New England Patriots

As you might have heard, the New England Patriots had a pretty good run in 2007 and nearly pulled off the first perfect season since, of course, those 1972 Miami Dolphins. Coach Bill Belichick's boys won all 16 of their regular-season games by an average of nearly 20 PPG, and set several new league offensive records and causing no small stir in the football betting business.

New England then beat Jacksonville and San Diego in the playoffs, but signs of mortality were apparent late in the season in three-point wins over Philadelphia, Baltimore and the New York Giants. And, of course, a month later the G-Men pulled the upset as nearly two-TD underdogs, beating New England 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.

While the Pats made money for their financial backers in nine of their first 10 games last year, opponents and the oddsmakers adjusted and New England went just 1-5 against the NFL betting odds over its last six games, and 0-3 ATS in the playoffs. Still, the Pats are now 104-40 straight up and 83-57 against the spread under Belichick.

The Patriots led the league in total offense last year at 411 YPG, and ranked 13^th in rushing at 116 YPG, while the defense ranked 4^th overall at 288 YPG and 10^th vs. the run at 98 YPG. New England also led the league, by far, in total yardage at +123 per game, and ranked 2^nd in average time-of-possession at +5:10.

QB Tom Brady threw a league-record 50 touchdown passes last season, and WR Randy Moss proved he's still a great deep threat, racking up 1,500 receiving yards and catching a record-breaking 23 TDs. RB Laurence Maroney averaged 4.5 YPC, and first-year Patriot Wes Welker caught 112 balls for nearly 1,200 yards.

The defense, playing almost exclusively with a lead, picked off 19 passes and ranked 2^nd in the league in sacks with 47. But this defense is getting on in years, especially at linebacker. And they lost a couple of defensive starters over the offseason, including CB Asante Samuel, so their top three draft choices went toward that side of the ball.

The Patriots have won the last five Eastern Division titles, four of the last eight AFC crowns and three of the last eight Super Bowls. And they're the favorites to win it all this season. There's no reason to believe the offense won't light up the scoreboard again, and some youth may add some vigor to the defense. Ironically, the last Super Bowl runner-up to win The Big One the following season remains those '72 Dolphins. The Patriots could break that string this year.