My Wes Welker Blog

The New York Jets and New England Patriots have much to prove in their Week 2 matchup at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Patriots have to prove they can again display the offensive firepower they showed against the Bengals. And suffice to say that the Jets need to get their offense going and show that the off-field issues swirling around the team aren't affecting their play on the field. These divisional rivals would like nothing more than to make a statement on Sunday and gain an upper hand in the competitive AFC East. Before we could even consider what the NFL predictions for this game would be let's take a closer look at both teams offense.

Patriots on Offense

The Patriots were extremely impressive on Sunday against the Bengals. New England's passing offense truly stood out as Tom Brady went 25-35 in the game with three touchdown passes and four receivers caught at least four balls. Most importantly for the Patriots, Wes Welker looked to already be on the same wavelength with Tom Terrific in his first game back from an ACL and MCL tear in his left knee.

New England has the ability to score on the vaunted New York defense. Just as Baltimore went after Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie for any offensive edge, Tom Brady will do the same the Jets. New York's cornerbacks must be more disciplined than they were on Monday night and resist the urge to go for the flashy play. If New York sticks to the same defensive scheme from Monday and blitz the Patriots and Brady almost constantly, New England has a veteran offense which can pick them apart in the middle of the field. I expect the Jets to put forth a fine defensive effort and to be more disciplined then last week, but it will take more than one game for New York to plan a working defensive scheme and to get players back in regular season form. As long as New England is able to successfully run the ball they will have a solid day on offense.

Jets on Offense

The Jets offense was pathetic on Monday night, making only six first downs and passing for a measly 60 yards. Brian Scottenheimer and Rex Ryan must be willing to take more risks on offense and to be more creative. All the Jets offense seemed to consist of in their first game were screen passes and runs up the middle. If Mark Sanchez takes shots in the middle of the field and deep when appropriate and avoids constantly going to his first option New York can slice and dice the Patriots, who lack depth in their secondary and were frequently burnt by the Bengals. As long as the passing offense has some success, Ladanian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene should be able to pull off the long runs that eluded them exhibited on offense in game one, and I expect it to display plenty of growing pains.

Prediction

The Jets cannot completely shut down Tom Brady and one of the NFL's best offenses on defense, and on offense they are too much in flux to take advantage of the Patriot's deficiencies. Sorry New York fans, Mark Sanchez is not the second coming just yet. Expect a low scoring game but for Brady to eventually put it out of reach.

NFL predictions: Patriots at Jets

NE 21
NY 14

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After missing practically all of the 2008 season with a knee injury, quarterback Tom Brady was back in 2009, and he helped lead the New England Patriots to another division title. The Patriots finished the regular season with a 10-6 record, and eight of those wins came at home, where the Pats ran the table. An injury to star wide receiver Wes Welker was certainly a factor in New England's embarrassing playoff loss, further emphasizing how valuable his presence is to this team. If Welker can return healthy, the Patriots have enough pieces to top the AFC East again, but it won't be easy with the emergence of the Jets and Dolphins.

Offense: Tom Terrific played well in his first season back following major knee surgery. He finished the year with 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns with 13 interceptions while helping New England boast the third-best passing offense in the NFL. In all, the Patriots ranked No. 6 in the league in terms of scoring offense, averaging 26.7 points per game. Matching last season's offensive numbers will largely depend on Welker's health. Welker is expected to be ready to go in Week 1, but the Pats have added Torry Holt and David Patten for security. In just 14 games last season, Welker caught 123 passes for 1,348 yards. He flat out moves the sticks. Randy Moss may have lost a step of two, but I'm a firm believer in the saying "the numbers don't lie". Moss finished with 83 catches for 1,1264 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. There is room for improvement in the running game, and that improvement could come if Fred Taylor is able to stay healthy.

Defense: While last year's defense wasn't as dominant as the ones from the past that featured Jarvis Green, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour and Mike Vrable, it still finished No. 5 in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing only 17.8 points per game. However, it may be hard to duplicate last season's numbers with the additions division rivals New York and Miami have made to bolster their passing games. Big Vince Wilfork is back to hold down the fort up front, but pass rushers must emerge around him for New England to remain a top notch defensive team. Linebacker Tully Banta-Cain led the Patriots with 10 sacks last year, but no one else on the roster had more than five. Someone is going to have to aid Banta-Cain and Wilfork in the pass rush or New England could end up allowing more than the 209.7 yards per game it gave up through the air last season.

Prediction: 2nd AFC East - The Patriots have won the AFC East six of the last seven years, and they'll continue to be in the mix in 2010. In fact, as long as Tom Brady is on the field, and coach Bill Belichick is on the sideline, the Pats will be a threat to make the playoffs. However, I have them coming up short in the division this season. The Jets, who were the best defensive team in the NFL last year, have a lot of momentum on their side after advancing to the AFC title game last season. Check out my 2010 NFL predictions article to see who I have winning each of the eight NFL divisions.

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1. New England Patriots

2. New York Jets

3. Miami Dolphins

4. Buffalo Bills

New England Patriots - 2007 Record 13-3

I have the New England Patriots winning the AFC East for the 2007 NFL season

with their only road losses coming at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on October.14

and Indianapolis on November.4. I only have the Patriots losing 1 game at home

this season to the San Diego Chargers on September.16. The Patriots who had

one of the worst WR corps in the league might have the best this season with

some key additions. Some key additions to the Patriots team are WR Randy Moss,

WR Wes Walker, WR Donte Stallworth on offense and OLB Adalius Thomas on defense.

Some key losses for the Patriots include RB Corey Dillion and LB Junior Seau.

New York Jets - 2007 Record 11-5 or 10-6

I have the New York Jets finishing second in the AFC East for the 2007 season

with their only road losses coming at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens on September.16,

Cincinnati Bengals on October.21, Dallas Cowboys on November.22 and New England

Patriots on December.16. I only have the Jets losing 2 home games this season

to the New England Patriots on September.9 and possibly the Philadelphia Eagles

on October.19. This is going to be a very strong Jets team that will be in every

game this season since they are very strong on both sides of the ball. Some

key additions to the Jets Team are RB Thomas Jones and FB Darian Barnes on offense

and DE Kenyon Coleman, ILB David Harris and Darelle Revis on defense. Some key

losses for the New York Jets are FB B.J. Askew, RB Kevin Barlow and QB Patrick

Ramsey.

Miami Dolphins 2007 Record 5-11 or 4-12

I have the Miami Dolphins finishing third in the AFC East this season with

their road losses coming at the Washington Redskins on September.9, New York

Jets on September.23, Cleveland Browns on October.14, Philadelphia Eagles on

November.18, Pittsburgh Steelers on November.26, Buffalo Bills on December.9

and the New England Patriots on December.23. I have the Miami Dolphins losing

4 to 5 home games to the Dallas Cowboys on September.16, New England Patriots

on October.21, New York Jets on December.2 and Baltimore Ravens on December.16

and possibly the Cincinnati Bengals on December.30 if the Bengals are beaten

up by then. This is going to be another very tough season for the Miami Dolphins

who have a new coaching staff taking over the team since Saban left to coach

Alabama. The Dolphins defense should remain fairly strong this season if injuries

don't pile up and their offense will be their weak link. Some key additions

to the Miami Dolphins are K Jay Feely, G Chris Liwienski, TE David Martin and

FB Cory Schlesinger on offense and special teams. Some key losses to the Miami

Dolphins are QB Joey Harrington, P Donnie Jones, K Olindo Mare, T Damion McIntosh,

TE Randy McMichael and KR Wes Welker.

Buffalo Bills 2007 Record 3-13

I have the Buffalo Bills finishing dead last in the AFC East this season with

their road losses coming at the Pittsburgh Steelers on September.19, New England

Patriots on September.23, New York Jets on October.28, Miami Dolphins on November.11,

Jacksonville Jaguars on November.25, Washington Redskins on December.2 and Philadelphia

Eagles on December.30. I have the Buffalo Bills losing 6 home games this season

to the Denver Bronco's on September.9, New York Jets on September.30,

Dallas Cowboys on October.8, Baltimore Ravens on October.21, New England Patriots

on November.18 and New York Giants on December.23. Buffalo is in a lot of trouble

this season after losing too many key players and they are just too young to

make an impact this season with over a dozen starters that have played 3 years

or less in the NFL. The next 2 years will be building years for this team who

will likely start two rookies and four second year players. Some key additions

for the Buffalo Bills on offense are LG Derrick Dockery, RT Langston Walker

and Rookie RB Marshawn Lynch from the California Golden Bears. The key losses

for the Buffalo Bills are CB Nate Clements, LB London Flethcer, QB Kelly Holcomb,

RB Willis McGahee, FB Daimon Shelton, LB Takeo Spikes and G Chris Villarrial.

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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.