Handicapping by Liz

Quoted from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/169358-with-brady-back-under-the-wing-the-patriots-will-win-another-ring:

With Tom Brady Back Under Center, the Patriots Look Primed for Another Ring | Bleacher Report

With the upcoming NFL season slowly approaching, I am getting very anxious to see what the New England Patriots have in store for us. The Patriots will field a much different team from a year ago, and they are the early favorites to win it all.

Let’s take a look at the top position battles this season, their upcoming schedule, and some possible obstacles that could hurt our run to the Superbowl.

Top Position Battles in ‘09

Running Back

The most exciting addition the Patriots made this offseason was the acquisition of running back, Fred Taylor.

The Pats ran a much more conservative offense last year, trying to adjust to the loss of Brady. There were only three teams who ran the ball more times per game than New England in 2008. Although I don’t expect us to run the ball as much this year, we could use another hard nosed runner in the backfield.

I have not been impressed with the development of Laurence Maroney, and am starting to believe he might not be the answer we all made him out to be.

The best way to run in New England is by committee.The tandem of Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, LaMont Jordan, Laurence Maroney, and BenJarvis Green Ellis proved to work well for us.

As a team, they averaged over 140 yards per game and over 4.4 yards per carry. Although I believe Fred Taylor might be the most talented of the group, Laurence Maroney has the most upside, giving him the early edge to start on opening day.

With the release of LaMont Jordan, I also see Laurence Maroneygetting the first chance on goal linecarries.

The Pats will most likely go back to their pass happy offense this year. Kevin Faulk is the best back we haveatcatching the ball out of the back field. This reason alone leads me to believe that Faulk will see the most plays this year in the backfield.

Expect all five running backs to split carries based on who Coach Belichick believes is best suited for that situation.

Wide Receiver

The wide receiver position is going to be fun to watch this season for Patriots fans.

Randy Moss will once again flourish as a No. 1 accomplice to Tom Brady. Wes Welker will also be agreat threat in the slot position. But we already know about those guys.

The new acquisitions, Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis, will be battling for that No. 3 spot, opposite Moss. This battle will greatly depend on who can work better with Brady in camps.

Galloway is 37 years old and is coming off of an injury plagued season. Galloway depends on his speed to get open down field so if he comes into camp lacking this speed we are used to I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets buried in the depth chart.

Lewis is a lot younger and has more potential to be a speedy down field threat. The other player who might battle for this spot is rookie Brandon Tate.

Unfortunately, he is coming off of a very serious ACL injury and might miss the entire season. He also tested positive for marijuana at the rookie combine. I don’t expect to see him play much more then maybe special teams this year.

Lewis has what it takes to be the No. 3 receiver in an offense that suits him much better than what he had in Philadelphia. I am giving Lewis the early edge.