by Mike Reiss | ESPN.com

SECRET SUPERSTAR LB Jamie Collins In the playoffs vs. Indy, Collins notched four run stops and a sack and allowed two catches for 12 yards. His +7.0 Pro Football Focus grade was the best by a 4-3 OLB in 2013. Expect more in Year 2.

-- Sam Monson best & worst Will win 14 if Darrelle Revis is the D's missing piece and TE Rob Gronkowski plays 16. Will win 10 if DT Vince Wilfork, LB Jerod Mayo and Gronk miss 30-plus games like they did in 2013.

-- Field Yates GAME-BY-GAME PREDICTIONS By Advanced Football Analytics Patriots' Projected Record 12-4 WIN LOSS WINLOSS Sept. 7 @ MIA 28-14

Sept. 14 @ MIN 30-13

Sept. 21 vs. OAK 38-24

Sept. 29 @ KC 16-6

Oct. 5 vs. CIN 38-31

Oct. 12 @ BUF 38-10

Oct. 16 vs. NYJ 13-7

Oct. 26 vs. CHI 33-10

Nov. 2 vs. DEN 31-27

Nov. 16 @ IND 15-10

Nov. 23 vs. DET 20-13

Nov. 30 @ GB 27-17

Dec. 7 @ SD 31-9

Dec. 14 vs. MIA 21-14

Dec. 21 @ NYJ 27-24

Dec. 28 vs. BUF 28-17 Vegas Vibe By LVH SuperBook Super Bowl Odds 8-1 Over/Under Wins 10.5 More NFL NFL Nation Top 50 breakout players Top 10 impact rookies Sando's coaching tiers Fantasy football home

Revis Island Relocation

In case the Patriots didn't already know what Darrelle Revis could do, the All-Pro cornerback intercepted Tom Brady twice on the third day of training camp. "A lot of times he runs routes before the receivers run them," says coach Bill Belichick. But before Belichick and Revis could join forces, they had to clear the air. As a Jet, Revis once called Belichick a jerk. Meanwhile, Revis had no idea how Belichick truly viewed him. "Everything changed when we sat down," Revis says. "We put it behind us." In so doing, they ensured that the Patriots can move on to the business of trying to stay atop the AFC East.

Best-Kept Secret

Belichick might have the best linebacker corps in his 15 years as coach with Jerod Mayo in the middle, flanked by Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower. When the Patriots were winning Super Bowls, one could make the argument that the linebacker position -- with Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson, Roman Phifer, Bryan Cox, Rosevelt Colvin and Co. -- was the heart and soul of the defense. This season's group has the potential to have a similar impact and Belichick has invested significant capital to put it all together, tabbing Mayo (2008, 10th overall) and Hightower (2012, 25th overall) in the first round and Collins in the second (2013, 52nd overall). Because Mayo and Collins are understated and seldom offer up a sizzling sound bite, and Hightower seems to prefer to fly under the radar, the spotlight hasn't really shined on this group. That could quickly change once the games start.

Worst-kept secret

The Patriots' offense needs tight end Rob Gronkowski badly, especially in the red zone. Consider that in the seven games Gronkowski was active last season, the Patriots converted 69 percent of their trips inside the red zone into touchdowns. New England was much less productive in that area when Gronkowski wasn't active in the first six weeks (41 percent) and the last three weeks (46 percent). Gronkowski says he plans to play the full 16-game regular season, and that would change everything for the Patriots, who don't have great depth at the position behind him. Outside of Brady, and perhaps Revis, there is no more important player to the team than Gronkowski.

QB Confidential

As told to NFL Nation, an active player gives his assessment of QB Tom Brady:

"With him, you really have to do your job and whatever your assignment is. If you got man [coverage], stay locked up on him. If you have zone [coverage], stay in your zone, because if you try to freelance and jump a route, he is too smart for that. He will read it and expose you. So stay back, do your assignment and make the plays when it comes to you. That's how you beat him. He's very smart. He is a guy that takes what is given to him. He's going to throw to the open guy. He has a good offensive line, so he's going to have time to throw the ball and he's going to take the matchups that he likes."



Make-or-break stretch

Brady recently said that a team truly doesn't know what it has until December, and it's almost as if he was looking at the schedule when he said that. A Nov. 2 home game against the Broncos, followed by the bye and then a Sunday night road game against the Colts looks like the iron of the schedule. After a home date with Detroit, then it's a challenging back-to-back road set against the Packers (Nov. 30) and Chargers (Dec. 7) in which Belichick is considering keeping the team out West for the week leading into the Sunday night game at San Diego. That stretch should tell us all we need to know about the Patriots.

Reiss' prediction

The Patriots remain the class of the AFC East and should once again be in the playoff mix, posting double-digit wins in the regular season (we went with 12-4, agreeing with the Advanced Football Analytics projection). Then the question becomes whether they're healthy and built to last in the playoffs. With so many resources devoted to defense the past few years, and the possibility of having seven first-round draft picks on D on the field at the same time, the foundation is there to answer that question with authority. This team has Super Bowl potential.