The NFL schedule has been released for the upcoming season, and it looks like the Patriots will be jumping right into the fire to start things off. With a boatload of tough matchups from the jump, this New England team will be pressured and tested very early.

As all the teams around them in the AFC East improve significantly, the roster has improved only slightly around the edges, especially on defense. Have the Patriots slid down the list of teams in their division? Are they the 4th best defense in the East? Greg Bedard discusses some of that as well as some early-season schedule predictions in this segment of The Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast.

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