New England Patriots Team Report by Chris Smith
| NE Projections (9/3) | Passing Stats | Rush Stats | Receiving Stats | Fantasy | |||||||||||
| Change | Name | Pos | Att | Comp | % | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | Pts |
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#fname# #lname# | #pos# | #NumberFormat("#pts#", '__,_____')# | ||||||||||||
| Totals | #NumberFormat("#tot_patt#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_pcmp#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#evaluate(100*tot_pcmp/tot_patt)#", '_____._')#% | #NumberFormat("#tot_pyds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_ptds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_int#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_ratt#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_ryds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_rtds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_rec#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_cyds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_ctds#", '__,_____')# | #NumberFormat("#tot_pts#", '__,_____')# | ||
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Quarterbacks Starter - Tom Brady Backups - Damon Huard, Rohan Davey [r] Starting Quarterback: Tom Brady shocked the football world last year when he took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe and took a 0-2 football team to a division title at 11-5 and onto a stunning Super Bowl upset against the Rams. Brady did all the little things right on the way to the championship and showed excellent leadership skills. However, he is not a good fantasy quarterback so don't buy in the hype that was Brady. He is the head of a very conservative offense that is bound to suffer some from the Super Bowl hangover that so many champions go through. The Patriots stayed very healthy last year and rode a dominant defense and good running attack on to the title. Brady will put up good numbers to help his team win but they won't be the kind of numbers that will help your fantasy team win. He is ranked down in the bottom third of our starting quarterback rankings. He is a poor starting fantasy quarterback and is only a marginal backup in most leagues. Cheer him on if you are a Patriot fan but stay clear of drafting him unless he falls down to the bottom third of the draft. Backup Quarterback(s): If something happens to Brady, there is no savior to save the team as he was a year ago. Damon Huard is at best an adequate quarterback at the NFL level. He may be able to come in and do a nice job but he will not be able to take control of the offense like Brady did. If the team ends up in a position where they have to rely on rookie quarterback Rohan Davey, they may as well put up the white flag and call it a season. Davey is many years away from being a decent NFL quarterback. The holes in his game are scary and it will take very good coaching to help him reach the next level in his development. Running Backs Starter - Antowain Smith Backups - J.R. Redmond, Kevin Faulk Starting Running Back: While everybody loves to talk about Tom Brady, the best story of the Patriots season was the resurrection of Antowain Smith as a viable NFL running back. He ran hard, he ran often and he ran successfully on the way to a career-high 1157 yards and a terrific 12 touchdowns. The offensive line remained intact and there is no reason to believe that Smith won't be able to run the ball well again in 2002. However he has vanished before while in Buffalo and that has to be cause for some concern for fantasy owners. We have him ranked at # 14 overall this season but his potential downside may be bigger than his potential upside. If he has the same heart and effort as last year, he will run for over 1100 yards and 9 touchdowns but at over thirty years of age and a past history of fading badly, there is reason to be cautious when drafting Smith. Backup Running Back(s): The true value for fantasy owners may be J.R. Redmond who is either going near the bottom of most fantasy drafts or in a few cases not even being drafted. He was in a battle to start for the team last year and lost out to Smith. However, he is the clear-cut backup to him this year and is one injury away from running behind the very solid offensive line of the Patriots. If you are looking for a good late-round value pick, think about selecting Redmond. Kevin Faulk will get touches as the third down back for the team. He doesn't have the potential of Redmond, but he is guaranteed to get a few points every week by catching passes so he does have a little value as an emergency starter for a fantasy squad. Fullback(s): Marc Edwards, Patrick Pass: Edwards, like most fullbacks in the NFL, isn't going to end up on anybody's fantasy roster. However he is a solid blocking fullback and will help the running backs pile on their yardage. Patrick Pass is a converted running back that has more running skills than the average fullback but needs to continue improving in the blocking aspect of his game. Wide Receivers / Tight Ends Starters - Troy Brown, David Patten Backups - Donald Hayes, Fred Coleman, Deion Branch [r] Starting Receiver(s): Troy Brown is a small receiver who runs great routes and has nice hands. He was a very late developer in the NFL but due to lots of hard work and perseverance has made a nice name for himself in the pros. He had over 100 receptions last year for 1199 yards. The big concern with his game is the paltry 5 scores he had with all those touches. 1 touchdown every 20 receptions is not a very nice ratio. He won't be as good this year but he'll still get around 80 receptions and could break 1000 yards. There is a good battle going on for the second receiver slot with the starting offensive unit. Donald Hayes was brought in to take that job because of his excellent height and size on the field. He is by far the tallest target the receiver core has which would help them out on the field. However thus far in camp, Patten has been the better player and has leapt ahead of Hayes in the depth chart. Patten has been inconsistent in the NFL but has lots of skill and will continue his development. He is climbing up our ranks with over 560 projected receiving yards now and 3 touchdowns. He could be a decent fifth receiver for a fantasy team but doesn't have much worth as a starter. Backup Receiver(s): Hayes will be neck and neck with Patten all year. The team would like for him to step up and be the man because they want some size brought into the group. Hayes has some flashes of brilliance in the NFL while in Carolina but is another player that has been inconsistent and hasn't been able to do it often enough. As of right now, he has very little value in fantasy football unless you have room for a sixth receiver on your roster. He has potential but that rarely translates into viable fantasy success. The most interesting player on the team right now is rookie Deion Branch. I thought he would be good in the NFL at some point but it looked as if it could take a few seasons before he was ready to contribute full time. Branch is having an excellent training camp though and may get some playing time this year after all. He doesn't have any fantasy value for this year but if you are in a dynasty league, he may be a nice pickup to sit at the end of your bench for a while. Tight End(s): Christian Fauria, Daniel Graham [r], Cam Cleeland Individually, there is a lot of talent at tight end in New England. However collectively, fantasy value is very small because of the logjam at the position. Rookie tight end Graham is the most talented and will eventually win the starting position. However he has a ton of competition for playing time with two seasoned vets with good talent on the roster as well. It looks as though Christian Fauria will get the nod as the starter but all three will likely get playing time during the season. Nice for Patriot fans to have that much talent at the position but a nightmare to avoid for fantasy fans unless one of these players is named the clear cut starter. Our highest ranked of the three is Graham but he is way down at # 30 which makes his fantasy worth almost nil. Place Kicker Adam Vinatieri: Until last year, Vinatieri was one of the best-kept secrets in the NFL. He is adept at kicking both indoors and outdoors and has been very accurate his entire career. He signed a nice contract this off-season and is ready to have another solid season. It is hard to determine just how many chances a kicker will get from season to season. However, it is not so hard to predict which kickers can do the most with their chances. Vinatieri is accurate and experienced and is a good fantasy option. Defense The Patriots won the Super Bowl because of the defense. For all the talk you here of both Tom Brady and Antowain Smith, the Patriots would not have even made the playoffs if this unit wasn't so solid all year. The defense is back intact this year and there is little reason to believe they cannot be as effective in 2002. Led by one of the top defensive backfields in the game featuring such standouts as Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Tebucky Jones and Otis Smith, the team should be able to put the clamps down on the opposition again. We have them ranked in the top ten. Coaching A year ago, I thought Bill Belichick was one of the top defensive coordinators of all time and a very mediocre head coach. What a difference one season can make. Belichick put his stamp on this team and got them to play the inspired, determined football that mirrored his Giants defensive teams during the Giants Championship runs. He has the players he wants; the system in place and anything less than a return to the playoffs would be a huge disappointment to him and the organization. Intangibles So often after winning a championship, the winning team suffers a letdown the next season. The luck and high-level of play needed to be the best in this day and age is tough to duplicate one year to the next and the Patriots will have to be very determined to not suffer a let-down in 2002. |