New England Patriots 2007 NFL Projection:
In last season's AFC Championship game the Patriots blew an amazing 18 point lead to the Indianapolis Colts, thanks in part to Rodney Harrison being sidelined for the game with an injury (an often overlooked circumstance), plus an early in-game injury to Richard Seymour. Of course the play of Peyton Manning was stellar. And let's not forget the kicking of Adam Vinatieri... Would Mike Vanderjagt have been as consistent and reliable in a playoff game?

This season, everyone of course knows the story... Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker, Sammy Morris, and Adalius Thomas have been added to the roster. Each player addresses a glaring need on the Pats.

Not to be overlooked is the departure of Corey Dillon. While everyone in New England is excited about Laurence Maroney taking over (and with good reason), it should at least be noted that Corey Dillon had an incredible nose for the end zone. And even though Dillon's speed was almost non-existent last season, his patience and know how near the goal line landed him in the end zone time and time again with ease. Dillon's goal line consistency could be missed. On the plus side, in preseason Sammy Morris has appeared powerful and fast, and Heath Evans never seems to have much trouble breaking the plane of the end zone.

Getting back to the second half collapse in the AFC Championship game, the biggest problem the Patriots have faced in the last few seasons (if there is such a thing) has been the health of its secondary in big games. Even going back to their Super Bowl wins over Carolina and Philadelphia, both of those games were much closer than they should have been due to injuries in the secondary during the game. How will the Patriots' secondary hold up this season? Therein may lie the key to New England's success in 2007. Already Rodney Harrison has been suspended 4 games for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Fortunately, Asante Samuel has signed for the year.

Overall the Patriots are stacked with talent and experience and although their schedule includes a whopping eight games versus teams that made the playoffs in 2006; the Patriots are clearly talented enough that they should have little trouble winning the AFC East again and making a legitimate push towards the Super Bowl.

While we predict a record of (14-2), that could be on the generous side as it assumes wins over the Chargers, Colts, and a sweeping of both the Dolphins and Jets. A lot of things will have to go right for the Patriots to go (14-2) against 2007's tough schedule. But if any team can do it, it's the Patriots.

View week by week, free NFL predictions for the 2007 New England Patriots below.

NFL Predictions:
In the grid below are FootballLOCKS.com's preseason made straight up, non point spread NFL projections for the 2007 New England Patriots, displayed as predictions of which games are likely to be won and lost. Note these are preseason NFL predictions made before the regular season.