Football fans all across the nation have strong opinions about the New England Patriots: mostly they love them or they hate them. With head coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft, a distinct culture has been created in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Belichick is known to continuously make moves in an effort to create a stronger team and create a tighter bond among the players. This is evident as the Patriots have been AFC East Champions for 9 of the past 10 seasons (2003-2013 - all years excluding 2008). The Pats finished last season 13-5 and were knocked out of postseason play by the Denver Broncos who went on to play in Super Bowl XLVII.In their 1st preseason game this year, the Patriots lost 23-6 against the Washington Redskins, going scoreless until the 4th quarter but in their 2nd game, defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 42-35. Quarterback Tom Brady threw 1 touchdown pass to wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins and the team took advantage of 4 turnovers by the Eagles. In a postgame interview, Bill Belichick noted that the team played with competitiveness and good energy. Their remaining 2 preseason games will be played against the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants.
This season the Patriots will face off against AFC East division rivals: the Miami Dolphins, NY Jets and Buffalo Bills each twice in addition to teams such as the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers among others. The Patriots schedule also features 5 prime time games this season. Last week the Patriots signed 3 tight ends: veterans Ben Hartsock and Steve Maneri in addition to rookie TE Terrence Miller. The team also released 3 rookie free agent tight ends. With these new additions and veterans like Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski, CB Darrelle Revis and DL Vince Wilfork it seems like the Pats will be off to a strong start!
