| 08 September 2010
1. What was the biggest offseason story for the Patriots other than Wes Welker's rehab from knee surgery? (Tom Brady's new haircut also doesn't count.)
Without a doubt, it was the Logan Mankins contract situation. Mankins is one of the league's premiere guards, a former 1st round draft choice, and the best offensive lineman the Pats have. Usually the Patriots are very tight-lipped about contract negotiations, so when Mankins went public with his grievances and ripped Robert Kraft a new one in the press, it's not something New England fans were accustomed to. The uncertainty of the new CBA has created problems for nearly every team, but appears to have struck the Patriots particularly hard. Brady, Moss, and Mankins are three of the Patriots best four offensive players. All three are trying to negotiate new deals and nothing has been finalized. In the case of Mankins, though, the contract holdups have likely caused an irreparable rift between him and the team.
2. Speaking of Welker, are you buying that he's close to 100 percent to open the season? Or is this more of a case of a tough guy toughing it out?
Tom Brady wasn't 100% last year after his ACL surgery and his position doesn't require the quickness or the cuts that Welker performs multiple times each game. I can't imagine that Welker will truly be 100% back. However, I do believe he's made a superhuman recovery and will be nearly as effective as last season. That being said, I still expect Welker's number to be down from last year. The Patriots offense will feature more options for Brady to throw to than last year's Moss/Welker lovefest, and the emergence of Julian Edelman will likely take some reps away from Wes as well. Healthy or not, there simply won't be as many balls being thrown Wes' way.
3. As a Patriots' fan, what are you most excited about heading into the 2010 season?
I'm excited about watching all of our young players. Throughout the Patriots storied run last decade, they were always referred to as a "veteran" team. For the first time in a long time, I would actually characterize this team as "young". The Patriots have had a slew of draft picks the past two seasons, and a lot of them appear to be quality additions. Jerod Mayo, Sebastian Vollmer, Patrick Chung, Julian Edelman, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Tate, Devin McCourty, Brandon Spikes, Darius Butler - these are names that you Bengals fans might not be overly familiar with, but I have a feeling that over the next few years you'll know many of these guys the same way you did Tedy Bruschi and Troy Brown.
4. What is New England's weakness?
There's a lot of uncertainty at the outside linebacker position at the moment. Veteran Derrick Burgess contemplated retirement during training camp and then had a lackluster pre-season. He was a surprising casualty during this weekend's roster cuts. His absence leaves a big void to be filled by players who have absolutely no experience starting in the NFL. Rob Ninkovich, Marquis Murrell, and rookie Jermaine Cunningham are going to be tasked with holding down the fort opposite of the Pats' sack-leader, Tully Banta-Cain. If one of those three doesn't step up, it could lead to some very frustrating defensive outings for the Patriots.
5. What is your prediction for the Patriots this year?
I had been saying 12-4 for the past several weeks. However, injuries to Ty Warren, Lee Bodden, Brandon McGowan, and the continued holdout of Mankins, has decreased the prediction to 11-5. I think that will be good enough to wrap up the AFC East. I'll peg the Patriots for a win in the wild-card round and then a loss in the divisional round.
6. What is your prediction for the Bengals, and what do you think the final score of Sunday's game will be?
The Bengals' schedule is absolutely brutal and I think it will derail what would've been an exciting season. My top six teams in the AFC, in no particular order, are the Pats, Jets, Colts, Ravens, Bengals, and Chargers. However, given the difficult schedule that both the AFC East and AFC North teams face, it's not too hard to believe that the loser of the Pats/Jets and Ravens/Bengals battles could end up out of the post-season, while the slackers in the AFC West and South sneak in. Unfortunately, I'm going to peg them for 9-7 and out of the playoffs, which is a shame, because I like you guys and Cincy fans deserve the good season they should've had any other year.
I think Sunday's game will be an offensive onslaught. I'm taking the Patriots 35-27.
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