After a rough 2020 season and a bad start to the year. I think it’s finally starting to come together.

[Redman443]

We’re doing it a little differently than we did in years past. On defense to be good either you need a good pass rush that gets home before people get open or you have a good secondary that allows your pass rush to get to the QB with coverage sacks. In the past, the latter was true. Since we’ve traded Gilmore, the secondary isn’t as talented but for the first time in a long time, the pass rush is actually decent so the secondary doesn’t have to make up the slack.

On offense, I think at the start of the year, bb and McDaniels didn’t expect a high flying offense that puts up 30 points per game. I think in his rookie year, Mac is doing a good job managing the game for the most
Part but he could cut down the turnovers.


I knew after the cowboys game that this team was better than the 2-4 record they had and it’s finally starting to show. Hopefully we continue to get better as patriot teams of the past have done as the year progresses.

 

[archstanton543]

The Pats are looking good. However, most of their wins are against the Jets and Texans. Still, it's good they beat two teams in their tier (middle of the pack) on the road the last two weeks. This week will be a real test against a legit Browns team.

There's reason to be optimistic but a little tempering is in order.

 

[Guts]

I am cautiously optimistic. Midway point of the season we are above .500 and have played close games vs top contenders(TB, Dallas). There's been some lows like losing to Miami and almost losing to Houston, but Buffalo lost to Jacksonville. As long as the rookie keeps improving and we at least get one playoff game I'll call this season a success.

 

[sb1]

It was clear at this time last year that the 2020 Pats weren't just a mediocre football team, they were actually a bad team and things were going to get worse as the season went on. Which they did.

We're better than that now, but how good is TBD. I think we can be at least optimistic that they can improve in the second half like BB teams traditionally do. But we've beaten only 1 winning team to date and needed a pick 6 to do it. Sure we were close against TB and Dal but on the flip side the Panthers win was handed to us by Sam Darnold and we needed a goofy special teams play to beat the Texans.

I do think we have an identity for the first time since Brady left and that's why I think we're in good shape for at least a winning season.

 

[50-yard-line]

Bill rebuilt the team in two off-seasons - the first in clearing the books, the second in using the money (and with a fortunate down year, salary-wise) to restock the middle class of the team, which had been lost to free agency as they had to clear a too-veteran, aging roster.

All they needed was a QB to manage their system, and somehow Mac Jones fell into their lap. I don't know his ceiling (hate that word0 or if he'll ever be great, but I do know already that he can win in the NFL and that the game and stage are not too big for him.

I'm still not expecting a playoff game this year - there are too many things that need to be corrected and they've got a bunch of tough games coming up - but I wouldn't rule it out. And if they get in, which means they've beaten Buffalo at least once, probably, and taken on Cleveland, Indy and Tennessee, is there really any team in the AFC that is so far above them that they can't keep going?

I don't see one. I would have said the Chiefs, but their slide has been too long now to be considered a simple anomaly. They're just not that good - they lucked out, as the Packers would have beaten them with Aaron Rodgers, and 4-5 in that division would make it very hard for them to even get into the postseason. I do know that if the Pats do get into the playoffs, no one will want to play them. This is as physical a team as I've seen in a long time.

Bill the coach did a great job of getting that awful team last year into a limping 7-9, but that pales next to the job Bill the GM did this year to rebuild the that team into a force. The next few years should be fun to watch. They don't have a lot of holes to fill going forward, and they'll have the money to do it, with a QB on his rookie deal.

 

[Pats1971]

Bill rebuilt the team in two off-seasons - the first in clearing the books, the second in using the money (and with a fortunate down year, salary-wise) to restock the middle class of the team, which had been lost to free agency as they had to clear a too-veteran, aging roster.

All they needed was a QB to manage their system, and somehow Mac Jones fell into their lap. I don't know his ceiling (hate that word0 or if he'll ever be great, but I do know already that he can win in the NFL and that the game and stage are not too big for him.

I'm still not expecting a playoff game this year - there are too many things that need to be corrected and they've got a bunch of tough games coming up - but I wouldn't rule it out. And if they get in, which means they've beaten Buffalo at least once, probably, and taken on Cleveland, Indy and Tennessee, is there really any team in the AFC that is so far above them that they can't keep going?

I don't see one. I would have said the Chiefs, but their slide has been too long now to be considered a simple anomaly. They're just not that good - they lucked out, as the Packers would have beaten them with Aaron Rodgers, and 4-5 in that division would make it very hard for them to even get into the postseason. I do know that if the Pats do get into the playoffs, no one will want to play them. This is as physical a team as I've seen in a long time.

Bill the coach did a great job of getting that awful team last year into a limping 7-9, but that pales next to the job Bill the GM did this year to rebuild the that team into a force. The next few years should be fun to watch. They don't have a lot of holes to fill going forward, and they'll have the money to do it, with a QB on his rookie deal.

Its not hard to rebuild a team through free agency, its what did he rebuild it to. Is it a superbowl contender or a team that can beat bad teams and lose to good teams. I mean this pats team is not a force like you say. They are 5-4.

 

[mikey m]

I've been on the optimistic side pretty much all season and especially after the Cowboys game. Hammering the jets the following week showed we can beat down a bad team (which is important), beating the Chargers showed we can beat a solid team that we match up well with, beating Car showed some consistency and abiliy to string together some wins. I think this week against the Browns is a big one. We've been able to win in the trenches the previous weeks which will not be so easy against them. They seem to be built similarly to us so if we can outbully them then I'll have a lot of confidence in this team going into this postseason.

 

[Scotty]

Think we have a good chance of making the play offs , I am not sure how far we will go. Do we need to see more from the WR's and TE's ??

 

[50-yard-line]

Its not hard to rebuild a team through free agency, its what did he rebuild it to. Is it a superbowl contender or a team that can beat bad teams and lose to good teams. I mean this pats team is not a force like you say. They are 5-4.

Well, of course you'd say now that it's no big deal.

Not only is this a playoff contention team for the next few years, almost certainly, but they're rebuilt half their roster and will not be in cap hell for the foreseeable future. Even the teams we consider the top organizations, Steelers, Ravens and the like, have many years of 8-8 or worse, even with a stable QB situation.

Not appreciating this is a grass-is-greener" approach to life, or it's part of an agenda.

 

[borg]

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

We still have our work cut out for us, but I like the progress in year 2 of the rebuild, assuming that we finish at least 4-4 to get to 9+ wins and Mac + the new weapons continues to show promise / improvement. A playoff spot and experience for the new squad would be a nice bonus.

 

[n6249c]

We still have our work cut out for us, but I like the progress in year 2 of the rebuild, assuming that we finish at least 4-4 to get to 9+ wins and Mac + the new weapons continues to show promise / improvement. A playoff spot and experience for the new squad would be a nice bonus.

This whole thread is not considering how things will look with OBJ on board, is it?