Three burning questions in New England

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, August 13, 2007  |  Comments( 10 )

New England Patriots
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Taking the biases of both fans and haters alike out of the equation, if one were to ask, say, 10 objective NFL insiders which team will win the Super Bowl this year, more than half would say the New England Patriots. And why not? After all, this is a club that has won three championships this decade and still has most of the pieces in place from its last title run, 2004-05.

Not only that, but the Patriots made several moves during the offseason to improve areas that hurt them last year. Considering the Pats were one terrible half away from reaching last February's Super Bowl, "hurt" might come off as a strong word. Going 12-4 and reaching the AFC Championship game are feats most teams would love to accomplish; not the Patriots, though -- they want more.

Despite the greatness of their roster and coaching staff, the Pats actually do have some questions, three in specific (all of which are listed below), that linger as the season inches ever closer.

1. How will Tom Brady keep so many talented receivers happy with only one football?

The most notable area of improvement on the roster in the offseason was the wide receiver position. Brady made do in 2006 with guys like Reche Caldwell, Doug Gabriel and Jabar Gaffney, but it cost the team in the end. Many across New England still remember Caldwell's famous drop in the title game loss to Indianapolis last January. He's simply an average-at-best wideout, and that's why the Patriots recruited a handful of proven pass catchers and relegated Caldwell to, if he's lucky, the No. 4 role.

New England's biggest splash was the acquisition of the controversial Randy Moss on the Sunday of April's draft. Because the team gave the Oakland Raiders only a fourth-round pick for the 30-year-old future Hall of Famer, it's definitely a low-risk, high-reward situation. If Moss, who has 676 career receptions but racked up just 42 last year, can keep his questionable attitude in check and accept that he's not the one and only aerial target, he'll work out great under Bill Belichick. If the Patriots get the old Moss, the one who caused problems in Minnesota and Oakland, they'll have a big problem to deal with.

Beyond Moss, the franchise added the moody, oft-injured Donte' Stallworth, who has 233 catches in five seasons with New Orleans and Philadelphia, and slot man Wes Welker, whom Miami dealt within its division for a second-round pick. Stallworth is a lot like Moss in the sense that he's been known to cause some locker-room drama. Welker, though, is a Wayne Chrebet clone who collected 67 catches for last season's Dolphins. The fourth-year man, also an outstanding returner, has no problem going over the middle to make the tough catch in a short-yardage situation.

When you put the Patriots' top eight receivers -- Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Gaffney, Caldwell, second-year man Chad Jackson, free-agent pickup Kelley Washington and Troy Brown (never leave out the crafty veteran with three Super Bowl rings) -- aside, there's the matter of distributing the ball to Ben Watson, whom some consider to be an elite tight end. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder has great size to accompany a rare ability to get downfield. The three-year veteran averaged 15.1 yards per catch in 2005 and 13.3 last season on a career-best 49 catches. He was a security blanket for Brady.

It's obvious that Brady has a lot of targets. Can he appease them all? If things go according to plan, yes. But if guys like Moss and/or Stallworth begin causing friction, Belichick won't hesitate to show them the door, which has been proven time and again. Just ask Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law and plenty of others.

2. Laurence Maroney is now the man in the backfield. Can he stay healthy and live up to his new role?

Maroney, whom New England picked in the first round of the '06 draft and is coming off shoulder surgery, had a very solid rookie season in which he rushed for 745 yards and six touchdowns, also adding 22 receptions. The former University of Minnesota star did all that while sharing duties with veteran Corey Dillon, who is now retired.

Dillon took away most of Maroney's short-yardage and goal-line carries, as evidenced by the former's 13-touchdown campaign. With the 10-year RB now out of the way, the onus is on the 220-pound pro sophomore, who's having an excellent training camp, to be the Patriots' next great runner. If healthy, he definitely has the skills to be among the league's top backs. A hurt Maroney would mean heavy doses of Kevin Faulk, a very good role player but more of a receiver and blocker, and eighth-year man Sammy Morris, a career reserve whose mediocrity as a runner has been seen in Buffalo and Miami. Defenses would then be able to key on Brady and the receivers, thus making the offense far less effective and more predictable in the process.

3. Will Asante Samuel ever show up?

Ultimately, New England's franchise-tagged Pro Bowler will be back in the fold at some point. There's just too much money at stake for him not to show up. Samuel, coming off a breakout campaign that saw him rack up 10 interceptions and earn a trip to Honolulu in Year 4 of his career, has been holding out since early in the offseason, refusing to sign his franchise tender because he wants a long-term deal. Since then, the Pats have done their best to prepare for life without Samuel, drafting do-it-all DB Brandon Meriweather, an ex-Miami Hurricane, in the first round and recently trading for Dante Wesley.

Even without Samuel, odds are New England's pass defense will be fine. What's most important is that the team has an outstanding front seven that will put enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks to take heat off the secondary; by the way, the beleaguered defensive backfield in New England still has two good safeties in Eugene Wilson and Rodney Harrison. With great linemen like Richard Seymour, Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork and big-time linebackers Adalius Thomas, a former Baltimore Raven who was signed in free agency, Tedy Bruschi, Rosie Colvin and Mike Vrabel, the Patriots can get the proper rush necessary to nullify the need for a shutdown corner of Samuel's ilk.

To be honest, Samuel needs the Patriots more than they need him right now. Lance Briggs, the disgruntled LB in Chicago, was going through the same thing as Samuel earlier in the offseason and decided to cave in and stick it out with the Bears for one more year. Samuel, seeing $7.79 million on the table to play in 2007, will eventually report to work.

Will it be another year, another Super Bowl for the Patriots? If the above questions, especially the first two, end in positive answers, absolutely.

E-mail: cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

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