So much has changed in two years

[Rob0729]

I was thinking about. This time two years ago, we were looking at the Patriots being one of the least talented rosters in the league, if not the least talented. You had Drake Maye (who was an unproven rookie) and Christian Gonzalez and not a heck of lot else. Some good players like Owenu, Henry, and Barmore, but no real standouts and a lot of trash. They had the worst o-line in football. Their best WR didn't even get 600 yards. There was no pass rush with their lead sacker with 5 sacks. It was a disaster everywhere.

In two years, Vrabel, Wolf, and company has completely rebuilt this team. This team is easily the most talented team in the AFC East and arguably one of the most talented teams in the AFC and the league. They may have the best secondary in the league. They turned a laughable WR receiving corp to one of the best and deepest in the league. They have one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. The o-line has been completely rebuilt (results are still pending though). The defense itself could be one of the top defenses. The offense is poised to be a top offense.

This team obviously has its questions. We don't know if they will have a good outside pass rush. The LB corp is a little thin. And we don't know if all the upgrades with the o-line will work.

That said, despite all the haters claims that the Pats will faulter because they now have a tough schedule, they are still one of the favorites to win the AFC after being arguably the worst team in the league just two years ago.

 

[rkarp1]

good post
could not agree more
look. Bill left a mess.
the first 2 plans to clean up were Mayo and Brissett while waiting on Maye. both failed miserably.
happy to say RK saw immediately it was a bad decision, and cut bait
Vrabel came in with a vision. connections. passion. urgency. he hit them all out of the park.
working as a team, the management staff nailed almost every decision. working as a team, the coaching staff got the most out of the players.
2025 was the perfect season save for the last game

 

[TomPatriot]

Kudos to Kraft for rectifying his mistakes and hiring Vrabel. That was the rebuild’s firestarter.

 

[Ian]

I was thinking about. This time two years ago, we were looking at the Patriots being one of the least talented rosters in the league, if not the least talented. You had Drake Maye (who was an unproven rookie) and Christian Gonzalez and not a heck of lot else. Some good players like Owenu, Henry, and Barmore, but no real standouts and a lot of trash. They had the worst o-line in football. Their best WR didn't even get 600 yards. There was no pass rush with their lead sacker with 5 sacks. It was a disaster everywhere.

In two years, Vrabel, Wolf, and company has completely rebuilt this team. This team is easily the most talented team in the AFC East and arguably one of the most talented teams in the AFC and the league. They may have the best secondary in the league. They turned a laughable WR receiving corp to one of the best and deepest in the league. They have one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. The o-line has been completely rebuilt (results are still pending though). The defense itself could be one of the top defenses. The offense is poised to be a top offense.

This team obviously has its questions. We don't know if they will have a good outside pass rush. The LB corp is a little thin. And we don't know if all the upgrades with the o-line will work.

That said, despite all the haters claims that the Pats will faulter because they now have a tough schedule, they are still one of the favorites to win the AFC after being arguably the worst team in the league just two years ago.

Not sure if you saw it, but Steve did a good job yesterday breaking down all the changes on the roster:

Patriots News 06-07, The Patriots Quickly Overhauled The Roster | PatsFans.com

Examining the Patriots' rapid roster overhaul, Christian Gonzalez's contract holdout, A.J. Brown's offensive impact, and key trade rumors.

www.patsfans.com

But I 100% agree with you - when you look at this (he broke it down by position before/after) the turnover is crazy. Vrabel and company absolutely cleaned house, and they've done it with guys who clearly have made the team significantly better.

 

[rkarp1]

Not sure if you saw it, but Steve did a good job yesterday breaking down all the changes on the roster:

Patriots News 06-07, The Patriots Quickly Overhauled The Roster | PatsFans.com

Examining the Patriots' rapid roster overhaul, Christian Gonzalez's contract holdout, A.J. Brown's offensive impact, and key trade rumors.

www.patsfans.com

But I 100% agree with you - when you look at this (he broke it down by position before/after) the turnover is crazy. Vrabel and company absolutely cleaned house, and they've done it with guys who clearly have made the team significantly better.

thats a nice piece from Steve
thanks for posting it

 

[sb1]

A QB controversy between Mac McCorkle Jones and Bailey Zappe was a thing. Lol. Lolololol. Lolololololololololololol.

The only thing that matters about that whole era is it brought Drake Maye to NE. We took our medicine and paid our dues and now reaping the rewards, the way it should be.

 

[Real fan 02]

I was thinking about. This time two years ago, we were looking at the Patriots being one of the least talented rosters in the league, if not the least talented. You had Drake Maye (who was an unproven rookie) and Christian Gonzalez and not a heck of lot else. Some good players like Owenu, Henry, and Barmore, but no real standouts and a lot of trash. They had the worst o-line in football. Their best WR didn't even get 600 yards. There was no pass rush with their lead sacker with 5 sacks. It was a disaster everywhere.

In two years, Vrabel, Wolf, and company has completely rebuilt this team. This team is easily the most talented team in the AFC East and arguably one of the most talented teams in the AFC and the league. They may have the best secondary in the league. They turned a laughable WR receiving corp to one of the best and deepest in the league. They have one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. The o-line has been completely rebuilt (results are still pending though). The defense itself could be one of the top defenses. The offense is poised to be a top offense.

This team obviously has its questions. We don't know if they will have a good outside pass rush. The LB corp is a little thin. And we don't know if all the upgrades with the o-line will work.

That said, despite all the haters claims that the Pats will faulter because they now have a tough schedule, they are still one of the favorites to win the AFC after being arguably the worst team in the league just two years ago.

Rob,
As usual great stuff! I agree with everything and every team in the AFC has questions.

KC Mahomes is coming off an ACL?

Baltimore All new coaching staff

Burrow will he play 17 games?

Buffalo new HC?

Denver Bo nix coming off a major foot injury?

Houston will C.J ever replicate his rookie season?

Jacksonville Trevor Lawrence elevate those around him?

The Patriots are amongst the top half of AFC contenders and provided they remain healthy should be playing deep in the postseason. There's no clear cut above all contender in the AFC. What separates us from the rest is coaching and QB.

 

[mayoclinic]

Rob,
As usual great stuff! I agree with everything and every team in the AFC has questions.

Jacksonville Trevor Lawrence elevate those around him?

Seriously?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Churn within NE, churn in the league... and I think that the realization is coming that we beat more than just the worst in the league. Love Seattle being first on the schedule is like playing with house money. Beat Seattle, you've got momentum going into the rest of the tough first-four schedule, and we could come out looking like the team to beat, or one of them. Lose the Seattle game, and you go back to the drawing board dead set on needing real improvement to punch at that AFCG weight. The front seven still needs a step to the next level, but the secondary, receivers, and O-line are all significantly improved.

 

[Real fan 02]

Seriously?

??

 

[Real fan 02]

Not sure if you saw it, but Steve did a good job yesterday breaking down all the changes on the roster:

Patriots News 06-07, The Patriots Quickly Overhauled The Roster | PatsFans.com

Examining the Patriots' rapid roster overhaul, Christian Gonzalez's contract holdout, A.J. Brown's offensive impact, and key trade rumors.

www.patsfans.com

But I 100% agree with you - when you look at this (he broke it down by position before/after) the turnover is crazy. Vrabel and company absolutely cleaned house, and they've done it with guys who clearly have made the team significantly better.

Absolutely Ian. As I've mentioned many times myself no matter what the contents of an NFL roster is if you don't have the QB and the coaching you end up 4-13 or worse. We have those most 2 important components now.

 

[203Pat]

I was one of some on here who complained about the drafting down the stretch of the dynasty and was usually met with the "six rings!" rebuttal. Bill slowly went from drafting high level starters and cornerstones of the roster to near complete whiffs on entire draft classes by the end of Brady's time here. By the time Bill left the roster was devoid of talent and then we had a lost rookie year for Drake with a clearly overmatched Mayo at the helm.

Vrabel and Wolf basically needed to nail their first offseason and they pretty much did. Vrabel seemed to force a changing of the guard by getting rid of almost every veteran with any real ties to Bill and Wolf scrapped nearly the entire draft class from the year before. Then they supplemented some holes on the roster and had a draft class that had five contributors right off the bat.

I think most of knew that hitting on the QB would jumpstart the rebuild but I doubt many of us expected to be playing in the Super Bowl. Last season was a lot of fun and it was so nice to be able to look forward to Patriots games again and away from the Zappe/Mac battles and sputtering our way to 17 points every week.

 

[PatsFan2]

I was thinking about. This time two years ago, we were looking at the Patriots being one of the least talented rosters in the league, if not the least talented. You had Drake Maye (who was an unproven rookie) and Christian Gonzalez and not a heck of lot else. Some good players like Owenu, Henry, and Barmore, but no real standouts and a lot of trash. They had the worst o-line in football. Their best WR didn't even get 600 yards. There was no pass rush with their lead sacker with 5 sacks. It was a disaster everywhere.

In two years, Vrabel, Wolf, and company has completely rebuilt this team. This team is easily the most talented team in the AFC East and arguably one of the most talented teams in the AFC and the league. They may have the best secondary in the league. They turned a laughable WR receiving corp to one of the best and deepest in the league. They have one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. The o-line has been completely rebuilt (results are still pending though). The defense itself could be one of the top defenses. The offense is poised to be a top offense.

This team obviously has its questions. We don't know if they will have a good outside pass rush. The LB corp is a little thin. And we don't know if all the upgrades with the o-line will work.

That said, despite all the haters claims that the Pats will faulter because they now have a tough schedule, they are still one of the favorites to win the AFC after being arguably the worst team in the league just two years ago.

I think our OL is Deep C Lomu have the ability to Start... we'll have to see where Marcus Bryant and Dametrious Crownover is at. We need that Fourth Quality CB who can Start in case of injuries. So I will be watching the likes of M Dial - C Woods - K Prunty and K Vildor. We need Gabe Jacas to really flash as a Rookie. E Ponder played very well last year given the circumstances also we need to see more from B Swinson in year two. That said you can see we are building a deep Team who can compete for a SB yearly.

 

[PatsFan2]

Rob,
As usual great stuff! I agree with everything and every team in the AFC has questions.

KC Mahomes is coming off an ACL?

Baltimore All new coaching staff

Burrow will he play 17 games?

Buffalo new HC?

Denver Bo nix coming off a major foot injury?

Houston will C.J ever replicate his rookie season?

Jacksonville Trevor Lawrence elevate those around him?

The Patriots are amongst the top half of AFC contenders and provided they remain healthy should be playing deep in the postseason. There's no clear cut above all contender in the AFC. What separates us from the rest is coaching and QB.

I can see Houston rolling with QB Davis Mills they have the Offensive pieces @ RB - WR - TE and a Decent OL too. Houston is in Win mode with that Defense. C.J. Stroud held them back last year.

 

[Real fan 02]

I can see Houston rolling with QB Davis Mills they have the Offensive pieces @ RB - WR - TE and a Decent OL too. Houston is in Win mode with that Defense. C.J. Stroud held them back last year.

Davis mills was actually ok for them last season when CJ was out.. I would habe taken him over crying Mac Jones... CJ Has regressed he had a solid rookie season but since has been miidorcre.

 

[Rob0729]

Not sure if you saw it, but Steve did a good job yesterday breaking down all the changes on the roster:

Patriots News 06-07, The Patriots Quickly Overhauled The Roster | PatsFans.com

Examining the Patriots' rapid roster overhaul, Christian Gonzalez's contract holdout, A.J. Brown's offensive impact, and key trade rumors.

www.patsfans.com

But I 100% agree with you - when you look at this (he broke it down by position before/after) the turnover is crazy. Vrabel and company absolutely cleaned house, and they've done it with guys who clearly have made the team significantly better.

Sorry I didn't see that thread. If you want to combine both threads, I have no issue with it.

 

[PatsFan2]

Kind of worried about TE not very high on what we have after H Henry and Eli Raridon. Really hope we address that in TC in some type of Trade if the certain guys don't show something. An improved CJ Dippre probably solves that and Arkin might surprise as a Blocker. That said the FB position could be a fall back position if that Third TE don't emerge.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I was thinking about. This time two years ago, we were looking at the Patriots being one of the least talented rosters in the league, if not the least talented. You had Drake Maye (who was an unproven rookie) and Christian Gonzalez and not a heck of lot else. Some good players like Owenu, Henry, and Barmore, but no real standouts and a lot of trash. They had the worst o-line in football. Their best WR didn't even get 600 yards. There was no pass rush with their lead sacker with 5 sacks. It was a disaster everywhere.

In two years, Vrabel, Wolf, and company has completely rebuilt this team. This team is easily the most talented team in the AFC East and arguably one of the most talented teams in the AFC and the league. They may have the best secondary in the league. They turned a laughable WR receiving corp to one of the best and deepest in the league. They have one of the best interior defensive lines in the league. The o-line has been completely rebuilt (results are still pending though). The defense itself could be one of the top defenses. The offense is poised to be a top offense.

This team obviously has its questions. We don't know if they will have a good outside pass rush. The LB corp is a little thin. And we don't know if all the upgrades with the o-line will work.

That said, despite all the haters claims that the Pats will faulter because they now have a tough schedule, they are still one of the favorites to win the AFC after being arguably the worst team in the league just two years ago.

Agree completely.

 

[Rob0729]

Rob,
As usual great stuff! I agree with everything and every team in the AFC has questions.

KC Mahomes is coming off an ACL?

Baltimore All new coaching staff

Burrow will he play 17 games?

Buffalo new HC?

Denver Bo nix coming off a major foot injury?

Houston will C.J ever replicate his rookie season?

Jacksonville Trevor Lawrence elevate those around him?

The Patriots are amongst the top half of AFC contenders and provided they remain healthy should be playing deep in the postseason. There's no clear cut above all contender in the AFC. What separates us from the rest is coaching and QB.

I wonder about Denver. They had a historic level of close game wins last season. Typically teams that win consistently with one score or less wins like Denver did in 2025 typically take a big step back the next year. And the Broncos had a cake schedule last year. Maybe not as easy as the Patriots, but it was an easy schedule. Other than adding Waddle, they really didn't do anything. And the trade of Waddle limited their drafting.

The Jags went on a great run at the end of the season, but other than the Chargers and Broncos they didn't beat anyone. They were 2-2 against playoff teams during that run. And they are a worse team today than last year. They could take a big step back.

I am not sure CJ Stroud is the best QB on his own team. Not a huge Davis Mills fan, but he might actually be better than Stroud.

I think a lot of people are just assuming the Chiefs will be dominant again when Mahomes returns. But they weren't setting the world on fire last year before he got injured. And he is such a mobile QB that this injury could hamper him all season. He isn't pocket passer. The media is living off Mahomes' and the Chiefs' reputation than making a real analysis.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Lose the Seattle game, and you go back to the drawing board dead set on needing real improvement to punch at that AFCG weight.

Huh?
So if we lose to Seattle, in Seattle, dropping their SB banner we have to go back to the drawing board?
It’s the NFL, good teams lose games every week.
Losing to Seattle week 1 will not make or break our season.
We lost week 1 last year…..to LV!
Obv a win would be great, but it’s a marathon not a sprint.