The Patriots find themselves in a odd place. They have gotten closer and closer to a super bowl win in the last two years, winning the losing the afc championship game last year and then losing the super bowl this year. So if math is right they should win the super bowl next year, that is if they can get their team together and primed to win the super bowl. Toward the end of the season last year it was obvious that Brady was desperately trying to get Moss the ball. In many cases he passed up other targets that were open to shuck the rock to Moss. I am sure Brady is hitting himself in the head, after seeing that a few of those long balls were almost caught in the super bowl at the end but he was double covered at that time. Running the ball will always open up the pass. It is the one of those great known facts in football. Run the ball and free up throwing the ball. The Patriots are not as committed to running the ball as some. Oh yeah they had a few games or series were they ran the ball the majority. Having 130+ more pass attempts then rushing attempts shows they were more willing to pass.

So the Patriots like to pass, can they protect the passer? After watching the super bowl you have to wonder. The offensive line is getting run over. The Patriots will need to upgrade this area over the off-season along with the linebackers. With Dan Connor a possibility for the Patriots at the 7th pick in the draft, he is an option. Moss will stay and Seau will probably give it one more shot, but how many more "one more time" seasons does he have in him. Bruschi is slowing down as age is catching up with him. With putting all that pressure on your self to go perfect, I am sure it got to a few of them. The questions and the articles add up in the ego. The Patriots will be reworking their team in the off-season. Troy Brown will not be back and Stallworth is up in the air. Good news is that Sammy Morris will be back to give them a great one two punch in the running game. There are a lot of positives and some negatives to the end of their season. What can be said is they still have a ton of upside, but can they get better?

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