Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Rich Arleo
- Edited by Marc Caviglia

While the New York Jets (11-5) may have made the most noise, AFC East fans watched the New England Patriots (14-2) once again clinch the AFC East  title in dominating fashion, while the Miami Dolphins (7-9) and Buffalo Bills (4-12) struggled to compete. After a huge playoff win over their division rivals, the Jets have their sights set on the conference title in 2011, but quarterback Tom Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots should have something to say about that. The Dolphins will look to put a wrench in both their plans while the Bills will look to address some glaring needs.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

It was business as usual for the Patriots during the 2010 regular season. New England overcame some early issues with their backfield and a young, inexperienced secondary to finish the season 14-2 after an eight game winning streak. They earned a first round bye, which set the stage for a matchup with an aggrandizing Jets squad that talked trash about the Patriots all season. As it turned out, the Jets were speaking the truth as some of the Patriots’ weaknesses were evident in a 28-21 divisional playoff loss. New England’s core is still strong but they will have to address some issues if they want to hold back the Jets and repeat as division champions.

TEAM STRENGTHS

1. Tom Brady — What more can be said about Tom Brady? He has Justin Bieber’s now classic ‘doo, rides razor scooters, is an awful dancer… but he just wins football games. In a year many expected Brady to struggle, he ended up as the unanimous NFL Most Valuable Player after throwing for 3,900 yards and a whopping 36 touchdowns with just four interceptions while leading his team to their eighth AFC East championship since 2001 (Brady’s first year as a starter.) He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and is one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.

2. Mr. Hoodie Bill Belichick — Say what you want about him, year after year he leads his team to the top of the division…and unlike physical talent; coaching smarts doesn’t diminish with age. Belichick and Brady go hand in hand and dominated the NFL for the early part of the decade. He has three rings, four AFC championships and eight division titles to his impressive resume and he’ll look to add to that list in 2011.

3. Backfield — What looked like a big weakness at the beginning of the season turned into strength by the end of the year. An injury to veteran Fred Taylor and the trade of underachiever Laurence Maroney led way to the emergence of “The Law Firm,” Benjarvus Green-Ellis. BJGE emerged as a very solid running back in 2010 and ran for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first full season. He was coupled with the Danny Woodhead, who the Pats signed when the Jets released him early in the season and ended up with 547 rushing yards, 379 receiving yards (926 total) and six combined touchdowns.  While Green-Ellis doesn’t catch the ball, Woodhead can catch and run with the best of them, and the combination of the two provides a young, talented change of pace duo that could even improve in 2011. The Patriots will likely also have an opportunity to draft a running back at some point in the April NFL draft if they decide they aren’t content on entering 2011 with just Green-Ellis and Woodhead.

TEAM NEEDS

1. A Dominant Pass Rusher — Vince Wilfork is fine up the middle, but Gerard Warren and Mike Wright are subpar pass rushers at the ends and combined for just
nine sacks on the season. The Patriots as a team were no better than average at getting to the quarterback with 36 sacks on the year, and they are expected to target Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt with one of their two first round picks. Watt is known as one of the best pass rushers in the draft and had seven sacks and two fumble recoveries in 2010. Even if they don’t land Watt, look for them to find a pass rusher and some point during the draft.

2. Another Offensive Lineman — A glaring weakness of many teams, the Patriots have a very solid left side with center Dan Koppen and Logan Mankins (who was just recently franchised). Sebastian Vollmer isn’t bad at right tackle either, but guard Dan Connolly is still rough around the edges despite his impressive kick return skills, and Matt Light is now a free agent. While Brady didn’t get sacked often (25 times), the combination of injury concerns and the loss of Light will likely lead to the Patriots targeting an offensive lineman with one their two first round selections.

3. One More Wide Receiver — When the Patriots traded wide receiver Randy Moss in the middle of last season, many were shocked and expected the Patriots to struggle. Instead, they played their best football of the season without him as he himself fell off the face of the Earth for the rest of the year. Deion Branch arrived and immediately resurrected his relationship with Brady, catching 48 passes for 706 yards and five scores in just 11 games. The Patriots can succeed with Branch and Wes Welker in the slot , but the lack of a tall red zone target and true “No.1” option was evident at times. The Pats likely won’t address this issue too early in the draft and will instead look to free agency. Chad Ochocinco will be available, as will veterans Terrell Owens (ACL surgery) and, yes, Randy Moss, who recently said he wanted to be with the Patriots all along. While that may be a long shot, the Patriots would also have to consider the returning Plaxico Burress. Malcom Floyd is another option, as is likely free agent Braylon Edwards.

**Note: All Offseason Needs Articles Were Written Before the 2011 NFL Draft**

AFC EAST NEEDS BY TEAM:  BUF  |  MIA  |  NE  |  NYJ  (click to view)

AFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  HOU  |  IND  |  JAC  |  TEN  (click to view)

AFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  BAL  |  CIN  |  CLE  |  PIT  (click to view)

AFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DEN  |  KC  |  OAK  |  SD  (click to view)

NFC EAST NEEDS BY TEAM:  DAL  |  NYG  |  PHI  |  WAS    (click to view)

NFC SOUTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  ATL  |  CAR  |  NO  |  TB    (click to view)

NFC NORTH NEEDS BY TEAM:  CHI  |  DET  |  GB  |  MIN    (click to view)

NFC WEST NEEDS BY TEAM:  ARI  |  STL  |  SF  |  SEA    (click to view)

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