The New England Patriots are the NFL football dynasty of the new millennium. In a sport where just putting back-to-back winning seasons is difficult, the Pats have been Super Bowl contenders for the past 6 years. Head Coach Bill Belichick is the best in the and again made brilliant moves this off-season. After narrowly missing their fourth Super Bowl appearance in six years New England are hungry for another diamond ring in 2008. Bodog.com has made the New England Patriots 8 to 5 odds to win the 2008 Super Bowl XLII.
On offense the Patriots like to spread the receivers out letting Tom Brady & Co. assassinate opposing secondaries. After adding to legit deep threats in wideouts Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth the air game looks devastating. Tom Brady is the premier NFL QB’s of this generation and this year he will be able to display his deep throwing ability more. With the departure of Corey Dillon RB Laurence Maroney will be the man in the running game. Maroney has been injury prone so far in his short career but he will be relied upon to carry a heavy workload this year. Laurence is an immensely talented runner when healthy with patience and superb change-of-direction skill.
The Patriots defense operates out of a 3-4 with plays designed around their disruptive Defensive Ends. DE Richard Seymor is a huge end that plays very hard with great intelligence and is constantly being double-teamed. On the other side DE Ty Warren plays both the run and pass very well with his ultra competive fighting attitude. The Linebackers got a huge boost when OLB Adalius Thomas was added in the off-season. Thomas will create some mismatches with his incredible versatility. ILB Tedy Bruschi has lost a step but remains the heart and soul of the pats D.
Brad Marchetti Opening Day New England Patriots Power Ratings: 20-80 Scale
20- Poor
30- Well Below Average
40- Below Average
50- Average
60- Above Average
70- Very Good
80- Great
Coaching: 80
Quarterback : 75
Backs : 65
Receivers : 70
Offensive Line : 65
Defensive Line : 75
Linebackers : 65
Secondary : 60
Special Teams : 60
Arizona Cardinals 40/1
Atlanta Falcons 60/1
Baltimore Ravens 18/1
Buffalo Bills 100/1
Carolina Panthers 25/1
Chicago Bears 15/1
Cincinnati Bengals 15/1
Cleveland Browns 125/1
Dallas Cowboys 20/1
Denver Broncos 20/1
Detroit Lions 70/1
Green Bay Packers 38/1
Houston Texans 100/1
Indianapolis Colts 15/2
Jacksonville Jaguars 30/1
Kansas City Chiefs 50/1
Miami Dolphins 55/1
Minnesota Vikings 50/1
New England Patriots 8/5
New Orleans Saints 14/1
New York Giants 30/1
New York Jets 38/1
Oakland Raiders 70/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 25/1
San Diego Chargers 6/1
San Francisco 49ers 15/1
Seattle Seahawks 18/1
St.Louis Rams 40/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45/1
Tennessee Titans 50/1
Washington Redskins 40/1
