FanHouse NFL Season Preview: New England Patriots - Flirting With Perfection Again?

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: All Tom Brady, all the time. Honestly, he's got it all: a rocket for an arm, Madison Avenue good looks, dreamy eyes (that's what the ladies say, anyway), a few Super Bowl rings, Hall of Fame career, lingerie model girlfriend. He's living the American dream, and as he goes, the Patriots go. Unfortunately for New England, he hasn't played a snap this preseason, and as a result, the Patriots' offense has gone from a battleship that bombed opposing defenses into submission, to a rowboat missing an oar, aimlessly spinning in circles. A healthy Brady is the key to the season, because if the two Matt's (Cassell and Gutierrez) can't get it done in fake games, what's going to happen if they face defenses that have actually game planned and are trying to stop them? Brady will play on one leg, if he has to. Heat Index: 9

Running Back: Laurence Maroney leads the charge out of the New England backfield. He's big, fast, strong, powerful. He's almost a complete back, and there might be 20+ NFL teams that would love to have him. If he played for just about anybody else he might be a threat to lead the league in rushing. Since the Patriots never run the ball (even when they're up by 50 in the fourth quarter) he can't quite be that force in New England. Kevin Faulk will continue to do his thing as one of the best third-down backs in the NFL and catch first down, after first down. Heat Index: 7

Wide Receiver: After being rescued from the purgatory that is the Oakland Raiders, Randy Moss established himself, once again, as the premier pass catcher in the NFL. 2008 should be much of the same, assuming Tom terrific is healthy enough to get the ball to him. Not a big fan of Wes Welker. Basically, I'm convinced that anybody with marginal NFL receiver skills could do his job - which is nothing more than lining up opposite Randy Moss, and catching passes at the line of scrimmage. I know, I know, 112 catches last year. Impressive. But consider 21 of those catches were on balls thrown behind the line of scrimmage, with 79 being in the 1-10-yard range. That means only 12 of his receptions in 2007 were on passes thrown more than 10-yards down field. Eh. That gives new meaning to dink-and-dunk. Now that Donte Stallworth plays in Cleveland (and maims his teammates) it could be a make-or-break season for former second-round pick Chad Jackson. Regardless of what the other guys do, Moss makes the group dangerous. Heat Index: 8

Offensive Line: Despite throwing nearly 600 passes in the regular season, Brady was only sacked 21 times, and in some games, seemed to never even get touched by an opposing defender. Brady's lightning quick release at work? Or the result of a strong line? In the Super Bowl the Giants' defensive line had group meetings in the Patriots' backfield, perhaps exposing a weakness in the process. Solid group, but on this offense just being 'solid' makes it the weak link. Heat Index: 6

Defensive Line: A group that boasts three former first round picks in Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour. Add in Jarvis Green and his 6.5 sacks and it's a unit that can get at the quarterback. Struggled at times against the run, allowing opponents to average 4.4 yards per carry. Since they were ahead 40-0 every game, it never ended up being an issue because teams would eventually have to abandon the running game. Could prove troublesome if teams actually put up a fight in '08. Heat Index: 7

Linebackers: Even though the Patriots were stripped of their first round pick for, uh, unique advanced scouting techniques, they still had a first-rounder as a result of a 2007 draft day trade with the San Francisco 49ers. And since the 49ers weren't very good in '07, the Patriots ended up getting a top-ten pick which they used on Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo. Mayo brings some much needed youth to an aging unit, where the youngest returning starter is Adalius Thomas at the age of 31. Age aside, it's still a strong group and Mayo should make it even stronger in '08 and beyond. Tedi Bruschi should once again find himself in the yearly competition with Ray Lewis to see who can get his name called the most, without actually doing anything. Heat Index: 7

Secondary: This off-season the Philadelphia Eagles backed the brinks truck up to Asante Samuel's front door and let him go crazy. The sixth-year corner was happy to oblige and took his 19 interceptions the previous two years (playoffs included) and bolted for greener pastures. Anytime you lose a guy that's picked off 19 passes in a two-year stretch, it's a significant blow to your team, regardless of how much talent remains or how good the coaching staff is. Jason Webster is not Asante Samuel. Some young talent at the safety position with James Sanders and 2007 first-round pick Brandon Meriweather, while Rodney Harrison is still rolling along as the wily veteran. After free agent pickup Tank Williams suffered a season-ending injury in camp, the Patriots continued their practice of signing guys that were great eight years ago and squeezing what's left of their careers out for 10 plays a game by picking up recent Broncos cast-off John Lynch. Heat Index: 6

Special Teams: After some yips during his rookie season, kicker Stephen Gostkowski came on strong in 2007 and hit 21-of-24 in the field goal department. Ellis Hobbs is one of the better kick return men in the business, averaging close to 25-yards per return in '07. Chris Hanson isn't the best, but the Patriots did an excellent job making up for his shortcomings by limiting opposing returners to less than six-yards per return in 2007. They need to be strong because Hanson was one of the worst in the NFL last year at planting punts inside the 20, and keeping the ball out of the end zone for touchbacks. Heat Index: 7

Coaching: Bill Belichick, master of X's and O's, surly genius/mad scientist/amateur film maker. I like to think that I can relate to Mr. Belichick in the sense that, I too once wore the same sweatshirt every day for four consecutive years (I called it High School). 91-37 regular season record with New England, 14-3 in the playoffs. The records speak for themselves. Heat Index: 9

Intangibles: The Patriots play in the AFC East, and last year AFC East teams not named the Patriots combined to go 12-36. Nothing else needs to be said. Heat Index: 10

Total Heat Index: 76 It all comes down to the health of Brady. If he's healthy, the Patriots are pretty much a lock to win the AFC East and be a serious contender for not only the AFC title, but the Super Bowl title as well. If he's not healthy, well, then all bets are off. They're not going to go 16-0 again, but 12-13 wins seem to be in the cards.