1. This was Tom Brady's first year with new receivers Welker, Moss, and Stallworth. Sure, they won't be as explosive as they were this year, but they WILL be more efficient.

2. Their offensive line is young. I don't think any of them has been in the league for more than 6 years. They will only get better and stronger. As will Ben Watson, who I believe is only in his 3rd? year.

3. Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk were under utilized in the running game. Sammy Morris will be healthy. That gives them a triple threat. A guy who can pound and move in space (Maroney), a guy who can catch out of the backfield and be clutch (Faulk), and a pure running back (Morris).

4. What let them down last year? Receivers. They got new ones. What let them down this year? Defense. They have the 7th pick. Which will get them either a young star at DE/LB/CB, or they will trade down and get a ton of later picks or a star defender.

5. You saw what they did after a devastating defeat last season, they went 18-1. Imagine what they're going to do after an even MORE devastating defeat. They will lose a game or 2 next season, which will take a TON of pressure off of them. And now, EVERYONE has Super Bowl experience.

Those are the big one's, especially Maroney. Even if they get Moss back next year, Maroney will get to run the ball more.

stallworths gone and i dont want morris touching the ball. maroney was best when he was the man as in 22-24 carries a game.

and i say it agan.

To the people who think Pats played like they wanted to prove seomthing, kill everyone, like they were pissed off with this us against the wolrd attitude.

Just WAIT till next season.

They don't care when Maroney was best. They care when the TEAM was best. Having them split at about 65-25-10 (Maroney-Morris-Faulk) would probably be the best bet, as Maroney can get 80+ yards a game, Morris can get about 30-50 and Faulk can get some warm ups.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7760 ... ants,-Pats
New England (18-1)

Why they lost in Super Bowl XLII: No wonder Patriots coach Bill Belichick fled to the locker room tunnel before Super Bowl XLII had ended. Needing just one more victory to make NFL history, the heavily favored Patriots actually had less on-field spark than New York. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel couldn't get New England's rushing game on track or make schematic changes to help an overmatched offensive line until it was too late.

Biggest need area: Cornerback. Asante Samuel seems certain to leave via free agency for what will likely be an NFL-record in guaranteed money for a defensive back (think in the $25 million range). There isn't a comparable replacement waiting in the wings. The Patriots also lack young depth at linebacker behind 39-year-old Junior Seau, who is likely to retire, and Tedy Bruschi (he turns 35 in June).

New England could land an impact player at either spot with the draft's No. 7 overall pick courtesy of a 2007 trade with San Francisco. The Patriots are without their own first-round choice as punishment for the Spygate scandal.

Player to watch: Randy Moss. Moss exceeded everyone's expectations with a brilliant first season in New England. But with Moss set to become an unrestricted free agent, the Patriots must weigh whether he is worth a lucrative long-term contract extension. Moss will turn 31 on Feb. 13 and already has played 10 NFL seasons, which could make him more injury-prone in the future. And while Moss' attitude seems much improved from recent seasons, a restraining order filed against him earlier this month is troublesome. Moss is lucky he has Tom Brady in his corner. Brady already has publicly lobbied for New England to keep Moss, who agreed to a pay cut when acquired in last April's trade with Oakland.

Projected cap space: $5 million. The Patriots could free additional room by agreeing to new contracts with wide receivers Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington. The Boston Globe reports both are due a combined $12 million in option bonuses. Brady also could receive a restructured deal that would lower his 2008 cap number of $14.6 million.

2008 outlook: Cloudy. Undoubtedly, New England has the talent and coaching to dominate well into the future. But Belichick's standing as New England's head coach could come into question if the NFL finds further rules improprieties.

I dont care. Yeah when we up by 10-14 in the 4th put in Morris but I firmly believe the reason why Maroney stumbled this season was because he was a run magnet. Maroney is clearly the most talented of the 3.

With Stallworth and Kelley Washington gone, Chad Jackson is assures a starting spot no matter what next season. No way they go out and get another reciever when they need to spend on d and have this guy cheap. That means is Welker and Moss are going to be more focused on than this season which will obviously open things for Chad Jackson who has talent.

What this means is the running game will have to do more to open up the passing game. If Maroneys established as a legit big time weapon the way he was at the end of this year, that will open the passing game up. If its sammy morris or especially kevin faulk in the backfield, defense will focus more on the pass, and that happened a lot.

the genius josh mcdaniels really fucked late in season. Red zone pick against san diego- no running back inthe game. everybody drops back in coverage. Super bowl. No running back in (Faulk is a recieving back), line tees off on brady over and over again.

Maroney needs to be THE man next seaosn the way he was supposed to be this season, by needs I mean NEEDS. Morris is a solid back up and will obviously give him help, but I wasnt pleased with how much Morris was in. If thats how it is next season, the running game wont ever open the passing game up. We need to make so that Maroneys presence alone opens it up. That said, he needs to be in at times other than he is running or hell just be a run magnet like in the middle of this season.

Maroney is a key to our offense next year; if he goes down were in big trouple.

RE: REVS ARTICLE

They went 18-0 and fuckin 1 and were unquestionably the best team in the league. They played a crap game in the most important one but that dont take away shit. CLOUDY is the last way youd describe this teams future. HUNGRY is a better fit. Seau and Bruschi will be back I believe. Signing Asantes big. I believe well franchise Moss and sign asante to a longterm big time deal with the extra money from no stallworth and washington. With the remaining money, well sign the 7 draft pick who will be either the best corner (taqib*) or best potential linebacker (gholston)

The only reason Morris played this season was because of Maroney having the groin injury. Morris had 100+ yards in almost all of his starts.

And yes, Maroney IS the most talented out of the 3. Nobody said he wasn't. But, like M. Barber, I don't think he can carry the full 30+ carries a game load. I'd give him one more year splitting a little bit of his time, about 20-25 carries a game, and then depending on how successful he is, give him 30+ in '09-'10.

20-25 a game is MORE than enough for 100~ per game.

i dont want him getting 30 a game.

22-25 is what i want, nothing more or less. I want Morris in in the fourth quarter when we have it all wrapped up, not in the 1st, 2nd, n 3rd when maroneys just building steam.

But if the game is NOT all wrapped up, you can't have Maroney getting tired. That's why Morris is here. To give him rest during stretches when Maroney isn't needed. But not solely in the 4th quarter.

potential plans for pats offseason:

-franchise randy moss at 7.79 million next year
-sign asante to a 5 yards, 42-44 milion dollar deal
-release donte stallworth (6 million next year) and kelley washington (4 million next year)
-draft the best cornerback in the draft to play opposite asante
-in 2nd or 3rd round draft a wide reciever, this class is very deep at that position
-sign brsuchi n seau to 1 year deals at less or at most what they earned this season.
-release rosie colvin
-sign a free agent linebacker. Lance Briggs would use up any remaining cap space or a spart vetern ala mitchell on the Giants. Linebackers would be said vet along with bruschi, thomas, seau, vrabel, and a healthy oscar lua in his 2nd season
-sign sammy morris to small 1 year deal.

your line up would look like

Offense
QB's: Brady, Cassel
RB's: Maroney, Morris, Evans, Faulk
WR: Moss, Welker, Jackson, draft pick,
LINE: same
TE: watson, brady

defense:
everybody returns except colvin; new linebacker and best cornerback in draft

anticipated starters next season...

QB: Tom Brady
RB: Laurence Maroney
FB: Heath Evans
TE: Ben Watson
WR: Randy Moss
WR: Wes Welker
WR: Chad Jackson
LT: Matt Light
LG: Logan Mankins
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Stephen Neal
RT: Nick Kazcur

DL: Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green, Richard Seymour
LB: Vrabel, Thomas, Rivers/Gholston, Seau, Lua,
CB: Asante Samuel, Brandon Meriweather
S: Harrison, Sanders