Friday, 7 December 2012

New England Patriots: A look ahead.

With a win over the Miami Dolphins in week 13 the New England Patriots clinched their fourth consecutive AFC East title. It may have been closer than they'd have liked but they got it done when it mattered with the team coming out with a 23-16 win at Sun Life stadium.

Their offense wasn't as explosive as usual but thanks to a good running game and a knack of knowing how to get it done the Patriots came out on top. Steven Ridley opened the scoring when he ran in to the end zone from 2 yards out for a touchdown; he racked up 71 rushing yards on the day from 19 carries.

Dan Carpenter kicked a field goal to cut the gap to four just before the second quarter. Tom Brady threw a 7 yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker to make it 14-3 and then a Gostkowski field goal put the Patriots up by 14. The Dolphins didn't make it easy for their opponents all day long and quarterback Ryan Tannehill ran in the end zone for a score just before the break leaving the score at 17-10 to New England.

A scoreless third quarter set up a nervy final one and with just over 8 minutes to go the Patriots were just 20-13 ahead. But that's when Tom Brady and all his experience came in to play. The Patriots ate up the clock by going on a seven-plus minute drive consisting of 16 plays which brought them all the way down to Miami's 20 and with the resulting field goal it was a two possession game with only 1:10 remaining on the clock.

The Dolphins got a field goal of their own with 31 seconds left to cut the gap to 7 points but failed with an onside kick and with the team using all its timeouts on New England's lengthy drive the game was over meaning that the Patriots won. The victory means they will end the regular season as division champions of the AFC East for the tenth time in 12 years.

For the record books it was a pretty good day for New England too, Tom Brady surpassed Joe Montana's record of 9 divisional titles by winning his 10th one as quarterback for the Patriots. By finishing the day with a touchdown pass Tom Brady also edged closer to Drew Brees' record for consecutive games for throwing a touchdown.

As well as that despite it not being his best day in comparison to his useful standards Tom Brady's statistics for the season are still astronomical as he has now thrown 3537 yards on the season for 28 touchdown passes and just 4 interceptions; the fourth interception came in this game and was the first time he had thrown a pick in 203 passing attempts. All of that means Brady's passer rating is at 102.6 with and with four games remaining he will only improve on these impressive numbers.

Wide receiver Wes Welker tied Jerry Rice’s NFL record by making at least 10 receptions for the 17th time. He had 12 catches for 103 yards and a score. The Brady and Welker combination is working well with the Patriots continuing to get it done on offense despite key injuries to the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman who broke his foot in the win over the Dolphins.

Edelman has become a versatile game changer on offense for the Patriots and will be missed but he and Gronkowski will return for the playoffs which is when the team will need them the most. For now Donte Stallworth has re-joined to help fill the gap at receiver and he will slot in to the system quickly after he previous spells in New England.

Aaron Hernandez has just returned from injury and Bradon Lloyd, whilst looking good, is still getting use to the offense so Brady and Welker are essential in keeping this offense ticking. The Patriots have the league's most prolific offense in terms of scoring and yardage. An added bonus for New England is that they have a strong running game too with Stevan Ridley being the primary runner on the team. He is having a very good season and has now rushed for 1,010 yards on the season with 9 scores as he establishes himself as one of the best up and coming backs in the NFL.

The running game was something the Patriots lacked last season when they just missed out on winning the Super Bowl but now that they have utilised it now they look set to replicate the success of the New England dynasty from the 00's which won 3 Super Bowls in 4 seasons. Tom Brady knows how essential a good running game is in an offense and with the Patriots running the no huddle so well the suspense of whether they'll use the pass or the run as well as the possibility of screen plays to the likes of Danny Woodhead or using the play action once the passing game is opened up all of this is a migraine in the mind of any opposing defense.

With a devastating offense at one of the best quarterback's in the NFL's history at his disposal the New England Patriots are well equipped to make another run to the Super Bowl and compete for a championship. They'll need the likes of Gronkowski back come the playoffs but momentum is well and truly on New England's side as the victory over Miami was their six consecutive win in a row moving them on to 9-3. Bill Belichick's team know how to get it done when it reaches this time of year and since the 2010 season the Patriots are now a combined 20-0 in the second half of the regular season. 

With the Ravens losing to the Steelers it left them tied at 9-3 with the Patriots and the Denver Broncos meaning that New England held the second seed going in to week 14. The Broncos beat the Raiders on Thursday Night Football meaning that they now have the second seed but with a matchup against the Ravens in week 15 it means that New England still has control of its own destiny as if they win their remaining games they will surely clinch a bye and progress straight to the divisional round of the playoffs.

The 9-3 Patriots next game is on Monday Night Football at home against the 11-1 Houston Texans who currently hold the first seed in the AFC. It is a matchup that will go a long way in deciding who makes the bye week from the conference as well as who can secure home field advantage. With a win the Patriots could be just a game behind the Texans with 3 to play. During that time Houston will have to take on divisional rivals the Colts and rookie quarterback Andrew Luck who has guided his team to an 8-4 record. 

 New England have a schedule that they feel they can finish strongly on, a win over the Texans will increase momentum their momentum going in to a week 15 heavyweight clash against the San Francisco 49ers before they finish off against the Jaguars and the Dolphins. With their defense improving dramatically over the last month the Patriots are really putting all the pieces together for a championship run; New England's defense is ranked 1st in turnovers in the AFC and after their huge Thanksgiving Day win over the Jets they had an impressive plus-24 turnover ratio.

If Bill Belichick's men can keep this up they will be one of the frontrunners to make it to New Orleans in February. The Texans have more pressure on them in this game as they are a healthy team who wants to put one over one of the league's best teams but they are not use to being the top dog and with the bye week and home field advantage now under pressure by the Broncos, Ravens and Patriots will they be able to hold on come the end of the regular season. The Patriots will go quietly about their business like they always do and know that a win over Houston on Monday could go a long way in helping the Patriots achieve those ambitions as they seek the fourth championship that keeps eluding them. Hopefully now Tom Brady and co has all the pieces in place to go on and lift the Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl 47.

Tom Brady will look to stake his claim as the greatest ever by going on to win his 4th ring this season.


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