Bold Predictions: 2015 NFL Season

My bold predictions for the upcoming NFL season. Part 2 coming later!

1. The Jaguars win at least 5 games. Even though Jacksonville has a reasonably tough schedule this season, Blake Bortles will be entering his second season in the NFL and his chemistry with the young receivers will be much improved. Though the Jaguars defense is nothing to get overly excited about, they can get the job done. I have Jacksonville going 6-10. 
2. Jay Cutler is in potential MVP talks. I'm the furthest thing from a Jay Cutler apologist, but now that Marc Trestman is gone, and they've brought in a new offensive coordinator, Jay Cutler could honestly lead the Bears to the playoffs. Sure his outrageous number of interceptions needs to decrease, and his whiny attitude needs to improve...but with the talent around him on offense, minus Brandon Marshall now, there's no reason Jay can't be a good quarterback. And if I'm being honest, I think the key to his success lies in his attitude. 
3. The Seahawks lose 3 home games. Seattle's schedule is pretty tough. Nothing they can't handle, but challenging nonetheless. They're set to face some tough opponents at Century Link Field this season. I could easily see Seattle losing to Carolina, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. 
4. Antonio Brown records his third-straight 100-catch season. He's a baller. What else can you say. He's just that good. 
5. The Patriots will once again represent the AFC in the Super Bowl...and Brady will become the first and only quarterback to win five Super Bowls. #OneForTheThumb

As always, go Patriots. 

4 Teams That Are on the Verge of Being Super Bowl Contenders

Within the next 3 seasons, the NFL will be a totally different league. The powerhouse teams we've come to expect to see on top season after season will slowly start to decline, and those we've gotten so used to making fun of Sunday after Sunday will be climbing the rankings. I'm not saying all of these team emerge as sure-bet playoff contenders and make deep post-season runs this season, but it's coming. 

On the Rise:

Arizona Cardinals - with Bruce Arians quickly emerging as a legitimate head coach in the NFL, who's proven to be capable of winning...even when the odds are against him, I mean come on, they went through how many quarterback injuries last season?.. Arizona is a good quarterback away from making serious noise in the NFC and being a legitimate threat to their division rivals, the Seahawks.

St. Louis Rams - umm, hello defense. Get them a decent quarterback and a good versatile receiver and the NFC West will be even more competitive.

Buffalo Bills - it kills me to admit this because, well, the Bills are very much a threat to my Patriots this upcoming season. With Rex Ryan stepping in as head coach, giving him an already good defense, trading for Shady McCoy...what an off season. Again, with a good quarterback, this team will make tons of noise in the AFC East. Personally, I think you take your chances with EJ Manuel and see what happens. He has the potential to be a decent (not great, but decent) quarterback in the NFL.

Minnesota Vikings - Mike Zimmer was able to pretty impressive things with the Vikings this past season. Despite losing Adrian Peterson for the season, and all of the controversy surrounding that, Mike Zimmer was able to take Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense to new levels. Assuming Adrian Peterson returns to Minnesota and Teddy Bridgwater continues to improve, the NFC North should keep an eye on the Vikings. With an already good defense that should get even better and one of the best running games in the league...the Vikings aren't too far from being able to keep up with Green Bay. 


As always, go Pats!

Pats Picks: The 2015 NFL Draft

Next to the combine and the Super Bowl, the NFL draft is my favorite thing ever. I guess you could kind of link the combine and draft as one, but still. As Patriots fans, we've kind of gotten used to how Bill Belichick does the draft. Trade out of the first round, draft at least 3 Rutgers players, draft at least 1 dud, annnd avoid drafting the most blatant need for the upcoming season. That was a little harsh but it was pretty funny...plus you have to admit it's kind of true. But I love Coach Belichick and since he's pretty darn good at what he does, and considering he's brought us 14 consecutive winning seasons, 4 Super Bowls, and 12 division titles, I will not complain. Belichick is a genius on so many levels.

Who do I want to see the Patriots take a chance on in this years draft?

• Eddie Goldman. Defensive Tackle. Florida State. With Wilfork gone taking his talents to Houston, New England's defensive line is going to need some help. Goldman is a good, younger replacement who will likely bring the same level of production, for much cheaper. 
• Byron Jones. Cornerback. UConn. Really hoping for this one. Byron Jones is a skilled, versatile, athletic freak. Reminds me a lot of Patrick Peterson. By no means will he be a Revis or a Peterson or even a Joe Haden in his rookie season. But watching his game film...you have to believe he'll improve a much depleted Patriots' secondary. 
• Laken Tomlinson. Offensive Guard. Duke. Watch his game film and highlights...tell me he doesn't look like a Patriot-type player...he's good. While some rookies take a season to adjust to the NFL, Laken Tomlinson to me looks like he would be good and ready to tackle whatever the Patriots ask of him in his rookie season. 
• Devin Funchess. Wide Receiver. Michigan. Kind of dreaming with a broken heart on this one (cue John Mayer), but Devin Funchess has been a great addition to Michigan's offense over the past couple seasons, and he's been a thrill to watch. While not perfect or even the best WR in this draft, he's skilled and could potentially play tight end (full time) in the NFL. Imagine Funchess lining up opposite Gronk. Scarrrry duo, man. 
• Maxx Williams. Tight End. Minnesota. If we don't get Funchess, we better get Maxx Williams; if we don't get Williams, we better get Funchess. Basically what I'm saying is, I will be very disappointed if we pass on both tight ends. With similar skill sets and size, either Funchess or Williams would be a great fit into the Tom Brady-led-offense and might just be the piece we've been missing since Hernandez was cut. 

While I would love to get all 5 of these players, that's highly unlikely. And by highly unlikely I mean, we maybe get one of these; just one of my favorites in this years draft class. But all is good because I'm convinced that no matter who we do or do not get, the Patriots will be back in the playoffs again this season.

As always, go Patriots. 

Better off with or without?

The Patriots and the Broncos rivalry has heated up over the past few seasons. First Manning went from a Colt to a Bronco, then Wes Welker left New England to play with Manning, then Talib followed and we thought we had lost all hope for a successful secondary...little did we know that life would actually get better once Welker and Talib dropped off our roster.
Still, it was hard to see them go, especially Welker. But this raises the question..are the Patriots better with or without the traitors/current-Broncos?

Welks
Just three seasons ago if you had asked me to picture a Tom Brady-led Patriots offense without Wes Welker, I probably would have laughed in your face. Why? Two reasons. 1) Welker used to be my favorite player in the NFL. He's the reason I got so into football when I was just 10 years old. 2) It's no secret that Brady and Welker were best friends on and off the field. There was just no way I could picture a Welker-less Patriots' offense any time soon. Fast forward to March 2013 and my worst "fear" had come true. My favorite player and Brady's security blanket was no longer a Patriot. And to make it worse, he was now going to be playing for Peyton Manning (not to mention wearing that horrible, gaudy orange color). Obviously, everyone saw the Patriots' struggles last season, especially early in the season, and many people started to wonder if Belichick the GM had screwed up, yet again. Brady and co managed to get on the same page and find success, making it back to the AFCCG despite losing two of Brady's favorite targets (Welker and Hernandez), and what seemed like half of the roster on injured reserve. 
Ask any Patriots fan about Welker (who used to be a fan favorite in PatsNation), and they will most likely be bring up his "butterfingers" and key drops. Most notably the infamous drop that would've essentially sealed the deal on Super Bowl 46, and his failure to catch and hold onto key passes in the AFCCG during his last season as a Patriot. 
Sure, it's okay to hold that against him. In fact, I completely understand. But it's also important to remember all the good things he did for us, too. Without Welker, who knows if the Patriots would've made it to the Super Bowl in 2012 and the AFCCG in 2013. 
Better off without him? Umm, this is hard to say considering I still love Welks despite him being a traitor and his most recent issues, being suspended for violating the league's substance policy. But, I'm gonna have to say that the Patriots are better without him. Why? Over the past 2 seasons, Brady has been forced to throw to other receivers more often. I think that in a way, Welker's time in New England really had just run out. Even if he had stayed in NE, I'm not convinced that he would've continued to be as productive as we were used to. It is hard to say, though. 

Talib
After acquiring Talib from Tampa Bay in the middle of the 2012-2013 season, he had a breakout game against the Colts and Pats fans immediately started declaring that Talib was comparable to (some even said better than) Revis. We started seeing "#TalibIsland" every game day. Talib was a nice boost to our secondary and really overall defense, but his health issues were always a concern. He always seemed to be hurt on the biggest stages. He was injured in back to back AFC Championship Games. He wasn't necesarilly the shutdown corner I thought he was going to be in his 2nd and final season as a Patriot. He couldn't shut down AJ Green like Revis did for us this past season. 
Better off without him? Yup. But I would be lying if I said that I didn't freak out and have a slight mental breakdown when I first saw Schefter's tweet late Monday night announcing that Talib had agreed to terms with the Broncos. Because let's face it: The Patriots defense with Talib wasn't awesome, so I definitely didn't want to go back to a Patriots defense without Talib. And then, the Patriots went out and got Revis and I was all good again. Due to his injuries, and his nagging hip issue, I think that the Broncos overpaid Talib. And if that's the money he was after, then I'm definitely just as glad the Patriots didn't go all out to sign him back. 

What Made Me Become a Patriots Fan?

Arguably one of my most asked questions for the past like, 5 years, is "why the Patriots?" "What made you become a Patriots fan?" There's always a series of questions and guesses that people go through before they let me answer: are you from Boston, is your whole family Patriots fans and you were "born into it", etc. And of course, everyone usually thinks it at least has something to do with Tom Brady's looks. When I became a Patriots fan and really started following the NFL, I was 10. At that point, I didn't know much about football, and still to this day I cannot tell you what exactly made me like the Patriots so much that it became this full-blown obsession (in the best possible way). 

While many people think that every female Patriots fan is a 'fan' simply because of Brady's looks, that's not always true. And it's definitely not the case here. For me, it all began with a little short guy by the name of Wes Welker. I watched his last game as a Dolphin with Gramps and knew I was watching something (or someone, rather) special, I just didn't know what exactly. Fast forward to the next Sunday, and boom, there he was in Patriots uniform. Something about him just inspired me. Always did, always will. He was "too short", so he went undrafted out of Texas Tech. He was cut by San Diego, picked up by the Dolphins, where he was just okay. Belichick obviously saw something that no one else did. After joining the Patriots, he quickly emerged as one of the best receivers in the game. Welker soon became a vital piece to the Patriots offense, and one of Brady's best friends on and off the field. 

One of the most inspiring things about Welker to me, was his rehab, recovery, and determination after tearing his ACL. I know that these knee injuries are unfortunately common in the NFL, and most of the time players are able to come back from them. It's pretty normal. But Welker's situation was a little different. 
January 2010: Pats regular season finale vs the Texans. I remember watching him go down on the field like it was last week. I've seen many ACL injuries over the years while watching games, but this one was brutal. They say it usually takes around a year to fully recover from an ACL injury. I think most people were pretty shocked to see him cutting and juking and running routes at minicamp in June, just four months after surgery. Fast forward to the regular season, where he played in 15 of 16 games, and caught 86 passes. Not bad for someone returning from such a nasty injury. But it was really his second season back that he exploded and surged to a different level. That year, he led the league with 122 catches and over 1,000 yards receiving. Everyone said he wouldn't come back the same player. They were right. He came back even better. 

So to answer the question, what made me become a Patriots fan: I give most credit to Welker. Bruschi also has a lot to do with it. Still my favorite #54 ever. In any sport. 

As always, 
Go Patriots.