The NFL Draft begins on Thursday, and the New England Patriots approach it with just five picks, as a result of having traded their fourth-round pick for Aqib Talib, their fifth-rounder for Albert Haynesworth and their sixth-rounder for Chad Johnson over the last two years. The Patriots received Tampa Bay’s seventh-round selection in the Talib trade, giving them two picks in the final round, but will have no compensatory selections this year. All in all, these are the Pats’ five picks:

1. Round 1, Pick 29

2. Round 2, Pick 27 (59 overall)

3. Round 3, Pick 29 (91 overall)

4. Round 7, Pick 20 (226 overall, from Buccaneers)

5. Round 7, Pick 29 (235 overall)

Let’s take a look at the three positions the Patriots most urgently need to address in the Draft, and some of the players they could target come Thursday. Today, we look at defensive back.

Continue reading 2013 NFL Draft Preview: Patriots Could Use More DB Depth »

For over a decade, the Patriots have never had to worry about two things: head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Belichick has shown no signs of letting up, finishing first in the AFC East ten out of his thirteen seasons with the Patriots (’00 first season finished 5th, ’02 finished 2nd, ’08 finished 2nd without Brady). Looking at age, Tom Coughlin, the head coach of the New York Giants, has had success of late and will be 67 years old when the next NFL season kicks off (Belichick will be 61). It is safe to say we will have to deal with a Brady-less Patriots team before we see the head coach leave (don’t even dare let the thought of losing both at the same time creep into your mind).

With that said, how many years does Brady have left? His current contract keeps him with the team until the 2018 season, when he will then become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 41. It is now realistic to begin looking at finding a new successor for the all-time franchise QB. Continue reading Life After Tom: Investigating Who Will One Day Replace Brady as Patriots QB »

The Super Bowl is over, and the Ravens are new world champions. Tough luck for fans in New England, Denver and San Francisco, among others. The rest of the league had better hope Ray Lewis doesn’t pull a Brett Favre and come out of retirement, but that’s for next September. For now, it’s time to present the results of the 2013 NFL Playoffs Pick ‘Em.

The Ravens disappointed the remaining panelists, who all thought San Francisco would reign supreme (or maybe some of that had to do with wanting revenge for the AFC title game). In any case, not much headway was made, save for some having to do with scoring and passing yardage. So where does that leave the final standings? Without further ado, the winner of the 2013 NFL Playoffs Pick ‘em is… Continue reading 2013 NFL Playoffs Expert Picks: Super Bowl Results »

Now that the Super Bowl is here, it’s time to present the final set of picks for the Super Bowl in the 2013 NFL Playoffs Pick ‘Em. It’s looking to be a thrilling contest between the Harbaugh brothers, so let’s get right to it.

Scoring will remain the same as the Pro Bowl round, but with one special difference; all point values are doubled!!! And in the event any of us finish tied in the standings, we’ll also be selecting the length that the longest drive of the game will take up (length in time, that is).

• Picking the game’s winner correctly is worth four points.
• Picking the combined touchdown total of both teams in a game is worth two points if guessed to within one, or four points if guessed exactly right instead.
• Picking the passing yardage for the game’s top passer is worth two points if guessed to within 50, or four points if guessed to within 10 instead, or a whopping ten points instead if guessed exactly right.
• Picking the MVP of the game is worth four points.
• Picking the length of time taken up by the game’s lengthiest drive is for tiebreaking purposes only.

So now that everything’s been set out, be sure to check below for everyone’s selections. And also be sure to check back later after the Super Bowl is complete for the final results and standings. Continue reading 2013 NFL Playoffs Expert Picks: Super Bowl »

The Pro Bowl is now over, which means all attention turns to the 49ers and Ravens next Sunday in New Orleans. But before that, we have some Pro Bowl predictions to go over. Granted, the sample size of predictions was smaller than other seasons, but the selections were still mostly correct about the NFC winning in a shootout. The big surprise of the game was Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota’s tight end, who secured the MVP victory and a new car as his real prize.

The Pro Bowl gave us a new leader in our standings, but with the Super Bowl coming up, anything can happen. The results from the Pro Bowl round are below, so check them out, and be sure to come back next Sunday for the final set of choices for the Super Bowl. Continue reading 2013 NFL Playoffs Expert Picks: Pro Bowl Results »

The Pro Bowl is here, and it’s once again the best of the AFC against the best of the NFC from delightful Hawaii. In a game with so many different players that don’t get a full 60 minutes of playing time, it can be difficult to predict what will happen, but we’re here to bring you our predictions.

As is usually the case, the predictions have it as a high-scoring affair without much of the offense coming from any particular signal caller. Though Peyton Manning does look to be a decent play for the AFC with Tom Brady out. On the NFC side, it’s tough not to like what Adrian Peterson did this season.

Scoring for our panelists will remain the same from last round, except that we’ll also be making selections for who the MVP of the game will be:

• Picking the game’s winner correctly is worth two points.
• Picking the combined touchdown total of both teams in a game is worth one point if guessed to within one, or two points if guessed exactly right instead.
• Picking the passing yardage for the game’s top passer is worth one point if guessed to within 50, or two points if guessed to within 10 instead, or a whopping five points instead if guessed exactly right.
• Picking the MVP of the game is worth two points.

So now that everything’s been set out, be sure to check below for everyone’s selections. And also be sure to check back later after the Pro Bowl is complete for the results. Continue reading 2013 NFL Playoffs Expert Picks: Pro Bowl »