A Legacy Reborn by Joshua Vargas

This season among all seasons in the NFL has been completely surprising.  Many teams in the NFL that are believed to be, “power house” teams are not being as dominant as teams that have not been deemed, “power house” teams.  The Cleveland Browns have bested the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.  This is shocking because as said above, these two teams are both, “power house” teams who have dynamic players.  The Arizona Cardinals have been an extremely shocking team to watch because they are not known to be a great team offensively, yet they have won nine of their last ten ball games losing only to the Denver Broncos.  The New England Patriots were not picked by many football analysts to have a good season early on in the season due to the loss of many players being traded or having season ending injuries.  The Patriots have overcome many challenges this season including the Denver Broncos.  The NFL ranked the eight and two Patriots number one over the nine and one Cardinals on the power ranking system.  This is because in theory, the Patriots are better than the Cardinals because the Patriots beat the Broncos, and the Broncos are the only team to beat the Cardinals. 

            One of the reasons why the Patriots have been successful this season, other than having arguably the best quarterback in the history of the NFL (Tom Brady) is because the Patriots’ running game.  Early on in the season, the Patriots’ starting running back Steven Ridley faced a season ending injury so that lead Bill Belichick to start rethinking his options at the running back position.  Belichick chose rookie running back Jonas Gray to start against the Colts.  Jonas Gray has soon become an overnight sensation.  He ran for 201 yards and scored 24 points against the Colts last Sunday. 

            Another reason why the Patriots have been successful is because their defense.  The Patriots defense last season wasn’t good because they had many rookies playing.  This season’s Patriots’ defense has changed, the Patriots signed five time Pro-Bowler Darrelle Revis and one time Pro-Bowler Brandon Browner.  These two shutdown corner back have been limiting many receivers this season too little to no catches.  These two cornerbacks also have help from Devin McCourty a safety who has been exceptional in stopping deep throws down the middle of the field this season.  Middle linebacker Jamie Collins has been putting pressure on the opposing team’s quarterbacks and tackling the running backs.  The other middle linebacker Dont’a Hightower has been doing the same, but has a different more important job.  Hightower has stepped up and become the defensive captain; he reads the receivers and running backs, tells his secondary what coverage they need to be in, and listens to the quarterback’s snap count so he can execute a perfect blitz.  Veteran defensive linemen Vince Wilfork returned to the field recently coming off an injury.  Although Wilfork has been injured many times in his years of the NFL and the harsh fact that he is getting close to retirement, he is still being a monster and making tackles on the field.  Wilfork is also teaching his young linemen how to be an effective defensive lineman. 

            The Patriots’ offense has really become spectacular this season.  Last season Tom Brady did not have many options at the receiver position because of the loss of many dynamic receivers such as: Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Danny Woodhead, Brandon Lloyd, and Deon Branch.  Tom Brady has his go to receiver Rob Gronkowski back onto the field coming back from tearing his ACL last season.  Rob Gronkowski has the season record for most touchdowns from a Tight End (17).  Six foot seven, 270 pounds Gronkowski is a huge target literally and metaphorically because he catches the ball and runs down field and also blocks linemen and line backers alike.  Another major target and number one receiver is Julian Edelmen.  Julian Edelmen was a quarterback in college, but Bill Belichick played him as a wide receiver and that is what he is today.  A big reason why Julian Edelmen has progressed so much is because he shadowed and learned many tricks under Wes Welker (a receiver who led the league in receptions and yards after the catch).  Another receiver who has not had many receptions this season, but is known as a great receiver is Danny Amendola.  Amendola applies pressure to the defense, he is basically a decoy receiver. The New England Patriots are on top of their division and on the route to the Super bowl reborning the Patriots legacy of winning Super Bowls.