How Bad Are We?

[Real fan 02]

This upcoming game against Carolina will tell us a lot.

If gonzo is still out.. I expect a continuation of big plays allowed by Austin and co. Legette regardless of his start this season is a baller. King tet is a problem as well. Hubbard is a good back.

 

[Kdo5]

Well. the next month will tell us a lot.

FOR NOW, we might consider that we are very likely a hamstring injury away from being 3-0.

And a foot step away from being 0-3.

Talent wise and in terms of progression there is clearly more to work with than the past two or three years.

With decent coaching we are probably 3-0 w/o Gonzo.

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

not the highest praise but this feels like a team that deserves to be out there, they can compete and have NFL level talent at most positions.

They’re still playing stupid
They still play like a team that’s going to beat itself

Talent wise honestly I think they’re probably around 17-20

 

[FCB02062]

The 2025 Patriots are missing playmakers on offense. There is no one that can turn a 10 yard pass into a 50 yard gain. There is no one who can break a few tackles and turn a 4 yard gain into a 30 yard gain. I said 7 wins and I'm sticking to it. The #1 option for Maye is Hunter Henry. On a good offense Henry is your third or fourth option. But as far as the future is concerned this team will hover around .500 at best for the foreseeable future UNTIL they get a real go to receiver through FA or draft. It looks like we WAY overestimated Henderson based on pre season and he looks to be on his way to JAG status. Williams gets 1 target a game. Douglas is useless, Diggs is cooked, Boutte is OK....but this offense is nothing but two decent tight ends and a cooker former #1 wide receiver....oh, and we cannot forget a fumble prone RB who specializes in goal line turnovers.
Playing close games does not mean you are a good team. The league is made for close games. There have been 48 nfl games this season and FIFTY EIGHT PERCENT (28/48) have been one score games. That # jumps to SIXTY FIVE PERCENT (31/48) if you also consider games decided by 11 points or less (a touchdown, two pointer, and a FG). Close games just mean you are just bad enough to lose.
Through 3 games I still feel the shackles are on Maye. Let him cook, let him run around and make plays.

 

[mgteich]

This upcoming game against Carolina will tell us a lot. This is a game the team can't afford to drop at home. If they lose, the alarms will be sounding off for both Maye and Vrabel with Buffalo up next.

BUF isn't really relevant to me. I expect BUF to beat us soundly and for posters to overreact to the loss for weeks.
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I agree that CAR game should show us a lot. Also, the TEN and NO games should show us a lot.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The 2025 Patriots are missing playmakers on offense. There is no one that can turn a 10 yard pass into a 50 yard gain. There is no one who can break a few tackles and turn a 4 yard gain into a 30 yard gain. I said 7 wins and I'm sticking to it. The #1 option for Maye is Hunter Henry. On a good offense Henry is your third or fourth option. But as far as the future is concerned this team will hover around .500 at best for the foreseeable future UNTIL they get a real go to receiver through FA or draft. It looks like we WAY overestimated Henderson based on pre season and he looks to be on his way to JAG status. Williams gets 1 target a game. Douglas is useless, Diggs is cooked, Boutte is OK....but this offense is nothing but two decent tight ends and a cooker former #1 wide receiver....oh, and we cannot forget a fumble prone RB who specializes in goal line turnovers.
Playing close games does not mean you are a good team. The league is made for close games. There have been 48 nfl games this season and FIFTY EIGHT PERCENT (28/48) have been one score games. That # jumps to SIXTY FIVE PERCENT (31/48) if you also consider games decided by 11 points or less (a touchdown, two pointer, and a FG). Close games just mean you are just bad enough to lose.
Through 3 games I still feel the shackles are on Maye. Let him cook, let him run around and make plays.

Diggs is absolutely cooked.

The boneheaded turnovers continue to haunt them.

I agree, many prematurely anointed Henderson as the next great back after one kickoff return. It's aging very poorly.

Gonzalez out is really hurting the defense.

I didn't realize Mike Vrabel had really bad record in his last 27 games as HC before coming to NE. It's now 7-20. If the Pats have another losing season (and I'm talking 4-5 wins), I will not be shocked if Bob makes Vrabel the next scapegoat. Getting rid of BB only to have back to back identical seasons is really embarrassing as an organization.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I like what I see from this team, but I have one major concern, and I think it starts with coaching which is why we see it on the field:
BALL SECURITY.
Belichick made it his number one priority, and he drilled his players relentlessly and they got benched immediately if they failed to do it.
So my main concern is Drake Maye's stat line of 16 career games, 24 total turnovers. THAT isn't good.

Yeah. Didn't BB make a player who fumbled during a game carry a ball around all week during practice? Or bench them for the rest of a half?

 

[JayNM]

This team has a lot of mediocre players, but with upside

While Maye making DUMBASS decision has happened more than needed this season already, I think he has shown good improvement.

The line is still suspect, but our worse piece has been Moses, surprisingly. If/when Wilson and Campbell start really gelling our left side will be great. Then our receivers are ok, but Douglas really is letting the whole thing down, having an scape valve as WR who can beat zone within the numbers is clearly missing

I think our D is worse than our offense, even though they played decently against the Steelers. Gonzo wont save the heart of our defense and our pass rush is too hot and cold.

People here were saying 8-9 wins a lot, and it always got me thinking is too much. I think we have double digit losses, unless Maye really stops with the egregious stuff

 

[203Pat]

I always hate the "We are an X away from being (insert better record here)" because there is always the inverse. We are a few blades of grass between Achane's foot and the sideline away from being 0-3. 90% of games in the NFL would have a different team win the game if a few plays went in the opposite direction.

 

[Steve102]

 

[mgteich]

If gonzo is still out.. I expect a continuation of big plays allowed by Austin and co. Legette regardless of his start this season is a baller. King tet is a problem as well. Hubbard is a good back.

Is Austin our #1 receiver.

Davis and Jones will take the top 2 receivers.

CAR has an average 73 rating for their passing game.
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[One-If-By-Sea]

It is hard to know who the Pats are.

The coaching has been very underwhelming. I had high hopes for the coaching staff, but after 3 games the lack of discipline and fundamentals seems excessive. I thought training camp would be used to identify the starters, but in game 3 we are still benching mulitple players and the benchings will most likely continue. Too bad training camp was not used to identify the best players. I thought with the wealth of experience this coaching team has that they would be better at structuring camp.

 

[Real fan 02]

Is Austin our #1 receiver.

Davis and Jones will take the top 2 receivers.

CAR has an average 73 rating for their passing game.
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Until they play us..

 

[p8ryts]

Well. the next month will tell us a lot.

FOR NOW, we might consider that we are very likely a hamstring injury away from being 3-0.

Or a miss step out of bounds from 0-3

 

[p8ryts]

It is hard to know who the Pats are.

The coaching has been very underwhelming. I had high hopes for the coaching staff, but after 3 games the lack of discipline and fundamentals seems excessive. I thought training camp would be used to identify the starters, but in game 3 we are still benching mulitple players and the benchings will most likely continue. Too bad training camp was not used to identify the best players. I thought with the wealth of experience this coaching team has that they would be better at structuring camp.

I can accept some shuffling in the first month. Someone, might have been Barth or Lazar again, made the point that Pop and Henderson really shined in the preseason but when the going got tougher in the games that count, they have a harder time adjusting to the power and intensity. They said it better.

 

[Triumph]

He is an experienced coach. That has tasted some success in the NFL. He's the right coach for this organization.

TBD

Vrabel was more happy than I was when Gibson ran it back.

 

[Vindicate]

Well. the next month will tell us a lot.

FOR NOW, we might consider that we are very likely a hamstring injury away from being 3-0.

If this is alluding to Gonzo being the difference in those three losses, I disagree. In fact, I don't think we win those even with Gonzo. The issues on offense are extremely palpable. Way too many turnovers, way too many penalties, inconsistency in playcall balance - potentially an symptom of a weird RB committee - and terrible scoring. Every single game was within reach because of the defense. The offense can't score. They can move, but they either turn it over in the red zone or fail to convert on a drive.

Until this team can consistently score above 21/24, they're gonna lose a lot more than they'll win.

Sorry if I misunderstood your hamstring comment.

 

[signbabybrady]

Yeah. Didn't BB make a player who fumbled during a game carry a ball around all week during practice? Or bench them for the rest of a half?

 

[doesntmatter1]

We are bad until we are capable of scoring 20 points or more consistently. We are close. Drake Mayes completion percentage shows we are on the right path. We need better run blocking and maybe sign a back that excels at short yardage whether that may be an elite dancer or power back. Downs like 2nd&3 and 3rd&3 seem so much harder for us to run the ball than most teams I see. That needs to change asap.

 

[scott99]

Let’s just say, I’m not confident. The defense looks like garbage, 67 points in 3 games, and even if Gonzalez comes back (have ZERO clue when that’ll be), not sure how big a difference that’ll be, his first few games will be like exhibition season for him.

Then add in our receivers are much worse than I thought they’d be. I thought they be decent, at least they’d be league average. We need to get our RBs going as well, Henderson is only averaging 3.4 yards a carry, and 6.6 yards a catch. Need to get him going.

I wasn’t confident against the Steelers, I’m not feeling confident vs Carolina. It’s tough to go from being a bad team to a good team, even with a great coaching staff. Once again, it’s the roster. It’s just bad, even after spending a fortune on defense.