Here’s my final installment of the 2010 Patriots preview, this time looking at the overall team, their schedule, and a prediction for the season.

The team should be a classic Belichick team.  The offense should be more consistent with much needed depth added at WR and TE.  Tom Brady will have plenty of options and won’t need to look for Sam Aiken to step up as a WR.  The offensive line gains a little more experience this season, although Logan Mankins possible long holdout could hurt immensely.  The Pats do have enough depth to replace him but will need to make up for his absence.  I expect the offense to rank in the top 5 once again.  The defense has many question but more raw talent entering the season.  The defensive line should recover from the playoff embarrassment with solid free agent additions while the young secondary gains another year of experience.  The real question comes at linebacker, which has little depth at OLB.  If Derrick Burgess can become a good linebacker, the Patriots will have a huge weight off their backs.  The inside should be strong with a healthy Jerod Mayo and a rotation of Gary Guyton, Brandon Spikes, and Tyrone McKenzie.  Special teams should improve with new young talent.

Overall much of this season will hang on the defense.  If they can return to top 5 form, then the Pats will have an excellent chance to go to their 5th Belichick era Super Bowl.  If inconsistency continues, then the team is in trouble.

Schedule

Bengals 9/12 – This will be a good test for the defense.  If they can get pressure on Carson Palmer and keep him from hitting Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, and Antonio Bryant deep then the Pats will have a easy win. End result: win.

Jets 9/19 and 12/19 – The Jets improvements are very overrated, however they will be a tougher team with Mark Sanchez entering his second season.  These are always tough games so I expect a split result again this year. End results: 1 win, 1 loss

Bills 9/26 and 12/26 – It’s the Bills.  Enough said. End results: 2 wins

Dolphins 10/4 and 1/2 – The Dolphins didn’t really improve outside of the Brandon Marshall deal.  Ronnie Brown has to have lost step from all of his injuries and the defense is still somewhat questionable.  I think the Pats will take at least one, if not two.  No matter what the games will be close. End results: 1 win, 1 loss.

Ravens 10/17 – Revenge game after a bye week? The Ravens might have improved a lot, but I think the Pats will find a way to win. End result: win.

Chargers 10/24 – The Chargers have been very successful the past few years, but the Jets exposed their weaknesses.  A lot of their core players are aging while two others might still be holding out on this date.  Also I hate Norv Turner, who is starting to hurt the team.  End result: win.

Vikings 10/31 – This game hinges on Brett Favre.  If he’s there, it’s a challenge since Belichick’s history against him is not strong.  I’ll call this a loss, unless Favre retires.  If he’s gone, then they don’t stand a chance.  End result: Loss.

Browns 11/7 – This team in turmoil doesn’t have a solid direction.  West coast minded president getting players for a Belichickian coach?  It’s not going to work.  End result: win.

Steelers 11/14 – Even with all their issues, I foresee the Steelers beating the Patriots right now.  One of those random games.  End result: loss.

Colts 11/21 – Well well well, the annual Pats-Colts bowl.  Belichick will have a wrinkle to surprise the Colts and they will respond in kind.  It will come down to the end of the game again.  Truthfully it’s a 50-50 proposition, but this could be one of the Colts weakest teams ever.  End result: win.

Lions 11/25 – It’s the Lions soooo… (even though I think they could improve leaps and bounds this season if all goes right). End result: win.

Bears 12/12 – The Bears have no idea where they are going and don’t be surprised to see an interim coach for them in this game. End result: win.

Packers 12/19 – The Packers go into this season with high expectations however a lot of their defense is out of position (Cullen Jenkins at OLB? Really?).  Pats win a close game.  End result: win.

Adding up the total puts the Patriots at 12-4.  If the team can win at least two of their games against top opponents (Colts, Vikings, Packers, and Ravens), then they should be well off.  Belichick teams always play tough against the best teams.  If this squad can’t step up, especially on the defensive side, then it could be a long season.

In any case, the Pats will continue winning.  I’d be incredibly shocked if this is a 9 or less win team.  They will be in the playoffs, the only question is how far they will go.

Beckett picked up only his 2nd win in 10 starts yesterday, hopefully he can build on this momentum

A week and a half ago, the night before this west coast swing started, I wrote a state of the nation address. The main thing to take out of it was that the Red Sox were starting to get players back and all they needed to do was stay within striking distance of the Rays over the next ten days. Although it seems like they went 2-8 over the past three series, the Sox actually fared pretty well and won six of ten. I just happen to have each of the losses firmly entrenched in my brain due to the ridiculousness of them. Regardless, the Sox entered the trip only 3.5 games back of Tampa and came out of it 4.5 games back. And that is fine by me.

What excites me most about the coming weeks is the way the starting pitching has performed of late. Other than Clay Buchholz struggling in his first game back from the disabled list, the starters have been lights out. Of the six wins, the starter accounted for four of them and only two of the four losses. Hell, there were even two legitimate no hit bids (although one of them turned into a loss and the other took 13 innings to finish off). What we now have is everyone on fire at the same time. There is not a single weakness on this staff. Ignore the bullpen issues if you may. The way the last ten days have gone you should be disappointed if the starter goes less than seven innings making it difficult for even this bullpen to screw up too much, especially with Bard and Paps ready to go on most nights. I’m telling you, the way this team is now positioned they have the ability to win games in bunches. Do not be surprised if they win 20+ games in August and September. Call me optimistic, but (starting) pitching wins championships, and I’ll take this starting rotation combined with Paps and Bard over any team in the league. Enough said.

Dunn Would add the consistent bat that the Rays need

WEEI.com – According to a tweet from Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, the Rays are “in [the] mix” for Nationals slugger Adam Dunn. Heyman tweets that Dunn would be a “big boost for [an] already great team.”

Yea, it would be a huge boost, one I would rather not have to deal with as we sit 4.5 games behind them. I am OK with the Rays as currently constituted. As is, I think the Red Sox will have plenty of time to catch up and ultimately pass them in the wild card standings. But if they start doing crazy things like trading prospects, adding salary, and adding players than we may have a problem.

In the end, I think the odds of a deal getting done are slim. As I just said, the Rays are cheap and notoriously difficult to trade with. They just aren’t really a team that is willing to sacrifice good prospects for a two month rental. But the thought of it is enough to make you a little queasy, isn’t it? Especially at a time when it looks like the Sox are going to stand pat and enter August with their current team. Hopefully this tweet was nothing more than media hoopla, otherwise it could be a long two months.

Look! Proof that Shawn Crable wore a Patriots uniform!

Today the Patriots announced two roster moves.

1st round pick Devin McCourty signed a 5 year contract worth $13.2 million. This was somewhat unexpected since only a few days ago a report said he would wait until more picks were signed.  Apparently, him or his agent decided his deal was fair and that he should report to camp.  As the final rookie signed, the Patriots have their roster ready for camp.

In an unsurprising move reported on Mike Reiss’ twitter, the Patriots also released former 3rd round pick LB Shawn Crable.  After two straight years of injuries, the team seems to have given up.  He played fairly well in six preseason games.  Unfortunately he never left the trainer’s room, never played in a regular season game, and came into camp this year hurt yet again.  Belichick doesn’t stand for players who don’t play so Crable was bound to be on his way out.

I communicated this via Twitter as well, but apparently none of you tweet. Either that, or you just don’t want to tweet with me (@SportsPulse), but that is neither here nor there. The Red Sox kick off their final game of this west coast trip this afternoon at 3:30 with Josh Beckett on the mound and he is going to have quite the task in front of him. Lineups have been posted and there is no JD, no Jed, and Tito said both Papelbon and Bard are unavailable. So we pretty much need a no hitter from Josh Beckett on this one. For once, I’m not that upset that I have to miss the game because of work.

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Darnell McDonald, RF
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Adrian Beltre, 3B
7. Jeremy Hermida, LF
8. Bill Hall, 2B
9. Eric Patterson, CF

RHP–Josh Beckett

In my third installment previewing the 2010 Patriots, I am taking a look at the special teams and the coaching staff.

Kicker
Stephen Gostkowski proved last season he is one of the top 5 kickers in the NFL.  Consistent kicking year to year is difficult to find and the Patriots seem to have hit a home run.  The only concern will be his holder, who will change the first time since his rookie season.  Hopefully he can find his groove early and no problems will persist.

Punter
You gotta love a name like Zoltan Mesko.  He’s apparently a character and a great athlete.  He’s the size of a small linebacker and that should translate into huge punts.  The Patriots have tended to search for veteran punters with either big hangtime or great directional abilities so this is a new direction.  Expect the punting to improve this year, especially in situations where a long punt is needed rather than a pooch punt.

Return Game
Kickoff returning last season was a sad sight.  With inconsistent returners in 2009, expect the Patriots to take a close look at many different players to be the go-to guy.  Matt Slater is on the fringe and unless he wins the kick returning job, he won’t be coming back even with his versatility.  For punts, the Patriots should give Julian Edelman a shot while Wes Welker recovers.  Even when Welker comes back, I expect Edelman to remain on the return team so Welker can ease back into a heavier workload.

Special teamers
Belichick added tons of rookie special teamers to a roster already teaming with good players for the punting and kicking games.  Pierre Woods will likely lead the overall squad again and the infusion of young blood should improve athleticism and speed.  Expect the Patriots to use their deep roster to pick the best of the best, although that may mean giving up pretty good special teamers like gunner/WR/S Matt Slater.

Coaching Staff
Coaching and strategy will always be strong on a Bill Belichick staff.  One of the wonderful attributes of Belichick is his ability to adjust to the changing game.  He sees the game getting quicker so he creates depth in the secondary.  Although he selected no true coordinators and kept his staff small again, the Patriots coaching staff should be stronger.  Bill O’Brien has a full year as play caller under his belt and his creativity should advance like McDaniels’ strategies did.  Belichick will always have firm control over the defense, but don’t count out Pepper Johnson and new genius-heir-apparent Matt Patricia.  Corwin Brown will also be a huge asset to help the young secondary make big improvements.  This coaching staff will put the Patriots in the position to win a lot of games yet again.

Tomorrow, I have my final look at the team as a whole, their schedule, and a 2010 season prediction.

Since his return from the disabled list, Jeremy Hermida has gone 2-14 with 7 strikeouts. Last night, 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. On the season he is now batting just .211 with a .362 slugging percent. And it’s not like he was exactly tearing it up before he got hurt either when he batted .189 during the month of May before collecting four hits in his only four games in June before his DL stint.

This certainly is not what the Sox were expecting from the big lefty. In April, and even parts of May, Hermida had a knack for the big hit. This helped overshadow some of his ugly blemishes. But it is becoming pretty clear that he is not going to be the player they had hoped for. It makes you think, would the Sox simply release him when Jacoby is ready to return? Darnell McDonald certainly deserves a spot ahead of him and Eric Patterson does a lot more defensively.

I for one think they should hold onto him and hope his bat wakes up. With Lowrie back now and the addition of Ellsbury the need for a versatile defensive player dwindles some. But it’s worth wondering what the Red Sox will value more when the time comes.

Under team control through 2011, Corey Hart is a much better fit for the Red Sox

Buster Olney on WEEI.com – “I do think he has that decision, and I do think that is kind of what they’ve been waiting on. Give it more time to decide whether to pour resources into the 2010 team to make sure they are not in a situation where they are pouring paint down a hole. … And it’s interesting because the Phillies are in the same situation where they are kind of sitting there saying, ‘You know what, lets see if we can add guys who cannot only help us, maybe get back into this thing in 2010, but guys who can help us next year.’ That’s why a Corey Hart might be a good fit for the Red Sox, and I know yesterday activity around the Brewers outfielder really picked up a lot more.

“And maybe if they start to fall out of it a little bit more, maybe they get less interested in a guy like Scott Downs, the reliever from Toronto who is a free agent at the end of this year. Go for the guys who have four to five years of service time rather than go for players who are going to be eligible for free agency in the fall.”

By now I think people have started to figure out that the trade market isn’t exactly loaded with premium talent. The cream of the crop was obviously Cliff Lee, and he has already been moved. Settling underneath him you will find Jayson Werth, Roy Oswalt, Ted Lilly, and maybe even Prince Fielder. But even they have their faults. Werth is in a two month long slump and is a free agent at the end of the season. Oswalt has a no trade clause and will not waive it unless his $16 million option for 2010 is exercised. Lilly, like Werth is nothing more than a two month rental and has had injury problems this year. And Prince is boarders 400 pounds, will likely become a DH, has Scott Boras as an agent, and risks injuring himself with every step he takes.

The Red Sox likely weren’t in the market for any of the big names as they had their own stars coming to the rescue off the disabled list. But the lack of top tier talent leads to an increase in demand for guys who would usually come at a more affordable price. What the Sox need is an extra outfielder who can play every day and someone to help solidify the bullpen. But even someone like David Dejesus was rumored to bring the Royals top notch minor league talent before he got hurt. I don’t know about you, but he is not someone I want to empty the farm for. The same problem exists when it comes to bullpen arms. Last year we were able to get Billy Wagner off the waiver wire for practically nothing. This year, guys like Scott Downs and Octavio Dotel are commanding a teams top prospects. While I would love to have either one of them over most of our guys, I am not ready to trade a potential star for a half year of a setup man.

That leads me to Corey Hart. The Brewers are poor and are rumored to be shopping both Hart and Prince Fielder. Through Monday, Hart is hitting .292 with 22 HR and 70 RBI in what is a breakout season (one I predicted by the way before the season). The kicker though, is Hart is under team control through 2011, however, he is due for a large raise come arbitration this off season. Bringing him in would add a powerful right handed bat to add to the middle of the lineup for a team that has struggled recently offensively, especially against left handed pitchers. Hart would also provide some stability in left field, a position that has been occupied by at least four different players this season.

But what about when Jacoby Ellsbury comes back from the DL?

This suggestion is being made under the assumption that Jacoby will be traded this winter. At this point it doesn’t matter whose fault it was, bridges have been burned between both he and his teammates and the front office. Combined with the fact that he is a Scott Boras client who refuses to sign a long term deal I feel like Theo and the bunch would rather trade him now and not have to deal with him anymore. You can have a four man rotation of Jacoby, Mike Cameron, JD Drew, and Cory Hart for the rest of 2010 and then insert Hart permanently in 2011.

The question becomes, what do you give up for him? My untouchables are as follows: Casey Kelly, Ryan Kalish, Anthony Rizzo, Felix Doubront, and Jose Iglesias. Other than that, I would likely be willing to give up any two of our guys. Could the Brewers turn down an offer of Michael Bowden and Lars Anderson? Doubtful. Will it happen? Unfortunately, I don’t think so. At this point Theo will probably use any bullets he has left on trying to save the bullpen. But I think adding Hart could give the team a huge boost not only this year, but next year as well. What I don’t want to see is another Eric Gagne situation where we give up three prospects and get a bullpen guy who sucks and leaves at the end of the year.

"Why doesn't anyone want me?"

I still don’t want him, and recent reports out of Detroit and Texas have said they don’t really have any interest either. But last night Mike Lowell played third base for the Paw Sox and smacked three home runs. In five rehab games for Pawtucket, Lowell is now batting .471 with three doubles to go along with the three home runs. For a team struggling to score runs, why not take a flier on Lowell? As long as he is starting he would provide a solid locker room and veteran presence for a team making a playoff push. I’d keep him on the Red Sox, but you can’t have two DH’s and he can no longer play the field. He would just be taking the spot of  someone else who could help the team more.

As big of a douche as he has been, I really just feel bad for him. I hope the Sox can work out a trade, although it sounds unlikely based on current reports. I just don’t like seeing him in this position. He may be a bench player for the Boston Red Sox, but somewhere, with some team, he could be a great starting DH/part time 1B and 3B. It’s sad to think that this is likely his last season before retirement.

Photo via Yahoo Sports

On Sunday, the Florida Marlins won their fourth game of the week in the last at bat. This time around it was Wes Helms doing the honors driving in the winning run with a single against the Braves. As is common practice around major league baseball, Helms received a shaving cream pie to the face during a TV interview. However, Chris Coghlan, the man delivering the pie, ended up tearing his meniscus in the process and will now have surgery and miss 6-8 weeks.

His reaction via twitter:

Yes it is true! I hurt my knee and unfortunately am on DL. I know the Lord has a plan for me and is better than any plan I have for myself!!

If I was a Marlins fan I would be furious about this. You could at least show a little remorse, no?  If you didn’t cream them, you wouldn’t have hurt yourself. Simple as that.

Maybe I’m just bitter because he is killing my fantasy teams. Still, at least pretend to be upset about missing most of the remainder of the season.