A year ago, the Patriots shocked draft analysts and fans alike with the selection of Nate Solder with the 17^th overall pick.

The team then made a shrewd move in the fifth round and took the mammoth Marcus Cannon from TCU. Once thought to be a second-rounder, Cannon fell because of medical concerns when he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Fortunately for the Pats, both rookies gained valuable experience in 2011, although I’m sure most didn’t envision Solder starting 13 games.

While Solder still has work to do in the weight room and in pass protection, he looks like a potential Pro Bowler down the line. Cannon has tremendous size and strength and could be an option at right guard if Brian Waters retires or doesn’t return.

Along with the two rookies, the Pats are set at left guard with perennial Pro Bowler Logan Mankins and right tackle (assuming Sebastian Vollmer gets healthy). However, center could be a position they wish to address in the draft along with depth on the interior.

Let’s take a look at five potential Patriots on the offensive line.

1. Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin: For almost a decade, the Pats have relied on tough, athletic and undersized players on the interior. Konz fits the first two characteristics, but would be a considerable size upgrade. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder started 30 games in three seasons at center and is considered an intelligent player. He does have some injury concerns, but would be able to play guard or center. He is projected as a late first-rounder.

2. Ben Jones, C, Georgia: Playing in the SEC is no joke, especially when it’s in the trenches. Jones has squared off against the likes of Marcel Dareus, Michael Brockers, Terrence Cody and Josh Chapman during his four years in Athens. Jones is renowned for his initial quickness off the snap and has a ton of starting experience. Needs to get stronger, but should be a starter at the next level. He is projected as a second-round pick.

3. Mike Brewster, C, Ohio State: A former five-star recruit, Brewster opted to leave Florida for Ohio and hasn’t looked back. Although he isn’t an elite athlete, Brewster is a tough-nosed, nasty center who has good technique. He’s a worker who makes the calls at the line and will be a leader. He is projected to go between rounds three and four.

4. Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin: The Badgers churn out offensive linemen every year, so it’s no surprise that Zeitler joins his teammate Konz on this list. Zeitler will draw comparisons to Seattle’s 2011 third-round pick John Moffitt, but Zeitler is more athletic and plays with better leverage. The 6-foot-4, 318-pounder is well regarded for his downfield blocking and is dependable. He is projected to go between rounds two and three.

5. Will Blackwell, C/G, LSU: The Patriots love versatility, and Blackwell fits their mold of a guy who can play multiple positions. He’s battle-tested in the SEC and was named a First-Team All-American by several media outlets. His best football may be ahead of him once he gets stronger. He is projected to go in the middle rounds.

With the Patriots season coming to an end on Sunday, it's time to take a look back at the team and break down their performance by position. We'll start up front this week with the offensive linemen. The group played well for most of the season, allowing Tom Brady to be sacked only 32 times, good for ninth in the NFL.

New England was in the middle of the pack when it comes to run blocking, averaging four yards per carry. It's no surprise that the Patriots had the most success when running to the left side, behind Matt Light and Logan Mankins. The Pats managed 21 rushes of 10 yards or more when running to the left side, compared to just five rushes of 10+ yards up the middle, and 13 to the right side. Mankins was a Pro Bowler this year.

One thing that has gone overlooked for much of the season is the fact that the Patriots lost their starting Center to an ankle injury in week one against the Dolphins. Dan Koppen never returned to the team, and New England converted guard Dan Connoly to Center. Connoly also suffered an injury this year in a Monday Night blowout victory over Kansas City, forcing third string Center Ryan Wendell to start. Despite these injuries to one of the most important positions on the field, the big guys still held their ground and protected Tom Terrific all season long.

The addition of veteran and future hall of famer Brian Waters at right guard was one of the more important offseason moves by New England last summer after the lockout. Waters made the pro bowl for the sixth time in his career this season. Much was made about the pass rush of the New York Giants heading into Super Bowl Sunday, but the Pats didn't allow a sack until late in the third quarter. Waters has stated that he is considering retirement, and rumor has it that the Pats may allow Koppen to walk as an unrestricted free agent. If either, or both of these scenarios take place, New England will have some holes to fill. However, Waters has stated that if he doesn't retire, he will remain with New England.

Report Card

Pass Blocking: B+

Run Blocking: B-

Overall: B

I like to think that I've been pretty magnanimous in the wake of the Patriots' crushing loss in Super Bowl XLVI.  I took tons of crap on Monday morning from bandwagoning Giants fans galore, and I took it all in stride with dignity like a true disciple of Belichick should do.  I congratulated those few true Giants fans who deserved a victory nod.  But if you'd allow me the opportunity to briefly play the role of the sore loser and get something off my chest that's been eating away at me for over 48 hours now, I'd really appreciate it.  As much as I've put on a good front the past two days, I still bleed if you cut me and I just need a chance to whine for a little bit.

We all know that Welker's drop was a big mistake, and probably a Super Bowl-costing mistake.  We all know that the Patriots shouldn't have had 12 men on the field when the Giants fumbled early in the game.  And we all know that Brady should have been a little more careful than to air out that interception and prematurely kill what could have very well been a Patriots scoring drive.  Those were all pretty bad miscues by the Patriots that in all likelihood cost them the title.However, I can live with all of those because they were miscues by the Patriots, and if you make mistakes, then you deserve to lose.  They are no different than Billy Cundiff shanking that field goal. 

What's really been eating away at me happened on the very first offensive play of the game for New England.  Yup, the safety. Here's another look for those of you who can stomach Super Bowl footage this soon after the fact:

When the referee announced the safety, I was beyond irate.  Was he within his rights to determine that Brady intentionally grounded the ball?  Yes.  Should he have ever made that call?  I will go to my grave believing that he should not have.   Not in the Super Bowl.  Not on a play like that one.

Intentional grouding at its very essence is a judgement call.  It's not black and white like a receiver being in or out of bounds. You can't review it with replay.  It's something that occurs within a set of defined parameters and it is up to the referee to then interpret the intent of the passer.  In my opinion, in this situation, where you are going to award possession of the ball to the opposing team and put up two points on the board, IN THE SUPER BOWL, you had better have clear, undeniable evidence of the intent of the quarterback to ground the ball before you make that call.  It's a major, potentially game-changing call and should not be made lightly, and I personally just don't understand how you can watch that footage and say a reversal of fortune of that magnitude was justified based on what took place.

If Justin Tuck had Brady wrapped up and was in the process of dragging him down for a legitimate safety and then Tom made a lame duck attempt to get rid of the ball, then intentional grounding absolutely should have been called.  However, that didn't happen.  In fact, nothing remotely close to that took place.  Brady chucked the football nearly 50 yards down the field, representing plenty of time to make his throw.  He had the ball released before Tuck even made contact with him.  Al Michaels mentions that Tuck hit Brady "late", and, in fact, when I initially saw the flag, I thought the Patriots were going to benefit from a roughing the passer call.  Yes, Brady was clearly getting rid of the ball vs. targeting a receiver, and if he was smart he would have aimed out of bounds instead of down the field, but Brady's throw was not an act of desperation in a last second attempt to avoid a safety.  There was never any real danger that the Pats were going to surrender two points on that play. 

And that's exactly what makes that call so maddening to me.  The ref was allowed to make the call within the rules of the game, but the call went completely against the spirit of the rule, which is to prevent QB's from cheaply getting of out sacks by making misguided last-ditch throws as they are being taken down.  Intentional grounding is a judgement call, and as such, the referee would have been equally as justified to let this one slide.  In a game of this magnitude, in a situation like this one, you absolutely have to swallow your whistle.  The penalty is simply too costly to justify enforcing it in this particular situation. 

When the safety was called, I prayed that this early play would not have late-game implications.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  Had the Patriots been leading 17-13 instead of 17-15, the Giants final drive may have had a very different outcome.  Suddenly, a field goal would have been useless instead of game-winning.  Make no bones about it, those two points changed EVERYTHING about how the final three minutes of Super Bowl XLVI played out.  Would Eli Manning have led the Giants to a touchdown regardless and won the game?  We will never know. 

But I can't help but ask myself, what if...

I'm going to scrap the whole Super Bowl points system since nobody earned enough to dethrone Stephen and I'd rather not calculate who came the closest to predicting a 17-21 loss. 

Anyway, congrats to Stephen, our winner and season MVP.  You are truly the Eli Manning of our fine group of writers.  (No, I'm not bitter about finishing last at all...)

...to the refs for giving the Giants 2 free points at the beginning of the game.  Those points didn't affect the outcome at all.

...to the 12th person on the field when the Giants fumbled the ball away in the red zone early in the game.

...to Tom Brady for making another stupid long-bomb interception, just like the one he made two weeks ago against Baltimore.

...to Wes Welker for dropping a wide open pass that would have nearly iced the game.

...to Bill Belichick for not thinking of letting the Giants score two plays earlier, saving a time out and a good 30+ seconds.  It was a classic Madden move that came a little too late.

And now that I have that off my chest, all sarcasm aside...

Thank you to the New England Patriots, for an incredible season. It's a game of inches, and we just came up a few short.  If Gronk doesn't bust up his ankle, if we made a catch here, a play there...   At the same time, if Bill Cundiff kicks the ball six more inches to the right, we might not have even been here.  That's what makes the game so beautiful, and so maddening at the same time.  Only one team out of 32 ends the season happy.  It wasn't our turn. 

Here's hoping we can have a different outcome for XLVII.  Because hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

It's time for the final Pick 'Em of the season.  The Patriots are representing the AFC in the Super Bowl XLVI, and it will come as no surprise that all five of our staff members are backing the Pats.  However, just to keep things interesting, we're including a score prediction and an MVP prediciton.  The scoring for this round will be as follows:  2 points for picking the game, 1 point for picking the closest combined score, 1 point for picking the closest to the actual point differential, and 2 points for correctly picking the Super Bowl MVP.

GO PATS!

Game	Derek	Jason	Rick	Stephen	Trevor
NYG vs. NE
Score	31-24	34-26	30-27	24-21	27-24
MVP	Brady	Hernandez	Welker	Hernandez	Brady
Last Week	2-0	1-1	1-1	2-0	2-0
Record	62-55	73-44	74-43	78-39	69-48

We waited two weeks for this game. We have heard all the stories surrounding the Super Bowl and some stories that weren’t really stories. Whether it was the New York Post publishing Giselle Bundchen’s E-Mail praying for Tom Brady or New York tabloids putting Brady’s pep rally comments out of proportion, the stories have been way too much. On Sunday night, we will finally get the game kicked off at 6:30 EST on NBC. The New York Giants will battle the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This is a re-match of a meeting earlier this year back in Week 9 where the Giants stunned the Patriots in Gillette Stadium 24-20 on a last second touchdown pass by Eli Manning to Jake Ballard. However, a lot of Patriots’ fans want some form of revenge for the Super Bowl four years ago where New York ended New England’s perfect season in Glendale 17-14. The Patriots will try to finish off the Rock Band Revenge Tour where they atone for heartbreaking losses over the past few seasons.

The big storyline for the Patriots is the status of tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronk suffered a high ankle sprain in the 4^th quarter of the Pats’ AFC Championship win over the Baltimore Ravens. He did participate in practice on Thursday on a limited basis, but he will not be 100% for this game. The Giants are a hot team, winning their last five games, but it seems the national media has chosen to dismiss the Patriots’ ten game winning streak. Even though the Giants are three point underdogs, they seem to be everyone’s pick this year.

On that note, it’s time to discuss some of the major keys for this Super Bowl:

1. Protect from Pass Rush: Tom Brady said earlier this week that he was terrorized from the New York Giants’ pass rush. Who can blame him? In the last two meetings, Big Blue has seven sacks against the Patriots’ quarterback, which includes the likes of Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Jason Pierre-Paul. The key for the Patriots to neutralize that pass rush is to provide some balance in their offense. They have to run the football with the duo of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead. The Pats ran for 86 yards on 21 carries against Baltimore, but abandoned the run most of the 2^nd half. Maybe this time we will see Belichick give Eli Manning the Brady treatment by making him watch long drives from the sidelines. If New England is not successful at the run, it may be a long day for Brady in the pocket.

2. Elite Eli?: Yes, folks, Eli Manning IS an elite quarterback. He has played like it this year, particularly in the playoffs. Manning has eight touchdowns to just one interception in the postseason. He has the better group of wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Mario Manningham. I wouldn’t rule out tight end Jake Ballard as a legitimate option because he stepped up on the final drive at Gillette this year. I do think Manning will get his fair share of yards, but they need their ground game as well. The Patriots’ defensive line has put more pressure on the quarterback this postseason. If Eli throws the ball 50+ times, he will turn the ball over at least once because New England’s pass defense may give up yards, but they always force crucial turnovers. With Ahmad Bradshaw playing for New York in this matchup, the front four will need to neutralize the big runs after they gave up 72 yards and a touchdown to Brandon Jacobs in the first matchup.

3. Yo Soy Fiesta: This key is all about Rob Gronkowski. He is one of the key players for this Patriots’ team since he had the best season by a tight end in NFL history. There is no way that he will be 100% by Sunday, but maybe the adrenaline of the game and a little halftime injection can help him get through it. People say that he won’t make a impact, but even as a decoy, his impact will be felt.

I compare him to the likes of Terrell Owens from the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory over the Eagles. Owens played that Super Bowl for Philly with basically a broken leg and caught nine passes for 122 yards. While I don’t think Gronk will repeat that performance, I think he can catch five passes for between 60 and 80 yards. The Patriots need those two tight end formations in order to be successful. I look for Wes Welker to make an impact since he averages over 120 receiving yards in the last three meetings against New York.

PREDICTION TIME: I live in New York City, so I am seen a ton of Giants’ coverage over the last two weeks with players planning parades and Pierre-Paul saying Brady is skittish. My message would be to not underestimate the power duo that is Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. As for the game itself, I expect this game to start off very low scoring like the other meetings. The second half will be the shootout half as Eli and Brady will put up a ton of points.

It will come down to who has the ball last and here’s my scenario. Giants will lead this game with 2:00 to go and Brady will drive down the field and get the touchdown that people are looking for him to end a game with a touchdown pass. Brady will win his 4^th Super Bowl with a touchdown to Welker.

PATRIOTS 30 GIANTS 27

My MVP: WES WELKER!

We, at Foxboro Blog, thank you for reading all of our game previews this season and now it’s time for the Lombardi Trophy to come back to Foxboro!!

When Lawrence Tynes sent the football through the uprights to win the NFC Championship game, I knew exactly the words that would reverberate through media outlets in the morning: revenge.  After the legendary drama that ensued from the underdog Giants dethroning the undefeated Patriots four years ago, it would be nearly impossible to look at Sunday's matchup without seeing the backdrop of XLII.  In the following days, those involved with the game, downplayed that storyline, spilling cliche's that what happened four years ago is history, that these are two different teams, and that the only thing that matters is the 60 minutes on the clock.  Despite the truth of those sentiments, I think it's all but certain that the millions watching Super Bowl XLVI will be inundated with highlights of "The Helmet Catch" and "18-1".  Yes, the "Revenge Bowl" will soon be underway.

As the 2011 Divisonal Round Playoffs came to a conclusion with the Patriots fresh off a defeat of the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens on tap, an the New York Giants looming on the NFC side of the bracket, something incredible clicked inside my head.  Like Kiefer Sutherland's kid in "Touch", all the numbers suddenly came together and created an unbelievable roadmap.  However, before I get to that, let me take a step back and return to the beginning...

First it was Dwight Freeney.

Then it was Maurkice Pouncey.

Now it’s Rob Gronkowski.

Three superstars, three bum ankles.

The curse of the Super Bowl high ankle sprain bit again, this time against the Patriots All-World tight end who we thought was made of pure steel.

Gronk’s ankle has been the talk of the town in Indianapolis. When he showed up to Media Day without a boot, it sent shockwaves through Twitter and ESPN.

Osi Umenyiora said he doesn’t think Gronk will play on Sunday.

That’s just plain stupid.

Gronk will dress and be on the field, but the true question is, how effective will he be?

Number 87 is quite possibly the most important player on offense outside of Tom Brady.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound goofball/superhero is the definition of a throwback tight end.

Sure, Jimmy Graham of the Saints posted some ridiculous receiving numbers, but have you seen that guy block? How many highlights have you seen of Antonio Gates pancaking Terrell Suggs on a chip block?

That’s what separates Gronk from the rest. The second-year kid takes pride in blocking and just happens to be an excellent receiver.

Because of his size and strength, Gronk draws a double team on almost every play. He can beat you down the seam with his speed, and is a beast in the open field…when healthy.

Gronkowski has been healthy his entire NFL career and without a true diagnosis of his injury, none of us can be sure about how effective he’ll be in the Super Bowl.

Luckily, there is some precedent for players playing through the pain of the high ankle sprain.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger battled through a gruesome ankle injury this year, and I’d argue his injury looked worse and his position requires a little more agility, especially moving in the pocket.

Freeney played in the Super Bowl against the Saints in ’09 and managed to get a sack in the first half.

One factor that doesn’t help the Patriots is the Super Bowl halftime show, which can run for almost 30 minutes.

With such a long layover, the adrenaline and perhaps any pain-killing injections will have time to wear off which could limit his effectiveness in the second half.

If Gronk is playing at less than 75 percent and is used more as a decoy, it’ll be a tough task for New England to generate offense.

Besides Gronk, the only consistently effective receivers are Wes Welker and Aaaron Hernandez. I have faith that Deion Branch will step up in the spotlight, but he can often disappear in games.

The key for the Giants defense is to be physical at the line of scrimmage with Welker and Branch and to assign their best coverage linebacker or safety on Hernandez. If they’re successful in doing that, it’ll be a long day for the Patriots.