NFL.COM Patriots set to collapse, One of worst 3 teams in the league

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

They have the best secondary in a pass-first league. There's no way they are a bottom-3 team based on that alone.

Regards,
Chris

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Obviously if Goodell decides to give Kraft a wedgie again and uses some spurious link to the football ops as grounds to suspend Belichick for the year for taping the Bengals sidelines then that changes things and yes we might end up as a bottom 3 team.

amfootball said:

Embarrassed? Hardly. More like realistic. We have zero idea what we have at QB and the same crappy offense and a weaker defense with the losses of Van Noy and Collins. I am fine with a rebuild year but apparently your not. Hope you can enjoy the season regardless.

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I think that's assuming that Sitdham is running the same offense that Brady runs. It might be that the offense goes in a slightly different direction to take advantage of what the QB does best. and maybe that translates into more effective use of the WRs we had from last year?

Regardless, it will be exciting because this is the first time we'll be seeing something newer in the last 20 years. Expectations are that the offense will start slower than the defense. Probably simpler offensive playbook, but we know the type of players that BB likes and they get better/smarter as the season progresses.

amfootball said:

It is not a terrible take at all. This season can easily be 5-11 if Stidham is not ready and we have key injuries.

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The writer stated 5-11 if everything breaks right. So by your reasoning you shouldn’t be in agreement with his take.

Ras-IR Dowling said:

Well would being in line to draft Lawrence count as success this year?

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If the Patriots really are bad enough to get the top pick next year then there are way too many problems on both sides of the ball that won't be fixed by drafting Lawrence so in that scenario I think there would be a 90% chance at a trade down. They could ask for the moon for the spot and they would get it.

Who knows...on 1st june i do not know either

Last year was an odd year. Our first 8 games or so we played against some absolute scrubs at QB. Our D was never truly as good as we thought and our O was in bad shape throughout the year.

If Stidham struggles I think we are anywhere from a 5-7 win team. There just isn’t enough offensive talent on this team and we will be in some tight games where the little things Brady did (not throwing interceptions or taking sacks) helped us win those tight ones. Brady rarely put his D in bad spots having to defend a short field. I think Stidham is gonna see a lot of blitzes and 8 man boxes with our WR’s not showing much ability to separate.

If Stidham is serviceable to good I can see anywhere from 8-10 wins.

These morons have been dreaming of this moment since at least 2007... Let them have their perceived Christmas.

sb1 said:

If the Patriots really are bad enough to get the top pick next year then there are way too many problems on both sides of the ball that won't be fixed by drafting Lawrence so in that scenario I think there would be a 90% chance at a trade down. They could ask for the moon for the spot and they would get it.

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It would definitely be a multi year rebuild but regarding draft picks/cap room opening up we wouldn’t be in a terrible position starting from scratch. If I’m moving that pick I would assume they don’t see a huge drop off from Lawrence to say Fields or Lance. If there is a big drop off I wouldn’t trade out. We need to get the most important position on the team settled first and then go from there.

I can't see a 5-11 season, even if Stidham went down with an injury. I know we don't have the most talent, but certainly not the worst, plus we have the greatest coach in NFL history.

The defense, even with the losses of Van Noy and Collins (who didn't impress me, especially late in the season) and Harmon, still has a lot of talent. Offensively, I'm very optimistic about the young guys. Stidham, Harry, Meyers, Olszewski, Asiasi & Keene, these young guys are gonna be hungry and extremely motivated to make a difference. It'll be fun to see how these guys do. Even Sanu, let's see how he plays after getting over his injury, and 9 months learning this offense.

I can't see 5-11, but it they go 5-11, wind up with the 3rd pick, they can trade up for the best QB available, plus have a ton of cap space. Honestly though, in my opinion, the worst we will do is 9-7.

this is where BB is at his best. underdog and disrespected. I dont expect much this year but next year when we have the salary cap under control, we will be back

Pats have a great pass defense secondary. The 2020 D question mark is can the new additions at LB provide the speed & coverage that they were selected to provide? Big also, is there a big fat person on the squad who can play run stuffah?
On O this optimist sees a better season from the top 3 WRs. Harry a 2nd year and the 2 vets uninjured...we hope. I see the RB corps as pretty good and improved because of a FB on the roster and focus & development on pass catching. At TE, someone drafted HAS to be better than the 2 position failures we had at TE last season.
If Stitham is a bust, yes we will be among the worst 3. I think not but have no clue about his upside.
I hope we contend for the AFCE Championship. Just like my outlook in the olden days.

I absolutely love these columns. Belichick is printing them out and posting them all over the locker room as I type this post.

There’s so much real misery in the world. Why do so many of you insist on being so negative about your football team as well? I’ve rooted for Patriots teams that won one game the year before with Rod Rust as the HC and was more optimistic than you gloom and doomers.

I don’t expect better from Schein or that doofus Peter King. They’re just pandering to fan bases that have had their lunch money stolen by the Patriots for 19 years. But, we should know better. We should be PhDs as football fans by now. A football team, well a good one anyway, consists of more than one player. We should also know that no sport is more about good coaching than pro football.

I remember getting tickets to a Thursday night game against Houston back in 2016. I got talked into it by a relative who wanted to see Jimmy G. play thinking he might be the future QB. Of course, Garopplo got hurt, and I traveled to Foxboro at a pretty good expense to me bummed that I’d likely watch them lose to the Texans with rookie Jacoby Brissett at QB. What transpired was the most fun I think I’ve ever had watching a game in person. Coaching and defense matter.

Why be so negative? I just don’t get it.

amfootball said:

Where did he say that? He talked about the schedule and the roster and concluded 5-11.

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His last line. "This season has 5-11 written all over it. If things break right."

Boston Boxer said:

this is where BB is at his best. underdog and disrespected. I dont expect much this year but next year when we have the salary cap under control, we will be back

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They don’t have brady anymore. I think stidham will be up and down. I don’t know if they win 8 games this season.

Patsgofor4 said:

"The offensive line is average at best."

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What is wrong with this statement? Wynn still needs to prove he can play well for 16 games. How well does Andrews play after his absence? Can Mason and Cannon rebound from having a poor season?

amfootball said:

and a weaker defense with the losses of Van Noy and Collins

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Like Trey Flowers, you won't even notice the loss of Van Noy or Collins. Van Noy was a JAG before the Pats and is clearly a product of Billy's scheme. Collins faded after week 8.

scout said:

Actually, I believe our defense will be better.

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In the secondary, yes. The D line is the biggest weakness and could get shredded on the ground which will make it harder for the secondary to defend the pass.

As @TB_Helmet said, all of the predictions are "bold predictions". Read Schein's first sentence, "Go big or go home".

Patsgofor4 said:

... I would be shocked if the offense is worse this year than it was last year...

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Congratulations on coming out of your long coma, but we have some bad news for you regarding changes at the QB position for NE.

scout said:

Actually, I believe our defense will be better. I don't really see the loss of Collins as a big deal. We have one of the best defensive backfields in football. The offense has a number of key injuries last year. Nobody knows what will happen the next year, but I am confident.

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Do you really believe that our defense is better, that in 2020
1) Duggar and Phillips are better than Harmon
2) Uche and Jennings are better than KVN and Collins
3) Allen is better than Shelton
4) Bentley or Copeland will step up at ILB

The rookies may be eventually be better, but you are counting on a lot in 2020 to say that they are improved. That being said, I expect this to be one of the very best defenses in the NFL, as it was last year. Also, I expect an addition through trade in the middle of front seven.
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Personally, I think that we are weaker at DT and ILB, and equal everywhere else.

TheRainMaker said:

What is wrong with this statement? Wynn still needs to prove he can play well for 16 games. How well does Andrews play after his absence? Can Mason and Cannon rebound from having a poor season?

Like Trey Flowers, you won't even notice the loss of Van Noy or Collins. Van Noy was a JAG before the Pats and is clearly a product of Billy's scheme. Collins faded after week 8.

In the secondary, yes. The D line is the biggest weakness and could get shredded on the ground which will make it harder for the secondary to defend the pass.

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So you would agree that the BEST case scenario is that they have an average offensive line this year? That's idiotic. The best case scenario is that they have a top 5 OL. Andrews' blood clot should have no effect on his ability to return to his former self (the blood clot is long gone and was likely due to an isolated incident....long plane ride...not a genetic predisposition). I think that both Mason and Cannon were more injured than the public knew. Wynn played after taking 2 or 3 games to get his bearing and get in football shape.