As New England Patriots fans we have been down this road before, an awesome regular season that garnered the top spot in the AFC. Now that the playoffs are about to start we will see just how good this team rally is. Will it be another postseason of disappointment or one of joy?

The last two seasons the Patriots have been one and done in the playoffs, losing both games at home. In 2010 they lost the hated New York Jets. In 2009 the Baltimore Ravens blew them out. In fact the Patriots have lost their last three playoff games going back to their Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants.

There are a few troubling signs for New England heading into the second season. Here are three that concern me.

Poor starts: Although the Patriots are on an eight game winning streak they have started the last three games in dreadful fashion. Week 15 against the Denver Broncos they fell behind 16-7. The next week, against the Miami Dolphins, they were down 17-0 at the half. Finally in Week 17 they were down 21-0 before they blew past the Buffalo Bills. If they continue this trend into the playoffs a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers would likely crush them. Falling down one score is okay, but trailing by several is an issue. The Patriots offense will become even more predictable, in other words passing on every down, and good defenses will get to Tom Brady.

Passing defense: The Patriots are no longer giving up the most passing yardage per game, now that distinction belongs to the Green Bay Packers, but it is definitely a concern. New England’s pass defense has made some mediocre quarterbacks look like All-Pros. The team’s survival in the playoffs will probably depend on the amount of turnovers they can generate. Having Patrick Chung back is definitely a plus as well. If the Pats can continue their bend but don’t break ways then a long playoff run is possible.

Recent history: I hate to say it but this is the same kind of team that has failed the last two seasons. When the Patriots were winning Super Bowls it was with defense. As much fun as it is sometimes to watch Tom Brady chuck it all around, it would be nice to sometimes play a grind it out style. Unfortunately this team is incapable of that.

Conclusion: In my opinion the Patriots would like to see the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Texans so they could face the Bengals in Foxboro. The Steelers, although a bit banged up, present the biggest challenge of all the possible matchups. I would take the Patriots over the Bengals or the Denver Broncos, but not the Steelers. We will see after this weekend which team the Patriots will draw.

Quick notes: Is it wrong that I took so much pleasure when New York Jets imploded and missed the playoffs? I guess that is what you get when you make Santonio Holmes one of your captains. How long do you think it will be before Rex Ryan tells us the Jets will be in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season?

Also a big congratulations to Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker for the impressive seasons they put together. Welker is my favorite current player and I hope we Patriots fans have at least a few more years of watching this craftsman ply his trade. The fact that Gronkowski broke the record for both yardage and touchdowns by a tight end is impressive. If we are extremely lucky he will be a feared weapon for several years like Shannon Sharpe, Tony Gonzalez, and Antonio Gates.

Darren Pare has been a New England Patriots fan for over 25 years and Steve Grogan, Troy Brown and Wes Welker are his favorite all time players.

More from this contributor:

The Patriots All Time Wide Receivers List

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FOXBORO — 

It goes on every week with every team in the NFL. A player goes down and someone shouts, “Man up.”

Injuries are an unwelcome, but grudgingly accepted part of football and no organization is immune to their potentially crippling consequences. But how the talent drain due to sprains, tears, twists, breaks and head shots is dealt with plays a crucial role in determining whether a season will be a success or failure.

The Patriots are 13-2 in large part because Tom Brady, who’s on the verge of becoming the third player in league history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season, has mostly remained upright. That he’s been able to do so despite multiple injuries to his pocket protectors can be directly traced to the universally acknowledged Patriot Way.

“I think there are probably a lot of places that may or may not have handled what we’ve had to go through up front as well,” said Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters, a 12th-year veteran and first-time Patriot. “I think that has to do a lot with the environment here. I think that has a lot to do with the way the organization has been built.

“Over the years you’ve seen a lot of players you’ve never heard of all of a sudden show up and do well and I think it has a lot to do with the way the coaches coach and the way the players take preparation seriously.

“I can definitely say I’ve been around places and been on different teams where a lot of people would have been in frantic or panic situations if they had to deal with some of the things we’ve had to deal with this year.”

At the middle of the medical madness has been the center position, which has dealt with more shuffling than a poker table at Foxwoods. Waters, the only one of the Patriots’ five starting offensive linemen with a chance to play in all 16 games, has lined up next to four different players.

Dan Koppen, who had been snapping for Brady since 2003, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Dan Connolly stepped in at center until he was injured and replaced by Ryan Wendell, who was in turn injured and replaced by Nick McDonald.

Three rather anonymous substitutes, all of whom were undrafted and former practice squad players — two of whom were previously cut by other teams — filled in and did what they were supposed to do with minimal disruption to one of the most complex and prolific offenses in the league.

The bar is set high in Foxboro, and it isn’t lowered for anyone.

“Nobody comes here with limited expectations of themselves because I don’t think that’s going to be allowed here,” Waters said before amending himself. “That’s definitely not allowed here.”

Right tackle Sebastian Vollmer has only been available for six games due to back and foot injuries. Left guard Logan Mankins, a four-time Pro Bowler, suffered a knee injury on Christmas Eve that is expected to sideline him until at least mid-January and left tackle Matt Light, a Pro Bowler last season, missed that game with an ankle injury.

The Patriots replaced that trio against the Dolphins with rookies Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon and journeyman Donald Thomas. And while things were a little rough for one half, the patchwork line ultimately solved its communication issues and allowed Brady to do his thing as the Patriots rallied for a 27-24 victory.

“Everyone knows going into a game that they have to be ready to play,” director of player personnel Nick Caserio said. “Whatever happens before the game, whether it’s a day before the game or the day of the game, there’s really not much you can do about it. We have a lot of confidence in the players that are active for the game, so the expectation is that they’re going to go out there and perform and do their jobs.”

Bill Belichick seconded the motion while pointing out if the coaches didn’t have confidence in the player, he wouldn’t be on the field. You might get called on to douse a fire around here, but you’ll never be thrown into one.

“If they’re out there, we have confidence in them,” Belichick said. “If they’re not out there, there’s either another player ahead of them or we’re not confident that they can go out there and do it. It’s as simple as that. We’re not going to put anybody out there on the field that we don’t have confidence in.”

That in-game trust is built in practice where the offensive line is overseen by one of the best positional coaches in the league.

The Foxboro Faithful are quick to question the credentials of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and wonder if Matt Patricia is fit to be defensive coordinator — de facto or otherwise. But when it comes to Dante Scarnecchia, there are no such concerns.

“He does a hell of a job,” O’Brien said of the 63-year-old, no-nonsense assistant who has worked in the NFL since 1982, all but two of the years with the Patriots.

“I can’t say enough about Dante,” Brady said last week during his weekly paid appearance on WEEI. “His leadership at that position. He really handles the offensive line and coaches those guys extremely hard and he expects nothing less than their best every single day in practice and obviously in the game. I think you really see that.”

It all seems so seamlessly simple, but it isn’t. Just ask the 2-13 Rams or 6-9 Bills, both of whom have missed three-fifths of their starting offensive line for much of a season in which they ended up floundering after no one answered the call to “Man up.”

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—Tom Brady is practicing with the New England
Patriots after being limited in Thursday’s session by an injury to his
non-throwing shoulder.

Two days after sitting out practice, Brady stretched with his teammates
during the brief period open to reporters Friday.

Asked what Brady was able to do Thursday, coach Bill Belichick said Friday:
“Play quarterback, the usual thing.” When asked if Wednesday was a planned day
off for Brady, Belichick said he thought that had been covered.

The Patriots have said Wednesday’s absence was not injury-related.

When asked whether Brady would be able to play Sunday against the Buffalo
Bills, Belichick said that, too, has been covered.

Comcast SportsNet has reported that Brady had X-rays to check for a
separated left shoulder and was told he was “all set.”

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FOXBORO — 

Houston Antwine, one of the Patriots’ top defensive players in their early years, and his wife, Evelyn, have died, the team said yesterday.

Antwine, 72, died Monday in Memphis, Tenn., of heart failure, and his wife died yesterday of lung cancer, the team said.

A member of the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team, Antwine played from 1961-71 with the franchise before spending the 1972 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 142 regular-season games for the Patriots, he had 39 sacks, leading the team in that category during the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons, although sacks were not an official statistic then.

“For those of us who grew up watching the Boston Patriots, this is a really sad day,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. “In the 1960s, the defensive tackle tandem of ‘Twine’ and Jim Lee Hunt were as good as any in the league and helped propel the Patriots to the franchise’s first division championship in 1963.

“I loved hearing Houston’s stories about those early days in Boston. It was such a thrill for me, personally, to spend time with the players from that era.

“I am saddened to learn of the deaths of both Houston and Evelyn and want to express my deepest sympathies to the Antwines’ daughter, Regina, and all who mourn her losses. Let us all cherish life and remind loved ones how we feel about them daily.”

Antwine attended Southern Illinois, where he became a multiple sport athlete, a defensive tackle and an NAIA wrestling champion.

At 6-foot, 270 pounds, he was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the eighth round (64th overall) in 1961, then traded to the Patriots before ever playing a game for the Oilers. Antwine became a defensive catalyst for the Patriots, making the all-star team from 1963-68.

In addition to making the Patriots’ 1960s All-Decade team, he was chosen to the all-time All-AFL team.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Houston Antwine, one of the Patriots’ top defensive players in their early years, and his wife, Evelyn, have died, the team said Tuesday.

Antwine, 72, died Monday in Memphis, Tenn., of heart failure, and his wife died Tuesday of lung cancer, the team said.

A member of the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary Team, Antwine played from 1961-71 with the franchise before spending the 1972 season with the Philadelphia Eagles. In 142 regular-season games for the Patriots, he had 39 sacks, leading the team in that category during the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons, although sacks were not an official statistic then.

“For those of us who grew up watching the Boston Patriots, this is a really sad day,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. “In the 1960s, the defensive tackle tandem of ‘Twine’ and Jim Lee Hunt were as good as any in the league and helped propel the Patriots to the franchise’s first division championship in 1963.

“I loved hearing Houston’s stories about those early days in Boston. It was such a thrill for me, personally, to spend time with the players from that era.

“I am saddened to learn of the deaths of both Houston and Evelyn and want to express my deepest sympathies to the Antwine’s daughter, Regina, and all who mourn her losses. Let us all cherish life and remind loved ones how we feel about them daily.”

Antwine attended Southern Illinois, where he became a multiple sport athlete, a defensive tackle and an NAIA wrestling champion.

At 6-foot, 270 pounds, he was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the eighth round (64th overall) in 1961, then traded to the Patriots before ever playing a game for the Oilers. Antwine became a defensive catalyst for the Patriots, making the all-star team from 1963-1968.

In addition to making the Patriots 1960s All-Decade team, he was chosen to the all-time All-AFL team.

Services and burial information were not yet available.