No one would be surprised if I veered off course here and divulged my always pressing need to rant and rave and “critically acclaim” my beloved Boston Red Sox. Somehow, someway, I seemingly always find an opportunity to mention my faithful Fenway fanaticism. My loyalty lies in Boston and I have made absolutely zero effort to conceal that. For those of you astute enough to catch it, yes, this is my near-obligatory Red Sox shout-out.
So now, when I seek to talk about the free agency period of the NFL, it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that I’m about to rant and rave and “critically acclaim” the New England Patriots. But really, it should. I am no fan of New England. My loyalties lie, and always have, in South Beach. Which, in my humble opinion, makes what I’m about to claim that much more meaningful.
The New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl.
It doesn’t sound like I’m going that far out on a limb. And the limb in question is probably the sturdiest limb any tree has ever produced. So…
The New England Patriots will accomplish the perfect season this year, win the Super Bowl, and become the first team in NFL history to reach 19-0.
Now, that may seem a bit hasty. That may seem a bit over dramatic. But they were close to perfection in 2007. And they were close to a Super Bowl win this past year. But 19-0? Beating my Dolphins twice? Surpassing my Dolphins (granted I wasn’t alive for it) as the greatest perfect team in NFL history? What Kool-Aid am I drinking?
Last preseason, I thought the Pats would win the Super Bowl, and I wasn’t far off. There are many what-ifs. What if Ted Ginn is healthy and the 49ers advance, not the Giants? What if Gronk was healthy? What if Chad “Out-of-sink-o” was on the same page as the rest of the offense? What if Matt Schaub stayed healthy? What if Matt Leinart had stayed healthy? What if Peyton Manning’s neck was in good shape? What if the Pats defense was better?
Well, I think a lot of those questions have been answered so far in free agency. The Pats have added Will Allen to the secondary, an above-average cornerback who’s played for the nemesis Giants and division-rival Miami. They’ve added a legitimate deep threat in wide receiver Brandon Lloyd and yet another threat to carve up the middle in Peyton’s former slot receiver Anthony Gonzalez. The Pats have added many other players and restructured deals with both Ochocinco and all-world quarterback Tom Brady to help increase spendable money.
And oh by the way, the draft is yet to come.
The one fly that could land in the perfect nectar that is the sweat of Brady’s brow would be Brady’s health. There are plenty of weapons that several could get injured. As long as Brady’s able to get them the ball, this team will be perfect. If Brady goes down, a Super Bowl win will have to be tainted by one or more losses. In short, this team is the class of the NFL this season.
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