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Fantasy Football: Patriots Chasing History?

Fantasy Football: Patriots Chasing History?
Tom Brady and the Patriots are once again playing with a chip on their shoulder

Tom Brady and the Patriots are once again playing with a chip on their shoulder

The 2006 season for the New England Patriots ended with a loss to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game, a team they had gone 7-2 against up to that point. To make matters worse, they had to watch Manning hoist the Lombardi Trophy after the Colts dispatched of the Rex Grossman-led Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. Rex Grossman people! He of the 54.6 completion percentage, 6.65 average, 39.3 QBR, 73.9 quarterback rating and 23 touchdowns with 20 interceptions 2006 NFC Champion Rex Grossman.

Suffice to say that the Patriots entered the 2007 NFL season primed and motivated after they lost the chance to collect their fourth Super Bowl title since the Bill Belichick era began in 2000. The first order of business was to upgrade Troy Brown and Reche Caldwell as receiving weapons for Tom Brady. Enter Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth. Mission accomplished.

The 2007 season began innocently enough, as the Patriots dispatched of the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers by the identical score of 38-14. Was that glitch in the matrix a harbinger of things to come? Then Spygate happened and the Kraken was released.

“We’re not trying to win 42-28, we’re trying to kill people. We’re trying to blow them out if we can.”

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The 2007 Patriots rumbled through the regular season undefeated but lost in Super Bowl XLII to Eli Manning, Michael Strahan’s tooth gap and David Tyree’s helmet.

What wasn’t funny for the rest of the league was the offensive juggernaut the Patriots rolled out every week.

  • Second most points in a season (589). The 2013 Denver Broncos scored 606.
  • Highest point differential (+315)
  • Most first downs in a season (391)
  • Second most touchdowns scored in a season (75). The 2013 Denver Broncos scored 76.

Tom Brady threw for 4,806 yards with 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Randy Moss hauled in 98 passes for 1,493 yards with 23 touchdowns. Wes Welker caught 112 balls for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns. The Patriots ran 1,058 total plays and attempted 586 passes.

The New England Patriots culminated 2014 on top of the NFL Mountain, as they defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. All was not rosy, though, as Deflategate reared its ugly head during the AFC Championship Game. I’ll spare you the agony of rehashing all the details of Deflategate and the ensuing fumbling by Roger Goodell. Just remember New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s anger: “I was wrong to put my faith in the league. Given the facts, evidence and laws of science that underscore this entire situation, it’s completely incomprehensible to me that the league continues to take steps to disparage one of its all-time great players and a man for whom I have the utmost respect. Personally, this is very sad and disappointing to me.” And so began the Part Deux F U Tour for the 2015 New England Patriots.

In three games so far, the Patriots have run 210 plays and Brady is 96/133 for 1,078 yards with nine touchdowns to no interceptions. That puts the Patriots on a pace to run 1,120 total plays with Brady attempting 704 passes for 5,760 yards with 48 touchdowns. The 1,120 total play pace is not out of the question, as the 2013 Patriots ran 1,138 plays and the 2012 team ran 1,191. The pace for Brady is probably unsustainable, as his career high in attempts is 637 during the 2012 season. 2011 was his career high in yards with 5,235 and the touchdown number was 50 during that magical 2007 season.

The 2007 Patriots ran the ball with Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris, with Kevin Faulk serving as the pass-catching specialist. The passing game had Randy Moss taking the top off the defense with Wes Welker slicing up coverage underneath.

The 2015 team is a dink-and-dunk team with tight end Rob Gronkowski serving as the main chess piece. He’s an excellent run blocker so the Patriots will pound the ball if opposing defenses go nickel or dime. If defenses stay in base formations, Gronk is too fast for linebackers and too big for safeties. All of this opens up the field for wide receiver Julian Edelman. LeGarrette Blount is the power running back. The X-factor may be running back Dion Lewis.

Lewis may be the three-down running back that Brady and Belichick have been missing over the years. He’s an excellent receiver, as his 15 receptions on 19 targets for 179 yards shows. What differentiates him from past Patriots receiving backs is his prowess in the run game. His elusive rating (according to Pro Football Focus) is tops in the league.

Gronk compares favorably to Moss. Edelman compares favorably with Welker. Lewis could be the three-down back that poses another matchup advantage. Because he is adept in both running and receiving, defenses will have a more difficult time figuring out if it’s a run or pass play. Robert Kraft is angry. Bill Belichick is…

Tom Brady is angry, enraged, furious, irate, outraged, fuming, galled, maddened and vexed. Synonym.com ran out of words.

There are so many similarities between this Patriots team with the 2007 club. The metrics compare favorably but the narrative and motivation are going to determine whether this unit goes for history.

The difference in skill and talent between Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter is minute. What differentiates the two is their killer instinct. Kobe wants to destroy his opponent and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

The Patriots are on the war path. I want any and all pieces of this Patriots’ offense.

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Stan Son is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Stan, check out his archive and follow him @Stan_Son.

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