NFL: Projecting final records for all 32 teams
By Brad Rowland
New England Patriots
Tom Brady wasn’t TOM BRADY last season.
The now 37-year-old Brady posted five-year lows in QB rating (87.3), total QBR (61.1), touchdowns (25) and completion percentage (60.5%), and those numbers caused many to speculate on a “drop off” in his skills. Let me be a voice of reason.
New England boasted a receiving corps that included only one healthy, productive member for the majority of the season (Julian Edelman), and in addition to that, the “projects” (Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins) fell flat. Rob Gronkowski was mostly absent, RB Shane Vereen went down with injury, and suddenly, the drop in production seems incredibly reasonable.
Now, Brady’s weapons are back.
Gronkowski is ready for week one, the Pats acquired Timothy Wright from Tampa Bay, Brandon LaFell provides another veteran option, and Vereen is one of the best pass-catching backs in the league. Let’s just say I’m not worried about Brady and the Pats offense, especially when they ranked 4th in DVOA without all of those guys.
On defense, the Pats upgraded in a variety of ways, including adding arguably the best corner in football (Darrelle Revis), another above-average cover guy (Brandon Browner) and a potentially high-impact defensive lineman in the draft (Dominique Easley). They likely won’t be an elite unit in line with Seattle, but that’s a top-10 group without breaking a sweat. In short, the Patriots are very good.
The Pick: 12-4