2012 New England Patriots Season Review By winning 3 super bowls in 4 years less than 10 years ago, the

standard for the Patriots will forever be set very high. Year in and year out it is super bowl or bust for them, anything less and it will be a very long and depressing offseason. This past year was no different, especially because the previous year the Patriots made it to the super bowl but came up just short and lost to the Giants. Coming into this year the Pats major concern was defense, that was what had held them back the past few years. The offense, led by Tom Brady has been a juggernaut for the last 5 years and was ranked number 2 in yards and 3 in points in 2011. The defense however has undergone a major change and there were a lot of young guys playing last year. The defense was 31st in total yards and 15th in points. That was what had to improve if they wanted to reach the ultimate goal in 2012. In the draft the Pats addressed their defense needs immediately using their first 6 picks on defense. Most notably, they traded up for pass rusher Chandler Jones and linebacker Donta Hightower in the 1st round. A good pass rush instantly covers up a lot of a bad defenses holes. Drafting Jones and Hightower had the possibility of improving their pass rush significantly. The other thing that the Pats had to fix up for the 2012 season was an outside the numbers receiving threat. With Wes Welker, and tight ends Aaron Hernandez, and Gronk working the middle of the field the Pats offense is nearly impossible to defend. But teams eventually just clogged the middle and forced Brady to throw outside the numbers, where his best threat was an aging Deion Branch. This was one of the reasons why the Giants slowed them down and beat them in the super bowl. So, the Pats went out and got Brandon Lloyd, who was a free agent. Lloyd was exactly what they needed an outside the numbers guy who could take some pressure off of the tight ends and Welker. One issue that came up during the preseason was the offensive line. Matt Light, who protected Tom Bradys blindside for Bradys whole career decided to call it a career and he retired in the offseason. Brian Waters their starting right guard never reported to camp and these events led to the Pats being a little shorthanded. Throughout the preseason games Brady was under constant pressure, which led to a ton of questions. This was an issue that was resolved within the Pats, as they moved starting center Dan Connolly to right guard and that moved reserve Ryan Wendell to the starting center. 2nd year player Nate Solder took over Matt Lights left tackle spot and that was how the Pats offense line was going to look for the 2012 season. The Pats season got off to a good start as there defense and new look offense line played great in a 34-13 win against the titans in the season opener. However in the next game against the Cardinals tight end Aaron Hernandez seriously injured his ankle and it obviously seriously altered their offense. The Pats lost 3 of their next 5 games to leave themselves at 3-3. In their next game they rebounded and beat their rival jets in overtime 29-26, to me this was a defining game for them, because they did not play a very good game, but they showed resolve and came out with the victory. In particular with about 2 minutes left and the game tied, Devin McCourty fumbled the kickoff and the Jets recovered the ball at around the 20 yard. The game could have ended there, the jets could have run down the clock and scored to end the game but the Pats stopped them on 3 consecutive plays and forced the field goal. That

gave Tom Brady about 1:30 left to take his team down the field for a game tying field goal. I was scared out of my mind, but I forgot how clutch Tom Brady can be and he took his team down the field for the field goal and they eventually won in overtime. After this game the Pats got on a roll after this game winning their next 7 games despite losing star tight end Rob Gronkowski in a win against the Colts in week 11. Showing again the Pats ability to change on the fly and still win football games. In week 14, the Pats hosted the Houston Texans in a Monday Night Showdown. It was billed as one of the best games of the year, the top AFC teams battling for supremacy. The Pats unceremoniously crushed the Texans 42-14; it was one of the most lopsided games of the year and the Pats came out of it looking like a super bowl favorite. The next week showed how fast the NFL can change; when the Pats hosted the niners on Sunday Night Football they were favored and picked by most to win the game. The niners jumped all over the Pats and built a 31-3 lead into the 3rd quarter, Tom Brady however mounted a great comeback and tied the game late in the 4th. A late kickoff return and a missed tackle on defense doomed the Pats and they ended up losing the game 41-34. However I saw this as a good loss for New England, it serves as a potential wake up loss, something they did not have in their previous two super bowl trips. The other thing was the way they came back from 28 down, Brady and the offense dismantled the no. 1 ranked defense in the league and the defense held the niners offense to next to nothing for the majority of the 2nd half. The Pats rebounded and won their last two games against the jaguars and dolphins, and received some help along the way as the Colts upset the Texans in week 17 to give the Pats a first round bye. I think this really helps the Pats chances of getting to New Orleans, because it gives a banged up team time to heal and get ready for a run. Overall, when looking back at this 2012 regular season for the Pats, I see a much better group from the team that made it to the super bowl last year. One that showed it can adjust on the fly, respond to adversity, and not to give up. Putting aside everything (the improved defense, the newfound running game) the Pats have a hall of fame QB and a hall of fame coach something no other teams have and that should help them on another run to the super bowl.