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Hi Neil,

Great blog as always which pretty much sums up the Patriots Organisation.

Denver have suprised me this season, i thought after the whole Cutler saga, it would be a tough job for McDaniels to keep the team sprit together let alone start 4-0, saying that I thought last week Brady was slowly starting to look like his old self and we all know he won't be throwing too many balls in Big Champ's direction unlike Romo.

Looking at the games on a whole this week its hard to see where any shocks will come from.

Also what's your take on the Pats taking back Junior Seau?

Spot on - that's what's remarkable about Bellichick, every experienced player seems to start playing his best ever football when they join the Pats. There's a lot of coaches that seem to pick up quality experienced players only to turn them into liabilities, which seems never to happen to the Pats (Stallworth was perhaps the only exception in recent memory).

What worries me about a little the Pats this year actually is that on the defensive side of the ball they lost a helluva lot of experience all in one go. Harrison, Vrabel, Bruschi, and then Seymour left quite a gap. I think it helps enormously that Bellichick is a defensive guy, and I am sure he would not have let all that experience go if he did not think the newer faces were up to it. So far, the signs are encouraging, shutting down Atlanta and keeping the Ravens at bay (just), but it's still a bit of a work-in-progress.

On your prediction... can't really disagree, don't think it will be a high scoring game, but can't see the Pats disintegrating like the Cowboys and they have more quality in the skill-positions.

Much as it pains me to say it, you have to admire the way the Patriots run themselves (cheating aside). You could probably give their organisation a roster from any team in the NFL and they could make it work.

Having said that, I think this one will all come down to D and I fancy the Broncos with home advantage to just take it in a low scoring game. I've bet against Belichick before and got egg on my face though.

The patriots are an impressive organisation but surely the whole spygate affair weighs heavily on the team's reputation and perhaps even their legacy since Belichick has been there? What do you think?

Yup, they seem to get the best out of their players. Funnily enough I have the suspicion that the rest of the league is starting to catch up with them. May be wishful thinking.

This year's Pats are not the team of years gone by. The Jets stuffed them impressively and they've had to eke out some narrow victories.

Mile High is not the place you want to take a group of aging players, either. The outcome will depend on Kyle Orton and whether he can figure out the the different looks which the Pat's "D" will give him. If he doesn't toss any interceptions and they don't turn the ball over, Denver will win.

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I wouldn't say the Jets stuffed them impressively. 16-9 is not exactly a thrashing and had the Pats converted some of their Red Zone opportunities it would have been a different game.

The Denver defense is pretty solid and without Taylor, the Pats might become more dependant on their passing game (Denver might be able to cover this better without the Taylor weapon as a distraction).

Orton's surprised me, but I'm not convinced yet. The NE defense is also somewhat underrated - it reads the game pretty well and guys like Brandon Merriweather go about their business so effectively without being noticed.

I think this is another one that's going to hinge on who takes their Red Zone opportunities. But with Wes Welker back, my money's on the Pats

Hi Neil,
Good Blog, was just wondering what you make of the Michael Crabtree situation? Do you think that potentially it could harm, what has been a really good start to the season, having him come in and disrupt the offense, and his presence in the locker room?

I think the Pats will miss Taylor a bit but they are very deep at Running Back, with Maroney, Faulk and Morris still there.

I think people forget that Maroney really played a big role in getting the Pats through the play-offs in 2008. This could be his chance to regain the number one RB spot as surely he can't have been very happy getting displaced by Taylor.

Speaking of running games, here's hoping Turner the Burner will be back on form this week after as slow start, I know the 49ers have a great record against the run this season but the Falcons need to get the game on the ground going so the game opens up for Matty Ice, otherwise the Saints will be running away with the NFC south.

While most of the examples are good, Randy Moss was hardly an unwanted castoff and would have done well anywhere after he had suffered through his time at the horrible raiders organisation.

It should be an interesting match-up for the Broncos, people are still questioning whether or not they are for real with who they have beaten or how they have done it, but they are clearly showing that a good defence will always give you a chance to win.

To my British Brothers: Take good care of our Pats. We love them here in New England.

@bb1134

I don't think they'll have any problems over here, seeing that the Pats are the best supported/most popular NFL team in the UK :-)

Go Pats!!!