Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - New England Patriots

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - Passing 255 ypg     Rushing 129 ypg

The talk around the league last season was about the tempo of Philadelphia's offense, when it was actually New England that began the trend (in the NFL) of lining up quick and snapping the ball before the defense gets set.  They ran the second most plays in the league last season, behind the Broncos, which equates to many opportunities for your Paper Pigskin team to acquire points. The injury bug struck this team harshly, forcing Bill Belichick to alter the game plan on a weekly basis; this made it hard to trust any of their players, even Tom Brady, in your lineup.

NFL Brain Dump: XOXO

I love watching football.  It isn't always about what plays are called, because sometimes passion is what ultimately decides the outcome.

The main thing that I took away from the epic Patriots versus Saints showdown is that Bill Belichick is still a better coach than you, me, Sean Payton, Rob Ryan or anyone else that loves football.  For the most part this season, the Saints have been taking what defenses give them, which have lead to Jimmy Graham taking a lot of yardage and dunking the football over crossbars.  In this game, Bill decided to play along and give Brees whatever he wants EXCEPT for passes to the elite tight end.  This was accomplished by having his best coverage defender shadow New Orleans’ best receiver, seems like a simple concept, it’s surprising that up until now no other coordinator employed this basic tactic which worked so well that Jimmy was held without a catch.  As well as “project shutdown Jimmy” worked, it still wasn’t enough to win the game; the game was decided by heart, mind control, and clutch plays.