Gronk proved his value twofold in 2012. He dominated when on the field with 11 touchdowns in 11 games. He was a glaring absence in the home title-game loss to the Ravens, sitting out with the second break of his left forearm in two months.

No. 12 continues to be the No. 1 catalyst on the Patriots No. 1-ranked offensive attack as he paced the passing game with 4,827 yards and 34 touchdowns with just eight interceptions in another MVP-caliber season.

Moving back to his college position of defensive end, Ninkovich proved himself New England's most effective, consistent defensive playmaker.

While injuries limited the team's top pick late in the year, Jones still had an impressive six sacks to go along with a team-best 12 QB hits, three forced fumbles and five passes defensed.

Vereen had just eight catches for 149 yards during the regular season, but his only touchdown of the year ( an 88-yard TD catch versus the Jets) was the Patriots biggest play of the season and the longest pass play in the AFC.

New England was staring down a potential 21-7 halftime deficit in Buffalo, as well as a possible three-game losing streak in the first four weeks, when Spikes blew up Spiller on the goal line and forced the ball free to kickstart an eventual 52-28 victory

Lloyd was all smiles as he went vertical to haul in Tom Brady's 25-yard touchdown. PFW photographer Keith Nordstrom was in the right place at the right time for one of the greatest sports photos we'll ever see.

New England's two first-round picks couldn't have drawn up a better start to their careers than Jones' sack and forced fumble that was swiftly scooped up by Hightower for the touchdown in Tennessee on opening day.

New England's dynamic tight end duo of Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have brought new flare to Patriots touchdowns. Gronk took that to a new level across the pond when he mimicked "that little nutcracker dude" before his trademark spike at Wembley.

In what has become the infamous image of a debacle of a season for Sanchez and the Jets, the quarterback ran smack into the butt of guard Brandon Moore and lost the ball. Steve Gregory returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.

Replacement referees were a major embarrassment for the NFL this season, and that led to a lot of anger for Bill Belichick and the rest of Patriots Nation in the loss in Baltimore. Some still wonder if the Ravens game-winning field goal was actually good.

Twice during the season the Patriots had players battle their sibling, as Chandler Jones twice faced off against Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones, while Devin McCourty and twin Jason McCourty did battle on opening day.

Ridley had a breakout second season with 1,200 yards, but was just as notable off the field for frequently wearing an adult-sized hooded onesie in the Gillette Stadium locker room.

Belichick pulled the trigger on a trading-deadline deal to fill his team's biggest need by tossing Talib into the secondary mix. The move paid off: when Talib was healthy he matched up with opposing top receivers.

Showing a draft-day aggression unseen in New England in quite some time, Bill Belichick twice traded up in the first round to add playmakers to his defense in the form of Jones and Hightower.

Looking to lock up its dynamic tight end duo to remain the heart of the Patriots passing attack for the foreseeable future, New England invested nearly $100 million last summer in extensions for Gronkowski and Hernandez.

Technically the Patriots erased a 28-point deficit on the scoreboard against San Francisco, but really the game felt more like the 49ers defense let its foot off the gas and lost some fire when Justin Smith left with injury.

Only a master plumber works with better pipes than Santos, who walked away from the Patriots radio broadcast booth this winter after 36 years as the voice of the team.

Lightning may not strike twice, but apparently a broken arm can as Gronkowski snapped his left forearm twice in less than two months.

There were a lot of injuries and movement on the Patriots offensive line in 2012, but through it all the first-year starting center Wendell was a solid force in the middle of Brady's front line.

Hard to explain the Williams College mascot, the Ephs - aka the Purple Cows - and equally difficult to figure out exactly how things went so strangely wrong with a large group of veteran free agent additions in 2012.

The Kraft family and Gillette Stadium dedicated a black permanently empty seat in the south end zone to recognize the more than 90,000 soldiers since World War I who are POW/MIA.

While Branch and Stallworth returned in limited roles during the season, none had much of an impact on the year.

This inaugural award is also being retired because no one will take it away from Spikes and his unique, unpredictable, controversial and frequent forays into the Twitterverse.

Josh McDaniels made it quite clear he wanted the running game to be a complementary factor in his return to New England and Ridley made that happen with 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns working in concert with the NFL's top passing attack to balance things.