Rough Start for New England
Many people, including myself, have penciled in, no make that used permanent marker, the Patriots as Super Bowl champions this year. With all of the new weapons for Tom Brady, along with Adalius Thomas, this team looks fantastic. Unfortunately there is reason for concern with Rodney Harrison being suspended the first four games of the season and Richard Seymour being placed on the Physically Unable to Play list, keeping him out for at least the first six weeks of the season. During that time the Patriots face the Jets, Chargers, Bills, Bengals, Browns, and Cowboys. While I’m never one to underestimate Belichick and his boys, facing four playoff calibur teams without a dominating player like Seymour is going to be tough. Not to mention that three of those games are going to be without Rodney Harrison as well.
It’s a good thing the Patriots have one of the best offenses in the league and have Adalius Thomas to potentially fill in for Seymour while he is out. The real question will be in the secondary, however. Asante Samuel is going to take a few weeks to get into the rhythm so this is where the real weakness will be. It’s going to take a lot of creative game planning on the defensive side to make up for these losses. Then the question becomes whether or not Seymour is able to play after missing the first six games. If he’s held out any longer, this season might not be as spectacular as many people have predicted.
