Why does everyone think NE will be horrible???

[Phins054]

I am just curious why so many people think NE will be push overs this year??? They are the SB champs (whether we like it or not) and until someone knocks them off, I think they at least deserve some respect. I heard that they had Bill Russel talk to the team for like 4 hours to show them ways of keeping their focus. I for on would not count them out...

I am just curious of peoples reasoning as to why the will be horrible...I have seen some "experts" rank the next to the bottom of the division and have a record of 5-11 to 8-8...

[casdhf]

We know they're coming this time. I don't think they'll be pushovers, but I think teams will have a better game plan against them.

[don137]

Last year the won on too many questionable calls and had a 5th place schedule. That won't happen this year. 9-7 is reasonable.

[TigerJ]

They won't be horrible. They will play everyone tough, but they have tougher schedule this year, they caught a ton of breaks last year, and every team on their schedule will be gunning for them.

[Mad Bomber]

The reason I don't think NE is any good? They have had ONE thing going for them, and it's a key reason they made the Superbowl.

Check my avatar....

[RedEyE]

I think that last year NE was statistically mediocre against the rest of the NFL, and they got away with a few key plays that launched them into the SB. Granted their win over the Rams was undeniable and they did win the SB. However, half of the teams that have won SBs in the past (that's 18 teams) never returned to the big show the following season. Therefore it's easy to say that a team like NE could very well find itself experiencing the same fate. If Brady bites hard this year or becomes injured, NE does not have an able body to play QB, such as Drew did last season. I don't think the majority of people beleive that NE will flop completely or think that they will suck, but many beleive that they will have a difficult time finding themselves in the same situation they were in last year.

[Halbert]

They weren't even statistically mediocre, they were below average. 19th in total offense, 23rd in total defense. Sometimes everything just lines up for a team and they run the table to a championship. But fundamentally they were nothing special and they were more of a fluke than being even close to the best team in the league. They won't likely improve enough to overcome the huge odds of having a run like that again. They simply don't have the talent. I truly believe they'll have a tough time making anything more than 9 wins, 8 more likely.

[Novacane]

They should get 2 wins against the phins!

[Quizlet2002]

IMO it was a fluke. They shouldnt of even been there. Remember (bad call) on the refs

[shelby]

i agree with Red and Halbert...there is not enough talent on the team to pull off a difficult schedule. i think Brady will struggle, and the Patriots will be sorry that they let Drew go!

[Quizlet2002]

Actually- The Patriots dont have nearly the hardest. We have the #1 hardest. They have like #8 or #9

[SABURZFAN]

if they post similar numbers as last year,they won't make the playoffs.we played them tough for a 3-13 team.everybody will have their A game ready for them.it's tough to repeat in the NFL.

[casdhf]

after the whole 9/11 thing they had to win it. I couldn't see the Jets or Raiders winning it...it just fit

[mybills]

First of all, Brady isn't playing like he did last year. He's actually making long passes instead of dump offs. I don't think he'll go down that easy. But then again, 49er's played like crap last year, and their record was 12-4 or something like that. So I don't think you can really go by stats & numbers. I see, if anything, some healthy competition from NE.
JMO!