With another NFL season on the horizon, the New England Patriots will once again be one of the top teams in the NFL. They have a high chance to be in the Super Bowl for the fourth straight season, which has not happened since the Buffalo Bills did it in the early 90s.
Here are the reasons that that will win their third Super Bowl in four seasons.
The dynamic duo: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick return for a 20th straight season and they show no signs of slowing down. History is on their side and this will continue for these very reasons.
- No slowing down: Brady continues to show that he is not slowing down in the offseason. His Instagram is full of workouts and even jokes about his speed. Watching him throw the ball like he does at age 41 is one of the craziest things about this ageless wonder.
- Football guru: Belichick’s history shows that he is not slowing down either. The eight-time Super Bowl winner only has one goal every season, and that is to win another Super Bowl. As with every year, there is a lot of turnover for the Pats but Belichick continues to adapt no matter who is playing.
Stout defense: As the saying goes, defense wins championships. New England lost a few really great players but added some guys to fill in those slots.
- Michael Bennett: With Trey Flowers signing in Detroit, the Pats traded for Bennett. He had a solid season with the Eagles last year with nine sacks — second-best on the team. Similar productivity will boost the New England’s pass rush.
- Jamie Collins: This past offseason, the former Pat decided that he wanted to reunite with New England. After a stint in Cleveland where he was decent, Collins will add to another deep linebacker group and restore the middle linebacker duo with Dont’a Hightower aside him.
- Mike Pennel Jr.: The Patriots lost Malcom Brown to free agency so they picked up Pennel Jr. from the Jets. With 16 solo tackles last season, he had a solid season in New York and will be a great run stuffer for New England.
Reloaded offense: The narrative in New England is to win a championship and then go get money elsewhere in free agency. With guys like Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson gone, the Pats loaded back up on offense with guys who could be even better under Tom Brady.
- N’keal Harry: Harry was one of the top receivers in this past draft. With Hogan gone, Harry will most likely slide into that outside spot and become Brady’s main deep threat. The 6-foot-4 receiver should thrive under Brady’s offense.
- Dontrelle Inman: This could be one of those situations where Inman replaces Patterson as a depth receiver who breaks out under Brady. Patterson was only known as a special teams guy in his career, but now is a solid receiver thanks to Brady. Do not be surprised if this happens to Inman.
- Damien Harris: Once again, the Patriots are loaded up at the running back position as Harris will be the main power back in the rotation. Jame White and Rex Burkhead are the main two guys, but they will be prone to injury, so Harris may be able to get more carries throughout the season.
- Julian Edelman: Time and time again Edelman comes through for the Pats in the Super Bowl. When they lost to the Eagles, Edelman was not there due to an ACL injury. If he is healthy come February, it will be tough to stop the Brady-Edelman connection.
The bottom line: No matter what any other team does in the offseason, the Pats are still a top title contender in the NFL. Brady and Belichick are back and continue to shatter records. They will keep doing that for as long as they are in the league. The only way the Patriots do not win the Super Bowl is if they beat themselves with dumb penalties and bad execution.