{"id":25787,"date":"2017-08-01T12:52:41","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T16:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=25787"},"modified":"2017-08-01T13:06:17","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T17:06:17","slug":"schedule-breakdown-new-england-patriots-will-go-undefeated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/08\/01\/schedule-breakdown-new-england-patriots-will-go-undefeated\/","title":{"rendered":"The New England Patriots Will Go Undefeated In 2017-18 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the 16th of July, New England Patriots <\/a>wide receiver Julian Edelman<\/a><\/strong> made news for his comments regarding the Patriots chances of going undefeated this season, stating:<\/p>\n

“When you go out and play in the National Football League, it’s one of those things where\u00a0it’s even stupid to think about that<\/a>” per the Boston Herald.<\/p>\n

While it might seem a trivial act for reporters to trap Patriots players into speculating regular season success, what\u00a0shouldn’t be discounted\u00a0is the actual possibility of a Patriots undefeated season.<\/p>\n

The New England Patriots Will Go Undefeated In 2017-18 Season<\/h2>\n

For the last decade, the Patriots have flirted with the possibility of going undefeated; having not lost more than\u00a0four games in a regular season since 2010. Last year was no different; with the juggernauts of the AFC East boasting a 14-2 regular season coupled with a Super Bowl LI victory. After yet another title, it seems like there isn\u2019t much more the team can do to break barriers in an era that they\u2019ve seemingly dominated.<\/p>\n

But they can go the distance. For this team, it\u2019s definitely possible. In order to prove this below is an analysis of\u00a0the team\u2019s 2016 losses, their free agent signings this off-season, and\u00a0a breakdown of their 2017 schedule.<\/p>\n

Looking Back at 2016<\/h3>\n

Amidst all of the Roger Goodell<\/strong> \u2013 Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> bromance, the organization found a way to sift through all of the antics. \u00a0In Week four the team, (lead by an injured Jacoby Brissett<\/a><\/strong>), suffered a shutout defeat against the Buffalo Bills\u00a0<\/a>in Gillette stadium. Inexperience and an inability to manage turnovers plagued the Patriots this game. However,\u00a0it’s very easy to assume\u00a0that if Brady had returned a week earlier, things would\u2019ve gone very differently (as evidenced\u00a0when\u00a0New England\u00a0routed Buffalo on the road, 41-25, in Week eight. In fact, a gambler probably would have still placed a nice over-under on the Patriots even with Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a><\/strong> under center<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s second loss (first loss after Brady\u2019s return) came in a nail-biter vs. the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> in Week ten. This game proved to be everything analysts expected it to be on paper: a crafty New England offense vs. a stout Seattle secondary. The game featured seven\u00a0lead-changes, and ended with a fourth down goal line stand on a fade to Rob Gronkowski<\/a><\/strong>. Excluding the Brady-less defeat in Week\u00a0four, this was the only true loss the Patriots suffered in 2016. Any critic would consider this a 50-50 game that was entirely winnable.<\/p>\n

Those losses to the Bills and Seahawks\u00a0the only\u00a0two losses\u00a0New England suffered\u00a0last season, so it isn\u2019t hard to make the jump to undefeated talk. Virtually the only \u2018improvement\u2019 the organization could make would be losing one game\u2026 or none.<\/p>\n

Free Agency\/Trade Acquisitions<\/h3>\n

Every year, there\u2019s a decent amount of debate pertaining to which team\u00a0\u2018won\u2019 free agency. What can\u2019t be debated is whether or not the Patriots are in the center of that conversation. Like every other off-season, Bill Belichick<\/strong><\/a> and company didn\u2019t compromise their philosophy of never settle, and never overpay. They traded draft-picks like Pok\u00e9mon cards, and acquired big names for cheap.<\/p>\n

Those acquisitions included\u00a0<\/strong>Stephon Gilmore<\/strong><\/a>, Dwayne Allen<\/a><\/strong>, Kony Ealy<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Mike Gillislee<\/a><\/strong>, and most importantly, Brandin Cooks<\/a><\/strong>; also known by New Orleans Saints <\/a>fans as: \u201cThe Archer\u201d (see my speculation article on him here<\/a>). Some of these additions may be perceived as stopgaps, however, all have been proven starters in this league. The Patriots brand seemingly attracts stars that would\u2019ve otherwise requested significantly more money to play for less successful teams. With the amount of talent that these players will add to the locker room, running the table seems much more plausible.<\/p>\n

Schedule Breakdown<\/h3>\n

Fellow Patriots writer Stephen McGuire <\/a>just released a nice series of articles discussing the easiest<\/a> and most difficult<\/a> games on the Patriots schedule for the 2017-18 season. While the order of difficulty on these teams\u00a0might be\u00a0debatable, what isn\u2019t are the teams themselves. A few stick out: Oakland Raiders<\/a>, Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>, and of course the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons<\/a>. All of these teams have exceptional defenses, which is the one thing Patriot offenses seem to struggle with the most. However, in the past\u00a0two years, the Patriots are undefeated against all of these teams, most notably beating them in high-pressure, playoff situations.<\/p>\n

A couple of teams that might be in the wrong place on Stephen McGuire’s ranking are the Pittsburgh Steelers <\/a>and the Denver Broncos<\/a>. While the Steelers have one of the best offenses in the AFC, their defense has yet to mature to a playoff caliber (which is a necessity when trying to stop New England). The Broncos are the converse, boasting a world class defense with names like Von Miller<\/a><\/strong>, Aqib Talib<\/a><\/strong>, Chris Harris<\/a><\/strong>, and more, but\u00a0they can\u2019t seem to find that same continuity on offense.<\/p>\n

A reoccurring pattern with the Patriots is that they tend to rest players against division rivals toward the end of the season, especially if they\u2019ve locked up a first-round bye. However, if they were to win their first 12 games, Belichick would probably opt to play out the season with all hands on deck. Edeltron might disagree with this notion, but, in the 2017 season, the New England Patriots will go undefeated.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>