Niner Noise
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NFL power rankings: Final 32-team breakdown ahead of the 2018 draft

By Peter Panacy

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: (L-R) A detailed view of the pick is in for the #1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: (L-R) A detailed view of the pick is in for the #1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots speaks to the media after losing 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots speaks to the media after losing 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images) /

team. 47. . . Previous: . New England Patriots. 5

Depending how much you believe on the report from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, the Patriots are either going to prove us all wrong again or finally start the long-awaited fall-apart process pundits have been predicting for years.

Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady will turn 41 years old before the regular season starts. And as his old rival, Peyton Manning, will tell you, the cliff from perennial All-Pro to ineffective game manager is both sharp and steep.

Still, Brady tossed for over 500 yards in the Pats’ Super Bowl loss to the Eagles and would have been the game’s MVP had it not been for everything Philly did right in the contest.

So, does everything start crashing down this season?

Losing left tackle Nate Solder hurts, and it’s anyone’s guess how head coach Bill Belichick goes about replacing cornerback Malcolm Butler. Yet Belichick has turned mastery work out of less-known player commodities before.

Why should we expect anything different in 2018?

No, New England isn’t going away this season.