ESPN predicts Pats are 3 years away from SB contention

[sb1]

Super Bowl timelines for all 32 NFL teams: Who's in mix, getting closer and years away? (espn.com)

Sounds about right. It's not a hopeless situation here - there's no reason or excuse at all why Bill shouldn't be able to build a contender in 3 years. It has to begin now.

And that is all Bill is going to get. If he fails... we'll be talking about a new GM and HC soon.

 

[holyredeemer]

Stopped reading when I saw how high they ranked the Saints. Come on now.

 

[amfootball]

There is no timeline until we get a QB that we can contend with. For us to win a SB in 3 years, we would have to find that guy this year in the draft. Not impossible but unlikely.

 

[RobertWeathers]

 

[pazrul72]

How to live your best life.

Step 1. Stop going to ESPN. Ever.

 

[jmt57]

They are really going out on a limb by listing the two teams playing Sunday as #1 and #2, and the two teams that lost in conference championships a week ago as the #3 and #4 'clear cut contenders right now'.

 

[NE_Zealot]

Stopped reading when I saw how high they ranked the Saints. Come on now.

Absolutely! They’re in cap hell from going all-in for the last decade. They aren’t going to have a fun time replacing their first-ballot HOF Breesus either.

 

[jmt57]

Stopped reading when I saw how high they ranked the Saints. Come on now.

They mention the Saints being $100 million over and Brees probably retiring, but just shrug their shoulders because their GM said they were 'all in' to win now as some sort of rationalization to place them at #5. According to the writer New Orleans is just going to restructure everybody's contracts and the cap problem will magically disappear, allowing them to trade for Deshaun Watson. Huh?

Then they put Pittsburgh at #13, saying they are dropping the Steelers to that ranking because of cap issues - even though New Orleans is $66 million more over the cap than Pittsburgh is.

Alrighty then.


edit: They also put Dallas at #17, devoting all of one sentence to their incredibly awful defense, shrugging their 29.6 ppg allowed off by by saying their DC will 'build through the draft and smart free agent signings'. Can I have one of those Easy Buttons over here too, please?

 

[oldrover]

Super Bowl timelines for all 32 NFL teams: Who's in mix, getting closer and years away? (espn.com)

 

[Sicilian]

ESPN aside (I'm not going to bother reading, I'll just speak from ignorance because I'm lazy), it's not an outlandish timeline. But it really depends on what "contender" means. Does it mean in the top four odds to win a Super Bowl? Then sure, that could take a few years to reach that point, especially if we end up drafting a QB high and he's our guy this year. It'll take a few years for that to develop.

But if we get a bridge QB (or a veteran who can be the starter for the next 3-4 years), and use the remaining cap space to add a couple weapons and sure up the run defense (aka, some big uglies on the DL), this could easily be a playoff team next year, and any team that doesn't sneak in at 7-9 in a crappy division can catch lightning in a bottle and win a Super Bowl. Hell, the Bucs had to win three really close games, including one against that same 7-9 team starting a guy who was going back to school a month for the game. Get in the dance, and you're a contender until you're eliminated.

 

[NashuaPats]

Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong. Their opinion has no value whatsoever.

 

[ralmat55]

It sounds like the infamous Joel Buschbaum article in a 2001 edition of “Pro Football Weekly “ that the Pats were further away from winning a championship than any team in the NFL.

Of course, some cynical people believe Belichick put Bushbaum up to that article (Belichick went to Bushbaum’s funeral) to provide cover in case 2001 was another disappointing season. Maybe, Bill’s up to his old tricks with this ESPN article.

 

[203Pat]

We would need to find a QB this offseason for that to be any sort of possibility.

 

[captain stone]

Super Bowl timelines for all 32 NFL teams: Who's in mix, getting closer and years away? (espn.com)

3 years? Is that all?

 

[Kontradiction]

If we can solve the QB issue, it may just be sooner. High draft picks and lots of cap room in a year where the cap will shrink means Bill can make up a lot of ground quickly. But it all hinges on fixing the most important position on the field, and Cam or Stidham ain’t it.

 

[Sciz]

I think that's fine, because winning Super Bowls is hard. They're way too optimistic about some of these other teams, though.

 

[sb1]

3 years? Is that all?

3 years isn't unreasonable I think. We are the Rex Ryan Bills right now. Those Bills didn't rebuild starting from nothing, they had a good running offense, a subpar QB, not much potential with the weapons they had in the passing game, on defense weaker up front but a good secondary. Just like us today. And then they built a contender in that 3 year time frame. No reason why BB shouldn't be able to do the same. I don't think it's too much to ask.

He should get the chance though. Getting rid of Bill now is a move that has exactly zero chance of making this team better anytime soon.

 

[WinstonSmith]

After careful analysis of the Pats:' short and long term cap space situation, current players signed, draft capital, and current coaching staff and front office personnel, my conservative best guess is that the Pats are 3 years away from a three-peat.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Love these articles when the offseason hasn’t even begun.

 

[Joker]

ESPN couldn't predict a fackin' sunrise...