Why the New England Patriots can win the Super Bowl

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver

Julian Edelman

(11) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi trophy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots have had a very eventful offseason, but their minds are now set on the 2015 football season, and like every year the goal will be reaching and winning the Super Bowl. In this article I will give three reasons why the Patriots will be able to defend their title. With this, I am not saying that they will win the Super Bowl, but simply that they could win it. The Patriots were the last team that was able to defend their championship and they will try to do it again. So here we go:

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1. Tom Brady

The first reason is basically a no-brainer. The Pats have been in contention for the Super Bowl every single season that Tom Brady was the starting QB for the Patriots. With him at the helm they have won the division 12 times and made the Super Bowl six times. While many players skills start deteriorating at age 37, which is Brady’s age, he has not shown any signs of him slowing down. Last year he was as good as ever, leading the Patriots to their fourth Super Bowl title against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Both against the Ravens and the Seahawks, Brady displayed his ability to put the team on his back and lead them to key victories.

2. The New England Patriots were unstoppable after Week 4 last year.

After the first four games of the season last year, the Patriots were an unstoppable force. If you ignore the Buffalo game in which the starters only played for a quarter, the Pats were 10-1 over the 11 game span and the only loss they had was at Lambeau field at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers who were an onside kick away from making it to the Super Bowl themselves, and that loss was only by five points. Other than that the Pats had two tight games against the Jets, which could have resulted in losses, but the rest of the games were dominant wins.

While the strong secondary did play a big factor in many of those games, the offense was the key component . In seven out of the 11 previously mentioned games, the Patriots offense put up 30 points or more. In comparison to last year, I believe the Patriots offense will be even better this year, as they added some solid talent at the offensive line through the draft and also added Scott Chandler as a very solid No.2 tight end. This year they will also not have to ease “Gronk” into the season which will be a big help at the beginning of the year.

3. The Patriots have a great front seven and have made the Super Bowl with bad secondaries before.

The Patriots front seven is really looking very good, especially if Jerod Mayo can still play at the level he was before his two season ending injuries. Ninkovich and Jones have been quite good over the past few years and I still think Jones will still get a bit better. Adding Jabaal Sheard adds depth and can give Ninkovich and Jones some breaks. The weak spot for the Patriots will be the middle of the defensive line, but Malcolm Brown has a lot of promise and Sealver Siliga has also proven that he is a capable player. Alan Branch is still a good run-stopper and one shouldn’t forget about Dominique Easley who the Patriots hope will still develop .

The Patriots linebackers may be the best group in the NFL. While Jamie Collins is getting a lot of attention and hype, I think most people are still underrating him. This guy is elite. Mayo was elite before getting injured back to back seasons and the Pats hope he will get back to that level and Hightower had a great a year last year and showed the Pats didn’t even really need Mayo. The secondary does have its massive flaws, especially at cornerback, but they still have McCourty who is arguably the second-best free safety in the game. The Pats secondary in 2011 was at least as bad as this years and the Pats were still able to make the Super Bowl so that should give hope as well.

Conclusion:

I think this year will be another exciting year of football in New England. The Pats are always in the running for making the Super Bowl and this year will be no different. Their offense is as potent as ever and the defense may not be as bad as many think, especially with Bill Belichick coaching it. I think there is definitely a good chance for the Pats to repeat, but it will also be very difficult. Staying healthy will be a key for the Pats, as their depth at most position isn’t very good.

Next: Patriots game by game prediction for 2015 season

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