We are one week away from America’s greatest sporting ritual — The National .. Football … League. 

(Okay, four days technically, but I refuse to acknowledge any non-Super
Bowl that brings with it excruciating pregame “entertainment.”)

Of course, with this comes a saturation of media coverage leading up to
the season, and with that coverage comes an overwhelming amount of
information and analysis. Some of this insight is delivered by informed
and intelligent individuals. Some of it, particularly that which
emanates from a certain four-letter network, is dispensed by blowhards.
Therefore, it is often difficult to separate the myths from the truth.

At the risk of sounding like a bitter homer, I’ll offer that no
franchise has more crap disseminated about it in the media than the New
England Patriots. The Pats have no one to blame but their very own
minister of uniformation, Bill Belichick, whose middle name is “Muddy
Waters.” With nothing but “It is what it is-es” emanating from
Foxborough, all the pundits can do is guess. Hey, they’ve got a lot of
air time to fill.

Here at Huddle Up, we’ve been listening to and reading the most common
themes the experts are spouting about the Patriots. Utilizing our crack
staff of people who care way too much what the blowhards think (mostly
me), we’ve been working long and hard into the night to figure out what
is myth and what is truth (or at least our own version of it):

Myth: The Patriots defense is old.

This is the biggest myth being perpetrated by the Patriots’ detractors
this year. The defense has many flaws, certainly, but age is not one of
them. The secondary is loaded with first and second-year players. The
linebackers are nearly as young. The average age of the defensive line,
the team’s biggest strength aside from the quarterback, is 29. For most
positions, that is old in football terms. Not defensive lineman.

Truth: The secondary is a major concern.

Some folks believe it will improve simply because it has nowhere to
go but up after last season. And certainly we haven’t seen it at full
strength yet this year with new additions such as Shawn Springs and
Leigh Bodden either being sidelined or just getting their feet wet in
New England’s system.  But this unit will be relying heavily on
inexperienced players to make quick reads against NFL offenses that are
more likely than ever to spread the field and/or use gimmick (read:
Wildcat) offenses that require quick reads and instantaneous
adjustments by defensive backs.

Look, I know it was preseason, but Jason Campbell looked like Warren
Moon against these guys. David Carr looked like a Lamborghini against
Patrick Chung. If the front seven can’t muster a dominant pass rush,
the secondary will be exposed. We can only hope they improve with more
experience as the season unfolds.

Myth: Laurence Maroney is a bust and should be cut.

Maroney has been a disappointment for the balance of his three-year
career, no doubt. He is the Patriots very own J.D. Drew. But, like
Drew, there is reason to want to have him on your roster. When he is
banged up and tentative, he’s a very frustrating runner to watch. When
he is healthy and running north-south, he’s the best running back on
the team.

He’s also necessary insurance for the seemingly inevitable Sammy
Morris injury and 33-year-old Fred Taylor’s potential decline. 

Truth: With the return of Tom Brady, the offense will return to its 2007 form.

They probably won’t quite reach the record-setting heights of two years
ago, but the Patriots are going to put up a lot of points, provided
Brady stays healthy, the offensive line remains fairly intact, yada,
yada, yada. Brady won’t be up to 2007 form early, but he’ll get there.
With Randy Moss and Wes Welker and a running game that was quietly very
potent in 2008, finding the end zone won’t be a problem.

Myth: The Dolphins and Jets are poised to compete with the Patriots for the AFC East.

Not
yet. The Jets are headed in the right direction with their strong
defensive mindset but have an unproven quarterback and coach. The
Dolphins are due to level off after going from 1-15 to 11-5. The Bills
should move to Canada. It’s still New England’s division to win. The
Pats will have more trouble with their inter-division schedule
featuring Tennessee, Baltimore, Indianapolis and Houston.

Truth: Monday Night Football will be infinitely more watchable with Jon Gruden and without Tony Kornheiser.

Hey, this is Patriots-related. They open up on Monday night against Buffalo. The last couple of years, this would have meant turning down the volume on the TV and hoping the radio broadcast synced up. Not this year. Gruden is very good. The tandem with Ron Jaworski has the potential to be great. 

Myth: The New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl.

Not unless the secondary improves dramatically over the course of the season, or the defensive line turns into the New York Sack Exchange reincarnated. You can’t win a championship in the NFL these days without at least a good pass defense. New England’s hasn’t even gotten to adequate, yet.

Randy Whitehouse is a staff wrtier. His e-mail is [email protected]