Just 17 days. That's how long we have to wait for the NFL season to return. In honor of the occasion Running The Spread Blog is breaking down the upcoming season division by division.
Today we begin with the AFC East.
1. New England Patriots
2013: 12-4, won the AFC East. Lost in AFC Championship Game.
Key Losses: RB LaGarrette Blount, CB Aqib Talib, LB Brandon Spikes, LB Dane Fletcher and TE Mathew Mulligan.
Key Additions: CB Darrelle Revis, CB Brandon Browner, Rookie DL Dominique Easley, S Patrick Chung, WR Brandon LaFell, DE Will Smith and LB James Anderson
Toughest Match-ups in 2014: Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers
2014 Outcome:
the secondary, as well as Smith and Anderson at linebacker. I'm definitely not worried about a loss like Talib because Revis is a better defender than him anyway, arguably the best in the game. Those other guys give them depth defensively, which they didn't have last year. Easley is coming off an ACL injury and is slowly working his way into practice. As a rookie he'll probably get out to a slow start as he regains a feel for the game, but he certainly has the potential to be dangerous for them upfront. Offensively LaFell adds some more depth at receiver for Brady following a year where his options were limited and inexperienced. Rob Gronkowski's return from injury obviously helps the cause as well, but New England needs him to stay healthy. If he does Brady has a number of solid targets to throw to, and that can make this offense extremely dangerous. I predict that the AFC East title will once again reside in New England.
