Two Super Bowl Candidates Square Off

By Thomas Hanson  |   Saturday, September 17, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

New England Patriots
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Just two weeks into the season, the New England Patriots find themselves involved in a statement game. The Pats take on the Carolina Panthers, a team many picked to represent the NFC in the 2006 Super Bowl.

But the Panthers lost 23-20 on a last second field goal in week one. Because that game was also played in Carolina, the Panthers have to be approaching this one as a must win. A 1-7 start a year ago kept a red hot finisher from making the playoffs, so a second straight loss to open 2005 could unhinge the aspirations of this team.

The New England Patriots appear to be a better offensive team in 2005 than they were a year ago during their Super Bowl run. Consider these weapons: wide receiver Deion Branch who is completely healthy in 2005, Troy Brown who is back focusing on just being a wide-receiver, Corey Dillon, the team's powerful running back, and of course Tom Brady, who was superb in week one. Helping the Pats offensively is the development of TE Ben Watson, who missed all of 2004. Watson made only two catches in the Pats opener, but they went for 55 total yards.

Defensively, the New England Patriots shifted to a 4-3 alignment with great success against the Raiders. Look for the same this week as New England deals with the loss of three of its linebackers from a year ago. A key issue for the Pats is that all-pro defensive lineman Richard Seymour is listed as questionable.
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