Back in '07, during Asante Samuel's holdout, I was absolutely convinced that if he re-upped for that season, the Pats would just roll to 19-0 because THAT team appeared to me to be loaded with proven talent while their scheduled opponents appeared to be stumbling and struggling that off-season. It's obviously ironic that Samuel's butterfingers play in the SB was a major contribution to the Pats falling just short of perfection.
But, I'm not getting the same strong vibe from this team. Yet. Just too many questions on the roster that won't be answered until TC. A lot of significant talent has been added this off-season, and in exactly the right places, but some of it, especially on defense, remains unproven to me - not only the rookies, but the veteran FA acquisitions as well. There seems to be a great potential for much better balance between offensive and defensive contributions and better balance on offense, scheme-wise. I simply have yet to actually see it coming together to fully-exploit that potential.
Also at least a few of the teams on the 2012 schedule appear be coming together well this off-season, so far.
Just to be clear, making the post-season seems almost a given, though getting the #1 seed seems much less so to me right now. I'd expect this team, as it stands, to man-handle a few of their 2012 opponents, but also to have to bring their "A+" game and fight very hard to get the W against a few others. All of them will need to be taken seriously (see: Cleveland, 2010).
It's cliche, of course, to say that "anything can happen in the playoffs" and that the health of key players is critical to surviving the gauntlet, but I do feel, OTOH, that if they can make it through to the SB on solid performances that require few lucky breaks, they'll have a much better chance at bringing home another ring than they did in 2011.
Cautiously optimistic.
arty: 
