My Wes Welker Blog

Under head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots were able to return atop the AFC East in 2009, despite winning one fewer game than they did in 2008 when they failed to make the postseason. The Patriots however were not good enough to make a deep run into the postseason, as they were beat bad at home in round one by the Baltimore Ravens. This year the Patriots will have a tough challenge at winning the division with the improvements both the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have made. Here is a look at what the Patriots will send on to the field on both sides of the ball in 2010, plus my prediction on where they finish the year in the division.

Offense: The Patriots appear content at letting Tom Brady air it out nearly every snap of the game, and while Brady has excelled he will have a big challenge ahead of him without Wes Welker for the majority of the season, as Welker hauled in a team high 123 catches for 1,348 yards.

The Patriots still have a huge deep threat with Randy Moss, and added veteran Torry Holt to give Brady a solid No.2 target. The team also added veteran tight end Alge Crumpler to help in the blocking packages, and drafted two rookie tight ends in Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. They key will be how well second year slot receiver Julian Edelman plays in the place of Welker.

The Patriots did nothing this off season to improve a running game that did little to nothing last year. Laurence Maroney will likely be the feature back for the Patriots, but he has never lived up to the expectations everyone had when he came out of college. The Patriots use a number of backs over the course of a seasons, but are really hoping they can get more out of veteran Fred Taylor.

The offensive line remains intact and should be solid again in 2010. They are set on the left side with tackle Matt Light and guard Logan Mankins, as Mankins has really developed into a very good guard in the NFL. This unit has to stay healthy, as they are the key to keeping Brady healthy and throwing the football.

Defense: This unit missed the veteran leadership that was lost last off season, but ended up putting together a pretty respectable season. The Patriots were able to bring back nose tackle Vince Wilfork, and that was huge for this team, as Wilfork is the key to the Pats 3-4 scheme. The Pats brought in free agent Gerard Warren to play opposite of Ty Warren at defensive end.

The Patriots have two very solid players at linebacker in outside backer Tully Banta-Cain, who led the team with 10 sacks in 2009, and inside linebacker Jerod Mayo. Gary Guyton returns to play alongside Mayo in the middle, while newcomer Pierre Woods appears to have the edge at the other outside spot, but should get plenty of competition from Rob Ninkovich and rookie Jermaine Cunningham. The Patriots also landed inside linebacker Brandon Spikes in the second round of the draft.

The Patriots secondary really struggled to come up with big stops against the better passers in the NFL, and that led to them taking Devin McCourty with their first round selection. McCourty figures to play in nickel packages to start, as Leigh Bodden and Jonathan Wilhite return to start at the two corner spots. Brandon Meriweather continues to get better at safety, and free safety Brandon McGowan was solid in his first year with the Pats in 2009.

Prediction - 1st AFC East: I feel like this is still the team to beat in the East, and I look for a monster season from Tom Brady and the Patriots offense this season despite the loss of Welker.

Find out where I have the rest of the teams finishing up the year in our 2010 NFL predictions. If you plan on betting the NFL this season, than I strongly recommend checking out our live NFL odds page each and every week to ensure you the best chance at a winning season.