Patriots Poised To Take AFC East Title

Each preseason PossessionPoints forecasts how each team will do in the upcoming season based on our stat from the prior season and adjustments we make to it for all teams. This year since we converted PossessionPoints.com to a free site we are making the preview available team by team on this site. In each writeup we look at our forecast and then an optimistic and pessimistic scenario. 

Patriots

Summary:

Another year, another season we think the Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC East. Tom Brady’s knee injury is now becoming a distant memory and there is no need to question his durability.  Could the Patriots make another run at an unbeaten season? While unlikely, is not impossible. We have pointed out in the past that the Patriots’ coaching staff is a real strength, and they have a true talent when it comes to rebuilding the roster and assistant coaching staff to maintain a high level of play. There never seems to be a question about chemistry or how player X will blend with this team. But this year may be a real test of that with the addition of Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth. This season, on the adjustment front, we went very conservative with the Patriots. The defense matured nicely last season and if Haynesworth is even close to the player he was with the Titans the defense will definitely improve. So we adjusted the offense and the defense up by 5%. With these adjustments for the Patriots, the computer produced a projected 14-2 record and well positioned to make another run at the Super Bowl. 

Pre-Season Begins Tonight

NFL Preseason Kicks Off Tonight

We had our doubts as the labor negotiations dragged out this summer, but the NFL Preseason starts tonight on schedule. The only casualty was the Hall Of Fame game.

PossessionPoints.com is ready for the start with a big announcement, the site has been converted to a "free" site this season. You still need a login ID to get access to all of the game by game data but you can register and get that login for free. Giving us your e-mail is part of that sign-up, but you will only get e-mail from us as we don't give away or sell our e-mail lists. And you won't even get that much e-mail from PossessionPoints. Twice per week is our standard amount--once to send you our newsletter and the other to tell you when our Match-up page has been posted.

NFL Playoff Picture: Eighteen NFL Teams Control Their Own Destiny

Every year as the NFL season moves toward weeks 16 and 17, the media and fans alike bemoan the practice of “good” teams resting starters for the playoffs and not putting out an effort in the final weeks of the season. Well, it looks like this year is going to be very different. We did some peeking ahead at remaining schedules, and projected some win – loss numbers, and it looks to us as if there will be huge games in the final weeks. In fact, we only see one or two teams that perhaps can take the final week off.

PossessionPointsPprojections Prove True

This week, PossessionPoints.com went 4-0 straight up in the NFL playoffs and 3-1 ATS. The only loss ATS was between the Colts and the Ravens because we thought the Ravens would give Indianapolis a little more run for their money.

Dear John (Mara): Your New York Giants Aren't That Bad

(An Open Letter to Giants’ Owner John Mara)
Earlier this week you expressed your displeasure with the Giants season performance, and you “vowed to make changes.”

You are quoted as saying “I am disappointed in everybody, in everything. I’m unhappy with everyone. It’s just not acceptable to perform like that. There are 8-8 seasons and there are 8-8 seasons, but this one felt more like 2-14 to me.”

Titans and Broncos: A Study of Contrasting Seasons

When the NFL schedule came out last spring, a quick glance at the bye weeks showed that two of the teams off in Week Seven were the Titans and Broncos.

If we told you in the summer that one of these two teams would be 6-0 and the other would be 0-6, and then asked you to tell us who would have the winning record, we are confident that you and any other football fan would have replied, “That’s easy—the Titans will be 6-0 and the Broncos will be 0-6.”

AFC North: Toughest Division in the NFL?

Get a group of football fans together talking about their favorite teams, comparing records and schedules, and sooner or later, someone will throw out a phrase along the lines of “Well, they play in a tougher division.”

We, at PossessionPoints.com , confess we love this discussion. We write about it as often as we can. We address this issue in the preseason , regular season, postseason, and offseason.