Ever since Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl ring, fans come to expect nothing short of a championship each year. The bar has been set high and when they fail to reach the pinnacle, fans everywhere are disappointed. For any other team, reaching the AFC title game would be an amazing accomplishment but for the Patriots it’s a failure. Despite the disappointing loss, the Patriots have a talented roster and should return next year for another chance at a title.
The year did not start well for the Patriots. Problems signing key free agent wide receiver Wes Welker were ongoing until the start of the season. New England ended up using the franchise tag on Welker after attempts of signing him to a bargain contract failed.
To make matters worse the Patriots only returned two of the same starting offensive line from the 2011 season. Pro Bowler Matt Light retired in the offseason and Brian Waters turned down a pay raise to play closer to his home in Texas.
These costly setbacks caused the Patriots to stumbled out of the gate. After six games the Patriots had earned a mediocre 3-3 record. Injuries to several key players like Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski forced New England to adjust and they did beautifully. The Patriots finished the season with the second best record in the AFC but it wasn’t easy.
The injuries among other things forced New England to make changes in scheme. In the past they liked to use a lot of double tight end sets but this was not an option for most of the season. Instead the Patriots chose to employ the hurry-up offense and it paid off. New England led the league in yardage and points scored.
On defense the road did not get any easier. The New England defense returned most of the starters from 2011 but again injuries forced them to adjust, cornerback Devon McCourty made the switch to safety and performed well at the new position. Injuries to Ras-I Dowling and Patrick Chung made New England extremely thin in the secondary. The Patriots traded for Aqib Talib midseason to solidify the weakened secondary. The move to acquire Talib proved to be crucial. Talib was outstanding in the New England secondary.
Despite the setbacks the Patriots found a way to win games. Tough wins early in the season forged the team’s unity to withstand adversity. The come from behind win against the New York Jets was an early example of this. After blowing a ten point lead the Patriots were trailing by three late in the game. The Patriots forced the game into overtime and won the game in O.T. This victory was the turning point in the season for New England. After the win over the Jets, the Patriots cruised through the rest of the schedule and into the playoffs with a first round bye.
The Patriots began the post season by taking care the Houston Texans with ease only to be devastated the following week by the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots lost to a strong Baltimore team and should look at the season with optimism.
Despite the loss, New England has many reasons to be optimistic. The Patriots will return most of their starters next year and can add a few more players through the draft and free agency. As long as Brady is under center, there is no reason to think New England won’t be back next year.