AFC East
|
Finished 1st in Division
Beat Houston in Divisional Round
Beat Pittsburgh in AFC Championship
Beat Atlanta in Super Bowl
|
Overall
Record: 14-2
(5-1 in the division)
|
Draft
Position: 32nd
|
Head
Coach: Bill Belichick
|
GM:
Bill Belichick
|
Pro Bowlers
- QB Tom Brady
- MLB Dont'a Hightower
- FS Devin McCourty
- ST Matthew Slater
2016 Rankings
Yards/Game
|
Points/Game
|
Passing Yards/Game
|
Rushing Yards/Game
|
|||
Offense
|
4th
|
3rd
|
4th
|
7th
|
TDs – T-3rd
|
|
Defense
|
8th
|
1st
|
12th
|
T-3rd
|
Sacks –
T-16th
|
INTs –
T-15th
|
Top Passers
Name
|
Games Started
|
CMP.
PCT.
|
Yards
|
TDs
|
INTs
|
Passer
Rating
|
QBR
|
Tom Brady
|
12
|
67.4
|
3,554
|
28
|
2
|
112.2
|
83.1
|
Jimmy Garoppolo
|
2
|
68.3
|
502
|
4
|
0
|
113.3
|
89.9
|
Jacoby Brissett
|
2
|
61.8
|
400
|
0
|
0
|
83.9
|
44
|
Top Rushers
Name
|
Rushing
Yards
|
Y/A
|
TDs
|
LeGarrette Blount
|
1,161
|
3.9
|
18
|
Dion Lewis
|
283
|
4.4
|
0
|
Top Pass Catchers
Name
|
Receptions
|
Yards
|
Y/C
|
TDs
|
Julian Edelman
|
98
|
1,106
|
11.3
|
3
|
Martellus Bennett
|
55
|
701
|
12.7
|
7
|
Top Defensive Players
- CB Logan Ryan - 92 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble
- S Patrick Chung - 91 total tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 INT
- DT Trey Flowers - 45 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks
- CB Malcolm Butler - 63 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, 4 INTs, 1 forced fumble
Impending Free Agents
- DE Jabaal Sheard
- TE Martellus Bennet
- T Sebastian Vollmer
- OLB Barkevious Mingo
- WR Michael Floyd
- DE Chris Long
- DT Alan Branch
- ILB Dont'a Hightower
- RB Brandon Bolden
- RB LeGarrette Blount
- FB James Devlin
- CB Logan Ryan
- SS Duron Harmon
- DE Greg Scruggs
What I Said About Them Before the Season
- The Patriots are another team that I perfectly projected before the season began. I thought that despite Brady's four game suspension that the team could still win three of the four and that when Brady was reinstated, that he'd play like a man possessed. I thought that them trading for tight end Martellus Bennett was a great move and that having two good, pass catching tight ends would be helpful. I also thought that them signing defensive end Chris Long was a savvy move to help provide a consistent pass rush.
Success/Failure
- Success - I mean they won the Super Bowl, that is a success every time. By winning this Super Bowl, it seems pretty clear that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the best in NFL history at doing their jobs. Brady was magnificent after coming back from suspension and he torched opposing secondaries all season long and Belichick continued getting the most out of not a lot of talent to bring a solid roster together.
Offseason Needs
- This offseason the Patriots are going to have a lot of money to spend and the first thing they should do with it is lock up Dont'a Hightower since he is their best linebacker and is the quarterback of the defense. I would also like to see them re-sign Bennett who was really good alongside Gronkowski and played very well in Gronk's absence. However, this will only happen if Bennett isn't expecting to break the bank with this contract. There is also a strong possibility that the Patriots trade backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has a lot of value and could possibly yield the team a first round draft pick. If that happens, they will need a new backup quarterback but don't expect them to spend a high draft pick on one. Also at the draft, they need to work on their offensive line situation by drafting a talented offensive tackle. They could also use a linebacker to help against the run and in pass defense and it is possible that they will draft Jabrill Peppers if he falls far enough. If they are unable to re-sign Bennett, I think that they could draft a tight end as well instead of pursuing one in free agency.
*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, foxsports.com, and cbssports.com
