in between the tackles.