With the first half of the season out of the way and the Patriots are in prime position to claim their eleventh division title of the Brady-Belichick era. In the remaining seven games, they will be tested in different ways as they continue to evolve their young roster into a hopeful Super Bowl champion. So far this year they have had to overcome a variety of distractions while breaking in new players but every man on the roster has something to prove in the second half of the year.
Since the return of Rob Gronkowski, the offense has been showing steady signs of improvement, most notably in their seven touchdown day against the Steelers.
With Shane Vereen returning from a broken wrist, this will be the first time the skill positions have been at full strength all year. Having shown flashes of potential in the last twelve months, now is the time for Vereen to contribute as a third down back and take over that role from Brandon Bolden who has been filling in.
Meanwhile Stevan Ridley has emerged as the primary threat out of the back field running the ball and he will need to reproduce the 2012 form that saw him become a 1200 yard rusher. While LeGarrette Blount and Bolden will continue to see snaps from time to time, the 2011 draftees should become the focus from here. A 2013 draftee, Aaron Dobson will also need to continue his recent good form after catching three touchdowns in the last two games. With the offense showing signs of life in recent games, their job in the next seven weeks will be to step up and improve each week.
On the other side of the ball, the defense was almost solely responsible for the majority of the victories in the early months. Now with their ranks severely depleted through injuries, their job in the second half will be to make the most of what they have left and rely on the remaining stars to make plays. It all starts with Aqib Talib who was in the conversation for defensive player of the year until his hip injury knocked him out. Reports suggest that he will be right to return this week but the question becomes can he replicate his form from earlier in the season. The front seven has absorbed several body blows with the players lost to injury. After talking about how he has grown in the offseason, Chandler Jones needs to back that up by improving on his current sack tally of 8.5. With a shift to a 3-4 defense against the Steelers, that could be the way to shore up their leaky run defense by reverting to Belichick’s tried and tested system.
In terms of the schedule, they face a stern test coming out of the bye with a Monday Night trip to the resurgent Panthers before a short turn around to a home primetime game against the Broncos. The offense will have their work cut out for them against the stingy Panthers defense while the Broncos will have the defense working hard, realistically a split of those two games would be a good result. Up next they travel to Houston in a game that has suddenly become much easier given the turmoil in that locker room, of course after the beatings last season and with the possible return of Gary Kubiak the Texans will be desperate to get one on the Patriots. A home game against the Browns and Dolphins who will both potentially be battling for playoff positioning or both could be out of the running by then. A trip to Baltimore before hosting the Bills will end their season where they will be fighting for playoff seeding. With a 24-1 second half record over the last three years, history and the schedule suggests the Patriots will be in the mix at the top of the AFC at the end of the year.
If you want to tell James that he is a genius (or an idiot) you can find him on Twitter under the name @jcaughlin12
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