New England Patriots 2016 Season Prediction

Week 1: New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals *NBC 8:30pm EST*

Season opener.

On the Road.

Against the Arizona Cardinals.

This is not going to be an easy one.

Patriots’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo has started games before, but not of this magnitude and not against this kind of talent. There is a possible scenario where Garoppolo enters the game and pulls a Tom Brady.  There is also a chance that Darrelle Revis comes back to New England at the beginning of the season on a $1 million dollar deal (wouldn’t be a bad idea).

If Jimmy Garoppolo starts this game, it’s hard to really believe that he will have a great night. He is going to struggle. The first game of the season likely won’t go as planned, especially against one of most well-rounded teams in the league both offensively and defensively. It’s also likely he may be overwhelmed, whether it’s because it’s on the big stage or whether it’s having to lead a team.

This will also be the first game that former Patriots’ Defensive End Chandler Jones starts with another team after being traded in mid-March. It would be foolish to believe that he won’t be as motivated as ever to stick it to the Patriots and make them regret the trade.

Patriots wide receivers’ Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola had offseason surgeries, and there is a chance they may not be 100% for the opener of the season. There is really no reason to rush both of them back, so the Patriots would look at Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, and Aaron Dobson (if he makes it out of training camp with the team) to step up.

Also, as most know with Bill Belichick teams, majority of the time, they start off slow (that is, unless their team has been called cheaters by the world). This won’t be a pretty game, especially with it being on the road.

Record: 0-1

Next: Week 2 - Home Coming