Analysis: Patriots' Schedule A Matter Of Perspective

It's good to be the king...

The National Football League released the 2017 schedule on Thursday evening, and while the fans of the New England Patriots have known for weeks who their opponents were going to be, the schedule revealed the details - and the schedule makers couldn't have been any kinder to the defending champions.

But many are viewing the Patriots' overall schedule with gritted teeth - and that because of playing five of eight after the bye on the road, including three in a row in early December and two in a row in altitude in November - and those games will be challenging for sure, but things do tend to balance out.

How? Well first of all, the two games in altitude come at a fortuitous time, coming off of the midseason bye.

After playing two consecutive home games to close out the first half of the season, the Patriots take their bye in week 9, the effective two week break giving them many options to prepare for games at Denver and at Mexico City to play the Raiders - perhaps taking off for Denver on Tuesday or Wednesday to acclimate to the thinner air in the Rockies...

...then after playing the Broncos on that Sunday night, they will have the option to either stay in Denver or head straight for Mexico City, depending on the availability of venues in which to prepare for the Raiders.

After that two week stretch, the Patriots return home for the Dolphins, the go for three straight at Buffalo, Miami and Pittsburgh - but then end the regular season with two straight at home against the Bills and Jets.

According to my math, those circumstances neutralize both the disadvantage of playing two straight games in high altitude by giving the Patriots two weeks to prepare, physiologically, for the thin air of Denver and Mexico City, gives them two of their three game roadie against divisional opponents, then see them closing with two straight at home against divisional opponents.

The latter means that if the Patriots take care of their business down thew stretch and secure a first round bye after playing the Steelers in Pittsburgh on December 17th, they may not have to leave Foxborough for the following seven weeks until having to travel to Minneapolis to participate in Super Bowl LII.

So stress out all you want about the schedule, but the glass-half-full perspective shows that there is nothing goofy about the schedule-making - no conspiracies, no hanky-panky.  And the fact that they play five prime time contests and also play in two late-afternoon games scheduled for National Broadcasts means that Patriots' fans around the globe will be sure to catch nearly half of their schedule by doing nothing more than picking up their remote and clicking a couple of buttons.

Thursday, September 7 (8:30pm)
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Raising the banner is always a special occasion, but the Patriots need to figure out where to put the sucker, as they have run out of room adjacent to the scoreboard.  But, alas, they will figure it out - and also get the opportunity to face a dangerous Chiefs' squad that won the tough AFC West last season before being scalped by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

On the surface, the Chiefs did very little to improve upon last season, re-signing a couple of core players and signing TE Gavin Escobar while giving the ax to RB Jamal Charles - so don't look for them to improve much over their 20th ranked offense and 24th ranked defense.

Sunday, September 17 (1:00pm)
New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
The Superdome, New Orleans. Louisiana

An early test for the Patriots' defense, as the Saints finished first in total offense in 2016 - but lost a playmaker when they traded WR Brandin Cooks to New England.  The Saints still have Drew Brees chucking the ball about and they signed former Panther Ted Ginn to try and replace Cooks' speed on the outside.

They still sport a terrible defense (27th overall, 31st in scoring defense), so the first round pick they got from New England in the Cooks trade will probably go toward shoring up their secondary, which ranked dead last in the NFL.

Sunday, September 24 (1:00pm)
Houston Texans at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The Texans have a great defense - tops in the NFL last season - and they have plenty of receiving weapons on offense, but no one to get the ball to them.  Unless Houston takes a quarterback in the draft, it will be third-year man Tom Savage pulling the trigger in the passing game.  Savage will have a top ten running game to keep the heat down to a minimum, but that might not be enough for them to repeat as the "Default" champions of a horrible AFC South...but then again, the division is so bad, it just might.

Sunday, October 1 (1:00pm)
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The Super Bowl that should have been in 2015, but the Panthers were a just a shadow of themselves in 2016 - but a play here or a play there and a little luck, and it would have been them winning the NFC South instead of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Panthers lost seven games by less than three points, and still finished with six wins.  Fighting through injuries, they were able to hold things together, and now they have almost all of their weapons returning healthy.  Don't let the Panthers' record fool you, they were nowhere near as bad as their record indicated.

Thursday, October 5 (8:25pm)
New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Scary team on the rise.  The Bucs tripped over themselves coming out of the gate in 2016, losing five of their first eight, four of those losses dropping close decisions to eventual playoff teams, then went 6-2 down the stretch to make a valiant run at the post-season, but coming up just short, beating the likes of Kansas City, Seattle and Atlanta in the process.

Sunday, October 15 (1:00pm)
New England Patriots at New York Jets
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Sunday, December 31 (1:00pm)
New York Jets at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The Jets come into this season is full rebuilding mode, and with a coach who is squarely on the hot seat.  A team with nothing to lose - especially a hated division rival - is a very dangerous team.  Unfortunately for the Jets, they come into the season without a quarterback of any note, offensive and defensive lines in disarray and zero weapons.  Tough go for the Jets.

Sunday, October 22 (8:30pm)
Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

How motivated are the Falcons going to be to cone into Foxborough and give the Patriots a taste of the whip?  This game is the crown jewel of the NFL's first half and a chance for the Falcons to gain some measure of respect after having their hearts ripped out of their chests in the Super Bowl.

Problem is, Atlanta will be fielding a team that is essentially the same as it was in February, a team that gave New England all they could handle and then some, but eventually wore down and blew a 25 point lead.  We all know the story, now the Falcons want some payback.

Sunday, October 29 (1:00pm)
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The second of tow consecutive home games to finish up the first half of the season heading into their bye, the Patriots should have a decided advantage over the helter-skelter Chargers - but this team should not be taken lightly.

Playing in the toughest division in all of football, the Chargers went 1-5 in the division, but taking the Chiefs into overtime and playing the Raiders tough before dropping heartbreakers, and splitting their series with the Denver Broncos - in between beating good teams from Atlanta, Tennessee and Houston.  The Chargers have inherent talent, but not the the intestinal fortitude to finish off an opponent.  We'll see if that improves with a new coaching staff.

Sunday, November 12 (8:30pm)
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

The Broncos may all well be the Patriots' division rivals, having played each other at least once a year since the 2011 season, New England going 6-3 against the Broncos in nine tries in that time span - with two of their losses coming in conference championship games played at Denver.

So no one has to remind Patriots' fans of the consequence of playing the Broncos.  They have a great defense and plenty of weapons on offense, but their quarterback situation took a step back last season after they let Brock Osweiller leave in free agency, as he had already proven that his skill set was a good match for what Denver liked to do with the football.  But altitude aside, the Broncos are always a tough matchup.

Sunday, November 19 (4:25pm)
New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders
Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico

Denver may be known as the Mile High City, but Mexico City has them beat by a full third of a mile. Playing the Broncos in Denver the previous week will act as an impromptu hyperbaric chamber for the Patriots, allowing them to acclimate to being a mile above sea level in advance of traveling to Mexico City, which one can reasonably expect to happen immediately after their Sunday night gig in Denver.

The Raiders are as high-powered on offense as any team the Patriots will play all season, though their defense leaves them scratching and clawing to score enough points to win.  The Raiders bitch-kitty is their run defense, and the Patriots have four excellent running backs to rotate in and out to keep their running game fresh...

Sunday, November 26 (1:00pm)
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Monday, December 11 (8:30pm)
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

The Dolphins are always a tough draw, and the fact that they play each other twice in a span of three weeks doesn't make that any easier for either team.  Miami may have made the playoffs last year, but did so ranked in the bottom third of the NFL on both sides of the ball.  The difference between the Dolphins and most other teams on the Patriots' schedule, however, is that they have the stones to finish tight games.

Many will remember their comeback and near upset of New England in Foxborough early last season when the Dolphins scored 21 unanswered points to close within a touchdown of the Patriots, and were threatening to tie the game up with seconds to play until safety Duron Harmon picked off quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the end zone to salvage the win.

One can expect the same effort from Miami this time around as well, as the current staff seems to have the team headed in the right direction.

Sunday, December 3 (1:00pm)
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Sunday, December 24 (1:00pm)
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

This is another instance when the Patriots have to play a division rival twice in a short period of time.  The first was when the Patriots and Dolphins combined to make a Buffalo sandwich in between their contests, and now the Patriots have to play the Bills twice in four weeks, with the Dolphins and Steelers on the docket in between.

The Bills have plenty of talent on offense and play an explosive brand of football, though most of the explosion comes from their dynamic running game, but in contrast, the Bills defense can't stop the opposition's running game to save their lives.  Their saving grace had been their secondary, that is until New England lured cornerback Stephon Gilmore away.

With all of the speed Buffalo has in their receiving corps, they just don't make enough plays in the passing game to keep opposing defenses honest, averaging a mere 190 passing yards per game in 2016.  But a new regime is taking over in Buffalo and, of course, when it comes to playing the champs, every team has a little more motivation.

Patriots' defense comes out on top in street fight with Raiders

Patriots' defenders congratulate nose tackle Vince Wilfork after his late interception sealed a tight win over Oakland.

Penalties have dogged the New England Patriots the first two games of the 2014 NFL season, and it appeared for one fleeting moment that a penalty was going to be their undoing on Sunday afternoon against the Oakland Raiders.

Instead, a holding penalty on Oakland negated what would have been a tying touchdown by the Raiders with less than a minute to play, then fate added insult to injury as Patriots' nose tackle Vince Wilfork intercepted a deflected Derek Carr pass on the ensuing play to seal a hard-fought 16-9 victory over a game Oakland squad in the Patriots' home opener at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Following a defensive pass interference call on New England cornerback Logan Ryan that placed the football at the Patriots' six yard line with only a minute to play, Raiders' running back Darren McFadden blew through the Patriots' run defense for a touchdown, but the holding penalty on rookie left guard Gabe Jackson nullified the score and marched Oakland back to the 16...

...where Carr's first-and-goal pass to receiver Demarius Moore glanced off of his shoulder pads, Ryan redeeming himself as he and Rob Ninkovich converged on him at the 11, the ball landing right in Wilfork's hands for his third career interception and a potential game-saver to give the Patriots their second consecutive win.

New England head ball coach Bill Belichick praised his defense for holding the Raiders to just nine points, singling out Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones and Logan Ryan as keys to the win, also adding that he wasn't sure that the pass interference penalty on Ryan should have been a penalty at all.

"We'll have to take a look at that DPI, not sure about that one." Belichick mused. "he made some big plays for us.  He always does."

The victory, coupled with the Buffalo Bills' home loss to the San Diego Chargers, finds the Patriots in a first place tie in the AFC East, while Oakland drops to 0-3 and, obviously, last place in the brutal AFC West.

Raiders' coach Dennis Allen, rumored to be on the hot seat after two consecutive losses to open the season and eight straight overall extending back to last season, may have salvaged his job with a fantastic game plan that focused on bottling up the middle of the field and forcing New England to the wings where their lack of speed was exposed in both the running and passing games.

As a result, the Patriots runners were held to 76 yards on 32 carries, as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels played right into Oakland's game plan by abandoning the inside power running game that was working to the tune of four yards per carry in the first half and going to the stretch - and the results were predictable.

In the second half, the New England running game regressed on the wings, running 15 times but for just 11 yards for a paltry .7 yards per carry as McDaniels tried the corners time and again, and getting his backs stuffed in the process.

Conversely, the Patriots' defense held the Raiders' offense to three field goals, and allowed them into the red zone just twice.  Carr was 21 of 34 for 174 yards, the eight yards per completion telling the story for their game plan on offense, which was to attack the wings of the Patriots' defense to spread the field horizontally, then picking and choosing their time to go downfield - and it nearly pulled the upset.

For the third straight game, the Patriots started slowly on both side of the ball, Oakland taking a 3-0 lead with less than five minutes left in the opening period after a 13-play, dink-and-dunk drive stalled at the New England 30, a lead that they held for nearly a full quarter until Brady found tight end Rob Gronkowski on a crossing route from six yards out for what turned out to be the game's only touchdown.

A Stephen Gostkowski field goal as time expired in the first half gave the Patriots a seven point lead going into the locker room, with the hope that comes with receiving the ball first in the second half would turn into points and give them some breathing room...

...but that drive went backwards thanks to a penalty and a Justin Tuck sack of Brady that pinned New England deep, Ryan Allen's 45 yard punt setting up Oakland just inside Patriots' territory and eventually turned into another Sebastian Janikowski field goal that cut the New England lead to four.

Janikowski hit again on the next Oakland drive to make the score 10-9, but Gostkowski got the three points back with his second field goal of the game to cap a 10 play 57 yard drive, that stalled with some curious play calling inside the Raiders' two - running back Shane Vereen slipping on a run off left tackle for no gain and then two passes into the end zone falling incomplete.

Afterwards, Belichick acknowledged the offenses' struggles in the red zone, saying that they "had their opportunities down there and we had a touchdown a couple of chances that we didn't capitalize on" but when asked it was a matter of scheme or execution, he deferred.

"We'll look at the film and try to figure out how we can make it better." he said, but then when the subject of the running game came up again, a dark cloud appeared out of nowhere as Belichick noted his displeasure.

"I thought it was inconsistent" the head ball coach grumbled, "We had some negative runs that resulted in long-yardage situations...I think we can do pretty much everything better offensively."

Gostkowski got the lead back to seven when the next series stalled inside the red zone once again, setting up the heroic drive by Carr and the Raiders that gave Patriots' fans plenty of nail-biting moments before Wilfork's right place - right time interception to end the threat and save the game...

...for it goes without saying that a desperate Allen would have gone for a two-point conversion and the win had the Raiders been able to get past Wilfork's sticky mitts.

"He's done that before, making one-handed grabs" Belichick smiled speaking of Wilfork's interception. "so this one was easy - he got two hands on it."

For certain, the performance is not going to deter the teams' detractors, particularly the ones who have accused Brady of locking in on receiver Julian Edelman, who again received the lion's share of Brady's 37 targets, as 13 of them came his way.  Edelman came down with 10 of them for 84 yards, but Brady did get more of his receivers involved, going to Brandon Lafell eight times and to Gronkowski and Vereen six times a piece.

In all, the 37 year old gunslinger targeted eight pass catchers, but the beat writers were having none of the improvement from the first two weeks, asking Belichick if Brady was frustrated with himself for missing a few throws, or with his receivers, which the Dark Master dismissed with a terse, "You'll have to ask Tom what he was thinking."

What was Tom thinking?  Simply, execution in the red zone.

"Well, I mean, we have first and goal from the one-and-a-half yard line and we settle for a field goal." Brady sighed. "You just can't do that - our red area hasn't been very good.  We've got to try to run it in.  If we can't run it in, then we've got to hit the tight throws and make the tight plays."

The offensive struggles aren't just one person, it is true.  But it starts with the coaching and play calling and ends with the execution, and both the coaches and the players know that each of them need to do a better job, starting next Monday night at the loony bin in Kansas City called Arrowhead Stadium...

Patriots defense primed to take advantage of aging Raiders' line, rushing attack

If after two games, the top rusher on your team is the quarterback, it should conjure up two different scenarios - neither of them good.

First, it means that you simply have no running game and, second, it means that your quarterback is running for his life - and it is fair to state that this team is probably going to be at or near the bottom of the NFL statistically on offense, and also probably means that they have a losing record.

The Oakland Raiders are such a team, and the stereotype fits like a glove.  But it's not all bad, and if the New England Patriots aren't careful, their defense could fall victim to a curious malady commonly known as "Sandbagger Syndrome".

Jones and the rest of the Patriots defensive line should have a field day

Despite the presence of veteran runners Darren McFadden and newcomer Maurice Jones-Drew, the Raiders are dead last in rushing through two games running behind a retooled offensive line that thus far have been just plain offensive.

How bad has it been?  Rookie quarterback Derek Carr leads Oakland in rushing with 57 yards, topping McFadden (52 yards) and Jones-Drew (11 yards) - and while Carr's yardage has come on only five carries, it is important to note that 41 of those yards came on a scramble against a surprisingly porous Houston Texans' run defense.

McFadden's 3.3 yards per carry is serviceable if the team can ever get enough of a lead to be able to run the ball effectively, but Jones-Drew's horrible 1.2 yards per carry is made even more abysmal when considering that ten of his 11 yards came on one run, the other lone yard on eight carries indicating that he may have lost his edge when he can't bulldoze his way to a single yard per carry.

But it is stats like these that bring the word "sandbaggers" to life.

The term sandbagger is generally exclusive to golfers who cheat the handicap system by playing worse than they really are in match play in order to raise their advantage in tournament play - and while no one is suggesting that the Raiders would be sandbagging purposely, it could very well be that their rushing numbers simply indicate a really bad offensive scheme that could start to perform better as time goes on.

That said, is Sunday's contest against the Patriots in New England's home opener that time?

Doubtful, but even if the Raiders' offense begins to find some cohesion, a mixture of a Patriots' run defense and a forecast calling for rain could doom any hopes Oakland had to jump start an offense that has relied on their passing game almost exclusively to this point...

...which we know isn't an option given that the Patriots' represent the fourth-ranked passing defense in the league - which is neither here nor there this early in the campaign, but given the strength of the New England secondary and their renewed emphasis on the pass rush, Carr may find it difficult to get anything going at all without a running game to give life to the play action.

So there is some pressure to be felt by the Patriots' front seven, as they certainly don't want to give life to Carr and an offense that is struggling mightily.

Some figure that head ball coach Bill Belichick would authorize some movement along the defensive line to get favorable matchups in the pass rush, such as flip-flopping reigning Defensive Player of the Week Chandler Jones from right to left to take advantage of greybeard Khalif Barnes' regressing skill set and also to make up for the probability that linebacker Jamie Collins will likely be inactive...

...but the smart money has Jones staying put as an end of the line rusher, possibly moving to a five tech on passing downs to matchup with rookie left guard Gabe Jackson - but this matchup also could go in the direction of getting a rookie-on-rookie look between Jackson and defensive tackle Dominique Easley, which could open up a virtual plethora of possibilities on the edge.

In the passing game, New England has the decided advantage, with names like Revis, Arrington and Ryan covering Raiders' receivers James Jones, Rod Streater and Denarius Moore - but one area that the Raiders could have a glimmer of hope is in the size of depth receiver Andre Holmes and move tight end Mychal Rivera.

Holmes is a huge target a 6' 4" and plays the possession receiver on intermediate routes and in the red zone, while Rivera is a threat down the seam at 6' 3" and 245 pounds.  Both had decent seasons in 2013 and have tremendous upside, and with Collins possibly being out in favor of rookie linebacker Deontea Skinner, Rivera could be the most dangerous pass catcher on the field.

Belichick could do well to find a way to protect Skinner, if needed, which may mean more of a three man look on the line - but that is an extreme considering that he could simply switch to a nickle or dime and use a double slot with Arrington and Ryan, leaving Malcolm Butler or Alfonzo Dennard (if active) to deal with the outside stuff.

Regardless, the Raiders don't appear to have much to offer the Patriots in terms of an offensive attack, and unless Oakland's offensive scheme is that of a bunch of sandbaggers who save everything to play well against top competition, it goes to figure that the young New England defense could have their way with the aging Oakland offense.

Oakland the perfect opponent for Patriots' offense to achieve balance

"In truth, there was no no favoritism on the part of Brady, no ignoring other receivers, no lost faith in the receivers' ability to get open nor to catch the football - just a cascading set of priorities, the success of which most assuredly brought a smile to the face of the Dark Master, but also a furrowing scowl to the features of those who saw an opportunity to pile on points against an inferior foe." - Foxborough Free Press, September 18, 2014

You've heard it said that looks can be deceiving? One look at the stat sheet for the Oakland Raiders' defense is a perfect example.

The biggest lie is the notion that their pass defense is the second ranked unit in the NFL - and while it's true that they've allowed a paltry 329 passing yards on the young season, it is equally true that those passing yards came on second lowest passing attempts against in the league.

This disparity can be easily explained.

Brady and the Patriots should display more balance on Sunday

You see, teams don't need to pass against the Raiders, not with their run defense surrendering a whopping 200 yards per game, which is dead last in the NFL.

Yes, the Oakland Raiders have given up more rushing yards than passing yards in both of their contests thus far - a close contest with the New York Jets to open the season, then a woodshed-type whooping at the hands of the Houston Texans last Sunday.

Anyone want to take a stab in the dark and guess what the New England Patriots game plan is going to look like when they host the Raiders this Sunday at Gillette Stadium?

Well despite the disparity in favor of the running game that those two teams have had against Oakland, the Patriots have plenty to work on in the passing game as well, which means that fans of both teams should be prepared to see quarterback Tom Brady and his plethora of receivers expose that second-ranked Raiders pass defense for the middle-of-the-pack unit that they truly are.

This is the type of game where head ball coach Bill Belichick will have a defined list of areas that he feels his team needs to work on, and Oakland provides the perfect opponent and opportunity to practice the time-honored axiom of the Erhardt-Perkins offense, "Pass to score, run to win."

What Erhardt meant by his favorite phrase is that his teams should use the pass to gain an early lead - with running plays sprinkled in to keep the defense honest and to set up the play action - then go run heavy to drain the clock and wear out the opposing defense to close out the game.

In that respect, the Patriots haven't come close to putting that package together, as in week one against the Dolphins the offense abandoned the running game as part of some wrong-minded variation of their offensive concept and Brady ended up getting stomped like a grape by Miami's vicious pass rush - and last week the offense took advantage of a 17-point halftime lead to install their power running game and to get tight end Rob Gronkowski integrated into the scheme.

So while there should be an effort to build upon those things against the Raiders, the task at hand should be to maintain more of a balance for 60 minutes.

Most of the chatter this week has involved the passing game, ranging from Brady locking in exclusively on Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski to Brandon Lafell and Danny Amendola not being able to get open, which makes them "worthless" - and normally this is the part where we say that the the truth is somewhere between the two extremes, but in actuality, there is no truth in any of it.

As has been the case for the last few years, the Patriots receivers and Brady have been using the first quarter of the season to develop the chemistry that the offseason doesn't afford them time for since the new CBA was ratified, forcing teams to abide by a limited spring schedule and a far less grueling training camp than in the past - which according to Belichick means that teams enter the regular season still needing to find their stride, particularly on offense.

This was particularly evident last season when Brady had to rely on just one returning receiver while breaking in three rookies and dealing with a broken Amendola - and this season is no different when considering that every one of the rookies missed significant time with injuries last year, as did Amendola, so chemistry really wasn't given a chance.

So what is Brady supposed to do?  Belchick certainly wasn't going to expose his franchise quarterback to the hazards of operating deep into preseason games to develop chemistry when the coaching staff also needed that time to evaluate the rest of the team - so what we've seen in the first two weeks of the season is an offense still trying to find their legs and to get into football shape...

...which Belichick has said many times requires actually playing football - and it certainly doesn't hurt to have Edelman as a default safety valve.

Teams with veteran receivers and veteran quarterbacks throwing to them typically won't struggle to find a rhythm to the extent that New England has in the past two seasons - which is why you see teams like Denver, Cincinnati, Atlanta and San Diego off to fast starts and teams like Tampa, Houston and the Patriots not so much.

What determines if these teams ever get on track or if they fade into oblivion depends on a number of factors - having a coaching staff with a solid plan and solid athletes at receiver being prerequisite, and being able to employ a certain Hall of Famer at quarterback never hurts.

But what really had New England reeling initially was a lack of cohesion along the offensive line, which not only impacted the passing game, but also the running game, as the loss to the Dolphins in week one looked to be a case of the coaching staff being unprepared to encounter the struggles that they did across the board while trying to install the offense all at once...

...which was particularly evident with the play calling, which was atrocious on both sides of the ball. So to rectify this, Belichick decided to prioritize the needs, choosing to install the power running game last week - which worked so well that it made priority "1a", getting Gronkowski up to speed, all the more possible.

So, one has to wonder if this wasn't the plan all along - to use the first few regular season games as an extension of the preseason in some respects and implementing different components on offense, then putting it all together against a horrible Raiders' team in their home opener?

Perhaps, despite the second half collapse against the Dolphins - and it goes to figure that if this is the case, Belichick's offense should be able to display a healthy balance that can follow Erhardt's philosophy of passing to score and running to win, and bury the Raiders with a firestorm of consistency.

New England Patriots on Paper - 2014 Schedule: Patriots open at Miami, close with three straight division foes

Two straight on the road to start the season, three division rivals in a row to end it, and with a literal plethora of Nationally televised night games in between, the New England Patriots 2014 schedule has been released by the National Football League.

New England opens at Miami on September 7th, then travel to Minnesota, luckily for an early autumn day game at their temporary digs at the University of Minnesota before finally playing before the home folks, hosting the Oakland Raiders in Week 3...

...the middle of the season highlighted with a Monday night visit to Kansas City, a Thursday night home duel with the hated Jets and three Sunday night games hosting the Bengals and visiting Indianapolis and San Diego.

New England ends the regular season with successive contests hosting the Dolphins, traveling to New York to play the Jets and then hosting the Bills.

Regular Season

Sunday, September 7th

New England @ Miami Dolphins
Sun Life Stadium - Miami Gardens, Florida - 1:00PM

After running for 156 yards in a November contest with the Dolphins in Foxborough, the Patriots came into the December game with Miami and completely abandoned their running game - and the result was predictable as the Dolphins took a 24-20 win at Sun Life Stadium as unknown and freshly signed safety Michael Thomas broke up a pass intended for Danny Amendola and then picked off a pass in the end zone intended for Austin Collie to secure the Dolphins' win.  Thomas was awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

Sunday, September 14th

New England @ Minnesota Vikings
TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, Minnesota- 1:00PM

The Vikings will play all of their home games on the campus of the University of Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium, which precludes them from hosting any Monday night or Thursday night games until the last two weeks of the NFL season due to conflicts with the scheduling of other events on the campus.

What a lucky break for the Patriots, as they catch the Vikings in the early fall with an early afternoon start.  Since the Vikings are forced to play their home games outdoors for the next two seasons, whomever has to visit Minnesota in late December is going to be very cold.

Sunday, September 21st

Oakland Raiders @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts  1:00PM

Two words: Tuck Rule.  Be prepared to hear that over and over and over again leading up to this matchup in Foxborough.  Ask any Raiders' fan about that playoff game back in 2001, when Raiders' cornerback strip-sacked Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, the fumble recovered by Oakland linebacker Greg Beikert for what would have probably been a game ending turnover, but referee Walt Coleman overturned the call of fumble on the field, saying that Brady's arm was moving forward and deemed in an incomplete pass.

The Patriots were able to get an Adam Venitieri field goal to send the game into overtime, then another to beat the Raiders on their way to the first NFL title in New England franchise history.

Monday, September 29th

New England @ Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Missouri - 8:30PM

These teams may not have played each other in a while, but that doesn't mean there's not a history between them - and just the fact that they are playing at Arrowhead is chilling, as it can be one of the more intimidating venues in the league.

Bernard Pollard is no longer with the Chiefs, but was wearing the uniform when he shredded Tom Brady's knee on opening day in 2008 - in fact, there is no one left on that Kansas City team from that fateful day, but New England coach Bill Belichick is good buddies and frequent draft day trading partner with Kansas City coach Andy Reid.

Again, a lucky break for New England as they catch a Chiefs' team in the Fall instead of winter time, when it becomes bitterly cold in Kansas City.


Sunday, October 5th

Cincinnati Bengals @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 8:30PM

A grudge match of sorts for the Patriots, as they fell to the Bengals 13-7 last season in monsoonal rains in Cincinnati - the dismal offensive performance leading to New England's first loss of the season after a 4-0 start.  The game also marked the end of the season for defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, who suffered a torn ACL one week after nose tackle Vince Wilfork went down with a torn Achilles tendon.

Sunday, October 12th

New England @ Buffalo Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium - Orchard Park, New York - 1:00PM

The Patriots paid a heavy price for their season opening win in western New York, losing running back Shane Vereen to a broken wrist and Danny Amendola to a completely torn adductor muscle - though both finished the game, Vereen rushing for over 100 yards despite breaking the wrist on the first play of the game and Amendola gutted out 104 receiving yards on 10 catches.

Vereen went on the IR - Eligible to return list and Amendola was never a factor the rest of the season but showed plenty in his Patriots' debut to be excited for his potential, and the Patriots set an ominous tone for the season with the first of many come-from-behind wins.

And again, catching the Bills in Buffalo in early October is much preferable to challenging both them and Old Man Winter in late December...

Thursday, October 16th

New York Jets @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 8:25PM

Tom Brady had a very public meltdown just before halftime of this contest last season, jumping all over his rookie receivers for zigging instead of zagging, and the Jets' defense held the Patriots' offense to a paltry 232 total yards, but the New England defense forced four turnovers and the Jets' inexplicably turned away from their dominant running game as the Patriots' escaped with a 13-10 victory in a nationally televised Thursday night game.

Looks as if the Patriots and Jets are going to become annual Thursday night rivals..


Sunday, October 26th

Chicago Bears @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 1:00PM

Just as with the Green Bay Packers, the history that the Patriots have with the Bears is limited to a game every four years, and that dismal Sunday back in 1986 when the Bears and their Super Bowl Shuffle crushed the Patriots by a score of 46-10 in one of the worst blowouts in Super Bowl history.

Going into the game, the Patriots were said to have a rampant drug problem that permeated the team, a story that was told with gusto by the national media, prompting one national writer to quip, "The Bears gave the Patriots their drug problem - they drug them all over the field."

Sunday, November 2nd

Denver Broncos @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 4:25PM

No build up needed for this game, though it figures to be hyped and over-hyped ad nauseum for the entire week before the contest.  And why not?  After all, the teams split their two meeting last season, the Patriots taking an epic come-from-behind win in Foxborough during the regular season, then the Broncos winning the AFC Title over New England in January.

Sunday, November 9th

Bye Week

Sunday, November 16th

New England @ Indianapolis Colts
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, Indiana - 8:30PM

Surprise, surprise, surprise...the Colts and Patriots meet once again - this time in Indianapolis where quarterback Andrew Luck will try to lead his Colts to a payback victory of sorts over a Patriots' team that eliminated them from the playoffs last January, former Patriots' running back LeGarrette Blount enjoying an epic performance against the Indianapolis defense and their kick coverage units.

Sunday, November 23rd

Detroit Lions @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 1:00PM

The New England offensive line may feel like they owe the Lions' defensive line a good beating for the way the Lions jacked them up in the preseason last year by a score of 40-9 that wasn't even that close.  It was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for both teams, but Brady was pulled at halftime for the sake of his own health as the Lions pummeled the quarterback into submission.

Sunday, November 30th

New England @ Green Bay Packers
Lambeau Field - Green Bay, Wisconsin - 4:25PM

Not an abundance of history between the teams, just a little game called Super Bowl 31, a game where Patriots' quarterback Drew Bledsoe and running back Curtis Martin led a third quarter comeback to get the Patriots to within six after trailing by two touchdowns, Martin taking it in from 18 yards out to make the score 27-21 and give New England all of the momentum - but then Desmond Howard broke their backs with a 99 yard return of the ensuing kickoff and the Patriots' didn't score again.

Will it be deathly cold in Green Bay?  If so, the Patriots can always just think about the warm sun and sandy beaches of San Diego next week...

Sunday, December 7th

New England @ San Diego Chargers
Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, California - 8:25PM

So long as LaDanian Tomlinson isn't playing, all should be good between these teams.  Tomlinson was part of a team that was eliminated two consecutive years by the Patriots, including a 21-12 win in the 2007 AFC Title game in which Tomlinson essentially quit on his team - and was one of the first players to speak out against Bill Belichick when SpyGate emerged, stating, "I think the Patriots actually live by the saying 'If you're not cheating, you're not trying,'"

recently, there hasn't been much of a history, other than New England signing since-departed Steve Gregory three years ago, and the Patriots losing third-down back Danny Woodhead to the Chargers last offseason.  The Chargers' offense will be a stiff test for New England's new-look defensive secondary with a revitalized Phillip Rivers tossing the most deep balls in the league last season.


Sunday, December 14th

Miami Dolphins @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 1:00PM

The Patriots beat the Dolphins in a tightly contested struggle in mid-November last season, coming back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to outscore Miami 24-0 in the second half as part of an amazing six-week stretch where they opened each contest with poor offensive performances, then came screaming back into the games to win going away.  The New England running game gouged the Miami defense for 156 yards while quarterback Tom Brady suffered one of his worst days as a pro, barely hitting the century mark.

Sunday, December 21st

New England @ New York Jets
MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey - 1:00PM

The New England defense surrendered 177 yards on the ground to the potent Jets' running attack and the offense was limited to 295 total yards, but as had been a theme with the Patriots all season, they were resilient enough force the Jets into overtime, but a pair of personal fouls in the extra period - including one on rookie defensive tackle Chris Jones for unsportsman-like conduct for using the backs of his defensive teammates to launch himself in the air to try and block a long field goal attempt - doomed New England to their second loss of the season.

New York kicker Nick Folk missed the long field goal attempt which would have given New England excellent field position close to midfield, but Jones' penalty gave the Jets mew life and three plays later Folk nailed a 42 yarder to end the game.

Sunday, December 28th

Buffalo Bills @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts - 1:00PM

The Patriots closed out their season on a roll, particularly on the ground as their power running game accounted for 267 yards as New England dominated the Bills.  As usual, the Bills racked up plenty of rushing yards themselves, but their defense had no answer for LeGarrette Blount, who ran wild for the second week in a row.

Previously released Preseason schedule

Thursday, August 7th
New England @ Washington Redskins
FedEx Field - Landover, Maryland - 7:30pm

Friday, August 15th
Philadelphia Eagles @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts  - 7:30pm

Friday, August 22nd
Carolina Panthers @ New England
Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Massachusetts  - 7:30pm

Thursday, August 28th
New England @ New York Giants
MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, New Jersey - 7:30pm