While the New England Patriots suffered greatly with the late season injury to their go-to wide receiver Wes Welker, the 2009 Pats just never quite seemed to hit the full stride we have all grown accustomed to. Yes, they did rack up nearly sixty points on the Titans, including a five touchdown quarter, but overall New England was inconsistent, and even at 10-6 just plain bad on the road (8-0 home, 2-6 away). It seemed as though quarterback Tom Brady never really returned to form after missing all of 2008, but opponents and fans should not plan on another season like that; more than likely they can look forward to Brady back at one-hundred percent which will mean a much better Patriots team that will probably win about thirteen games and be in the mix for yet another Super Bowl ring.

There are facts to back up New England’s return to prominence; the Patriots did win the AFC East for seventh time in the past nine seasons, and have won at least nine games in nine consecutive seasons. The Pats had also won seventeen consecutive regular-season games against the NFC – the longest winning streak any team has posted against the opposite conference since the 1970 merger – before falling to the New Orleans Saints in Week 12.

While maybe a bit inconsistent and not as explosive as past seasons, the New England Patriots’ offense was still very productive. Brady recorded the 30th 300-yard passing game of his career, surpassing Drew Bledsoe (26) for the most 300-yard games in team history. Welker, who led the team in receiving, finished second in team history with 1,348 receiving yards (11 yards per catch) and tied for second all-time with 123 receptions, while his 8.8 receptions per game average is second in NFL history to Marvin Harrison who leads with 8.9 RPG (minimum 10 games played). In addition to Welker’s impressive consistency and reliability, Randy Moss has recorded 35 games with two or more touchdown receptions, second-most in NFL history to Jerry Rice (44). Moss also became the seventh player to reach the 14,000 receiving yard milestone with 14,465 which now ranks him sixth on the all-time list.

On the other side of the ball, the defense is going through a changing of the guard so to speak. Linebackers Jerod Mayo (103 tackles, 70 solo, 33 assists) and Tully Banta-Cain (9.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss) led the Patriots in tackles and sacks/tackles for loss respectively, while defensive ends Derrick Burgess and Mike Wright each chalked up 5 sacks of their own. No, the names may not be the ones you remember, but the talent is seemingly there for the results to be the same in 2010.

The Pats look to once again win big with Tom Brady at the helm, and at full strength. Do not miss out on the opportunity to see this great team battle back to the top of the AFC while once again striking fear in each and every opponent. Get your New England Patriots tickets now and be there for all the excitement each week at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.