Patriots 2010-2011 Outlook

The New England Patriots lived up to the lofty expectations for the 2010-2011 NFL season.  The Patriots finished the regular season with the best record in all of football - 14-2.  They have the #1 seed in the AFC East and everybody else will have to come through Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MASS if they expect to get to the Super Bowl.  The Patriots are poised to make it back to the game's biggest game and avenge the devastating Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants in February 2008 which prevented the Patriots from becoming the 1st team to win a championship with a 19-0 season.

***Breaking News -- New York Jets upset Patriots 28-21 in Foxboro on Sunday, January 16th in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.***

The Patriots continue to surround future Hall of Fame Quarterback Tom Brady with hard-working and valuable offensive players to produce one of the NFL's most prolific offenses in the game today.
Brady put up impressive numbers despite the mid-season departure of Wide Receiver Randy Moss who was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.  Brady completed 66% of his passes for 3,900 yards.  He threw 36 touchdown passes and just 4 interceptions, all good for a 111.0 passer rating.  He will certainly be named the NFL's 2010 MVP when awards are announced following the Super Bowl.  Wes Welker continued to serve as Brady's #1 target as he caught 86 passes for 848 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Rookie Rob Gronkowski emerged as legitimate pro tight end in only his 1st year in the league, leading the team with 10 touchdown catches (overall he caught 42 passes for over 500 yards).  After the Moss trade, the Patriots acquired Deion Branch who became a reliable option for Brady late in the season (42 catches for 706 yards and 5 TD's).  The Patriots also used a dynamic duo rushing attack to help free things up for Brady and Co. -- BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the way with 229 carries, 1,008 rushing yards and 13 rushing TD's, while Danny Woodhead added  547 rushing yards on 97 carries with 5 rushing TD's,

Jerod Mayo was a monster on the defensive side of the ball again, leading the team with 175 tackles (114 solos).  Mayo also had 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 fumble recoveries.  Talk about a man on a mission.  Devin McCourty also had a break out season in Belichick's system, leading the team with 7 interceptions, while also racking up 82 tackles (69 solos).  No one schemes other teams’ offenses better than Belichick, so if the New England Patriots defense can limit big plays consistently throughout the season, the Patriots should still be considered a top level team for the upcoming NFL season.  After the Jets upset in their 1st game of the post-season (the Patriots had gone undefeated at home during the NFL regular season schedule), the Patriots will certainly have a chip on their collective shoulder with an intense to desire to get back to the Super Bow;l.  Get your Patriots NFL tickets at Gillette Stadium before it's too late.