New England Patriots 2017 Schedule Breakdown

Yesterday, the 2017 schedule was released and much like that day in June when we salivate over the EPL fixture release in England, here the NFL release all the schedule including Monday Night match ups.

Teams can decipher the short weeks, the quick turnarounds, Thanksgiving and Christmas battles. For New England you look at the trips away in the division, as well as match ups that include journeys to Mexico to face the Oakland Raiders as well as trips away to Pittsburgh and Denver.

The breakdown

Week 1 - 7th Sept, v Kansas City

The league's official kick off as the reigning Super Bowl champions host a pretender in the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday 7th September. Likely you see the champs win out with a fit again Gronkowski and new toys for Brady to play with, whilst Stefan Gilmore starts shutting down Jeremy Maclin (not hard).

Prediction : Win, 1-0

Which team will Butler being playing for in Week 2?

Week 2 - 17th Sept, @ New Orleans

The Malcolm Butler derby, but will he be wearing the black of the Saints or the white of the Patriots. Either way Butler would love to make a statement but we also have Brandin Cooks returning to the Superdome and with our offensive superiority you cannot see a Saints side admittedly still in transition winning, although they are wasting the twilight years of Drew Brees.

Prediction: Win, 2-0

Week 3 - 24th Sept, v Houston

This was a Week 3 victory last year with Jacoby Brissett getting his win. Houston will be a different side with J. J. Watt returning and the Texans did give the Patriots a scare in the playoffs and this could well be a banana skin, but this is dependent upon what continuity and productivity the Texans have at quarterback be it Tom Savage or someone else. The Patriots lay an egg once a season, this may be it.

Prediction: Loss, 2-1

Week 4 - 1st Oct, v Carolina

The Panthers whilst they have the game changer in Cam Newton, they are about their front 7 on defence against our O-line. This turf war is where Blount may come to the fore, whilst the Panthers may not have enough weapons on outside to worry the secondary.

Prediction: Win, 3-1

Week 5 - 5th Oct, @ Tampa Bay

A short week against a bristling Bucs side who look to kick on and this should be an entertaining game for the neutral, however, the experience and dominance of Patriots will be too much although the speed of their wide receivers may provide match up problems for Gilmore and Butler (if he remains).

Prediction: Win, 4-1

Week 6 - 15th Oct, @ New York Jets

The first divisional game is against the weakest side of the division, an ageing side with no identity on offense and is ear marked to be one of the favourites for wooden spoon and Number 1 seed in 2018 draft.

Prediction: Win, 5-1

SuperBowl 51 rematch in October

Week 7 - 22nd Oct, v Atlanta

The Superbowl rematch where the Falcons will want redemption for blowing a 28-3 lead before Brady turned on his after burners and led the Patriots to his and their 5th Super Bowl. Again a high scoring affair but the Patriots won without Gronk, and they will find a way to win again but could be one of the regular season games of the year.

Prediction: Win, 6-1

Week 8 - 29th Oct, v LA Chargers

This could be a tricky game, the Chargers will be playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder searching for their identity in their new home. But for all their injuries sustained last year they might have made the play offs in a competitive division, but if they can maintain a healthy roster they still have Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon will only get better and the defence is one of the more under-rated units in the NFL.

Prediction: Win, 7-1

Week 9 - Bye Week

Week 10 - 12th Nov, @ Denver

A week off is followed by a week up at altitude in Mile High. The Broncos are far removed from the defensive class that won the Super Bowl led by Von Miller. A lot of that team remain but on offense they are a question mark with one of Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch under centre. A week off leads to the Patriots triumphing again.

Prediction: Win, 8-1

Can Derek Carr bounce back from broken leg?

Week 11 - 19th Nov, @ Oakland (in Mexico)

Arriba! A road trip to Mexico versus perhaps one of the main challengers to the Patriots AFC dominance. Derek Carr back from a broken leg, a returning Marshawn Lynch as well as Amari Cooper and that defence that swallowed up offensive lines. Another game at altitude but having played there the week before, you can imagine the Patriots being more prepared than the 'home' team. A great game nonetheless but the Patriots might have too much.

Prediction: Win, 9-1

Week 12 - 26th Nov, v Miami

Home for Thanksgiving, the Patriots do not lose to the Dolphins at home. It will be very cold and Tannehill will freeze again in the spotlight against Brady.

Prediction:  Win, 10-1

Week 13 - 3rd Dec, @ Buffalo

The Bills are like the Jets a bit of a mess, this is one of the more hostile atmospheres the Patriots will face throughout the season but we have Gilmore returning and he will pick off Tyrod Taylor once in this game. By this point you imagine the offensive juggernaut rolling into Buffalo for another W.

Prediction: Win, 11-1

Week 14 - 11th Dec, @ Miami

Monday Night Football in South Beach. A glamour game for sure but the Patriots have a bad history in Florida recently as if the Patriots are aware of this record and the Dolphins elevate their game for this with good reason. Could be one of those games where that extra 5% from the Fins may undo the Pats.

Prediction: Loss, 11-2

Big Ben provides opposition to No. 1 seed

Week 15 - 17th Dec, @ Pittsburgh

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the Burgh, not a creature was stirring as Le'Veon Bell ran for 150 yards on a Patriots side that could not contain the offensive weapons that Pittsburgh have. Sometimes you have road games you look at the schedule and mark out as difficult venues to go to. The Steelers away is one of those and a loss is nothing to be sad about although two in a row is not something Bill Belichick does.

Prediction: Loss, 11-3

Week 16  - 24th Dec, v Buffalo

Merry Christmas New England. You get one of the weaker offences at home on Christmas Eve and the chance to perhaps wrap up home field advantage by then throughout the play offs. Happy Holidays Mr. Kraft

Prediction: Win, 12-3

Week 17 - 31st Dec, v New York Jets

The year and the season end at home against another weak division rival who may well be tanking for the overall pick. Perhaps this will be Jimmy Garrapollo's final snaps in a Patriots jersey or Tom Brady further cements his regular season wins records. Another division title. Another 12+ win season. The dynasty continues to reign and another deep play off run begins.

Prediction: Win, 13-3

Will it be Lombard Trophy #6 for Brady?

Other notes:
Predict the other AFC divisions belong to Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans
Wild cards: Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans

Can the Colts stay Luck-y?

Being a New England Patriots fan, I was quite apprehensive about the Week 11 game at Lucas Oil Stadium versus the Indianapolis Colts. It's all well and good beating the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning at Foxboro, again. Yet this was a true road game in a suspected AFC playoff team and Super Bowl contender. Being in England, I had to sleep and hope I woke up to good news.

I woke up to a scoreline of 42-20 victory for New England. Yet it wasn't another great showing by Tom Brady, he threw no interceptions but the hero was unheralded running back Jonas Gray who ran for 199 yards and four touchdowns.

However, upon reading social media my interest has been piqued by the future more of the Colts. Being a fan of Brady and Bill Belichick, you get accustomed to them finding ways to maintain a consistency of performance and finding ways to succeed.  Belichick employed a sixth lineman to help the running game and simply overpowered a weak Colts defence.

Before Sunday, the Colts were leading the NFL in offence and yet were last in defensive rankings.  When you have put all your chips in on a franchise quarterback and ask him to take you to the promised land of Super Bowl glory, the minimum requirement is to give him the opportunity to win the game. That means keeping him on the field, give him short field to work with and disrupt the offensive flow of the opponents.

Belichick in employing Gray as his offensive weapon, fundamentally kept Luck off the field for long periods of time. The constant scoring meant Luck had to throw more; Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson ran the ball only 7 times, not helped by Bradshaw breaking his ankle.  Luck has offensive weapons but there are teams in the AFC with just better defenders than what the Colts have.  The Patriots have Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan. Would any member of the Colts secondary dislodge those gentleman?

My concern for the Colts is that this was a season that was an opportunity to get a number 1 or 2 seed. The defeat yesterday means they will have to go through Mile High and then Foxboro to reach Arizona, they are conveniently playing in a poor division and they are the best team in that division for this season.

The Houston Texans are having a great defensive year in spite of offensive failings. In JJ Watt you have a player who would be considered for MVP awards if the Texans were above .500; and they are now at .500 with a seemingly more capable quarterback in Ryan Mallett.  Houston have a wealth of talented defenders apart from Watt; they drafted Jadaveon Clowney correctly and still have Brian Cushing and Danieal Manning who put up great numbers. The team is carried though by Watt, and for years to come the battle between him and Luck will be exhilarating.

The point of the last paragraph is that if the Colts do not get help on that offensive line to protect Luck then Watt, Clowney et al will eat him up and usurp them as the number one team in the AFC South.

Case in point they need to plan and draft better. It was fortuitous that Coby Fleener was drafted 34th overall and become the perennial safety blanket (aren't all tight ends safety blankets) for Luck has evidenced by his 7 receptions for 144 yards on Sunday night.  It was a stroke of luck for the Colts but look at who was selected 35th and 36th in the same draft. After Fleener was Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) by the Baltimore Ravens, a wonderful player and after him was Derek Wolfe a component defensive tackle for the Broncos. Even the unfortunate Jonathan Martin (Stanford) was selected 42nd by the Miami Dolphins as an offensive lineman.

Fleener will be around for years but he can expect more coverage next week after news that Dwayne Allen has a high ankle strain so a few weeks out.  The only worry is will Luck get the ball to him, enough to get the win. The Colts are 6-4 and the Texans 5-5, the encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 14th will be all important to who makes the playoffs.

Follow me @JamieGarwood

Explaining Aaron Hernandez

Respect for the NBA players in America, grow year on year.  For these top athletes to drag their body through a 70 game season and then four rounds of the playoffs is quite remarkable given the degree of intensity, the velocity and pace of play and these are not normal shaped bodies - they are men who are in height all over 6' 6" and weigh 18 stone of muscle and brawn.

The other thing they have to contend with is the recognition of their abilities, they play in sleeveless shirts, shorts and Nikes.  They cannot be invisible when they leave the court.

NFL players are luckier, they play for four months of the year, five if they make the Super Bowl.  Admittedly, they do play in the coldest months of the calendar, yet they can hid behind helmets and shoulder pads, distinguishable by the large numbers on their chest and broad backs.  For many defensive and offensive linemen, they are anonymous, if you passed them in a shopping mall or they were out walking their dog, you would think he was a big lump.

The lucky few are photogenic and marketable, these are mostly the quarterbacks the young All-American WASPs who are protected by league rules to not be roughed up, while the dirty work at the line of scrimmage is rarely policed.  The NFL attempt to keep the young and gifted, fit and healthy for as long as possible - while running backs fall by the wayside with new blood leaving College every year in the draft.

For all the anti-NBA jive talk about responsibility and behaviour, it is few and far between the number of incidents involving NBA players away from the court.  Players on the hard court use their down time effectively to recuperate and rest, they have foundations and clinics to put on for children in summer classes, they always want to give back to the community they came from.

NFL players seemingly have a lot of downtime, two thirds of the year in fact to let their hair down and due to the big pay cheques they may encounter some unsavoury characters.  Yet the number of misdemeanors and crimes being committed by young affluent NFL players are high in comparison to other major American sport stars - drink driving, assault and battery, actual bodily harm, drug possession, fights with police.

There can be an argument that the NFL Draft is to blame, you have young underprivileged men leaving college who use their first pay cheque to live large and by giving young men too much money too soon can lead to problems.  English soccer has this problem for some time now, when 17-18 year olds are paid far too much at an early age, without having to earn it.  The NFL teams pay all this money to players based on the idea of potential and possibility, rather than earning it through performance and credibility.  In years past there has been faux pas' like Ryan Leaf and JaMarcus Russell; but yet you still can have Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III; two gifted young men who the ideal NFL franchise player - intelligent and mature.  Is it any surprise they both stayed for the full four years in college and did not jump to the draft when immediately eligible.

This may explain the Aaron Hernandez saga currently being played out on back pages and radio shows across America.  It now comes out that the reason Number 81 fell to the Patriots in the 4th round is due to character issues.  This has never stopped Bill Belichick before as he has signed Randy Moss and Chad Johnson (OchoCinco) before and they both played well but eventually tailed off.  Most NFL teams would say they can offer a large support network to any troubled soul, yet sometimes you never know what a player is capable of.  Did anyone imagine Michael Vick would actually host dog fighting in his luxurious mansions?

Aaron Hernandez is involved in a murder investigation involving a semi-pro 31 year old, Hernandez has done himself no favours by smashing up his security system and destroying his phone - evidence which is a federal offence, and may lead to him incriminating himself.  Hernandez could have done with going to the Patriots and telling them what happened. Instead he thought he was doing what was right, instead of doing what was correct.

Hernandez can probably expect such charges as perverting the course of justice, failure to report a crime and most definitely expect at least a four game suspension from the NFL for bringing the game into disrepute and poor off-field conduct.

As for the Patriots, with both exemplar tight ends either injured or in custody, it gives Tom Brady and the AFC East champions a rather lacklustre roster line-up of receivers to boast about whilst the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills attempt to gain ground on the Boston dynasty.

New England have let go of Wes Welker (Denver), Danny Woodhead (San Diego) and released Brandon Lloyd who is still a free agent, and could be re-signed.  They picked up Danny Amendola, tight end Ballard from the New York Giants and have acquired Aaron Dobson in the draft - they still have the running back combo of Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen to get yards if the receiving core does not fire on all cylinders.

With all the Gronkowski injury news, the Patriots were probably hoping for a quiet remainder of the off-season, now they have to contend with the possibility of going into the season opener at Buffalo on September 8th without two of their most potent offensive weapons.

Follow me on twitter @JamieGarwood