In the excitement of getting ready for the trip to Las Vegas, Zoneblitz.com didn’t get around to posting predictions for the NFL season. We’ll try to get those finished up here heading into week two.

Given that we already know about the week one injury to Tom Brady we might have an unfair advantage over many experts who posted their predictions weeks in advance of the season.
That said, his injury won’t change one prediction – I still believe the New England Patriots will win the AFC East.

The Pats had one of the league’s easiest schedules heading into 2008. While Matt Cassel is nothing if not unproven it doesn’t change the weaponry around him. Brady’s injury likely makes running backs Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and possibly even LaMont Jordan stronger fantasy football plays as the team will probably adjust to the injury by making their offense more conservative.

But don’t think that guys like Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Ben Watson will go underutilized. Cassel showed that his arm has some zip in throwing a touchdown strike to Moss in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against Kansas City. Given some time to adapt to being a starter, Cassel will likely acclimate and in time learn how to use of the weapons at his disposal.

I would have predicted 14-2, give or take a game, if Brady had not gotten hurt. I’d guess that the Patriots still have enough talent to go between 10-6 and 12-4 during the regular season. Anything less than that and I would be shocked.

When it comes to the playoffs, that changes. I now expect that the Patriots will have much stiffer competition for a playoff bye. Jacksonville or Indianapolis from the AFC South will be in contention for one of the first week layoffs as will San Diego in the West, though the Patriots benefit from losses by all of those clubs in week one.

Pittsburgh also looked fantastic in crushing Houston, but I’m not completely sold on them as a contender for a bye – though that could change quickly, if they show that week one was a trend.

If the Patriots somehow still manage to find a way to spend the first week of the playoffs resting at home I can see them advancing deep into the playoffs. If they have to play during Wild Card weekend I think it’s an early exit for the New Englanders, who gave the world a glimpse of their vulnerabilities on Super Bowl Sunday in February.

As we approach week two, this is all guesswork. Cassel doesn’t have much of a grace period to adjust to his new role. While the Patriots are superior in talent to the New York Jets, the Belichick vs Mangini rivaly will make this a competitive matchup anyway. In all likelihood we’ll have a better idea in seven days whether or not Cassel has the stuff it is going to take to keep New England somewhere toward the top of the AFC in 2008.