ESPN predicts Pats are 3 years away from SB contention

[TheRainMaker]

Not going to click on ESPN, but 3 years is the absolute maximum. We've seen many teams survive the loss of a franchise quarterback and get back to the playoffs and contention the following season or within 1 year. I know I'm touching nerves when I mention that Dave Wannstedt and Wade Phillips both turned the trick beautifully after losing Dan Marino and Jim Kelly respectively, while Bill the Coach went from 12-4 with Brady to 7-9 with Cam Newton. Fanboys on here don't want to acknowledge Bill the Coach's abject failure last season. he put the team together, that the players opted out is on him and no one else. Bill the Coach's team led the nfl in opt outs - why? Spare me the "BUT THEY ALREADY WON TITLES!".
Do folks understand that Coach Bill and Bill the GM had the worst "negative" turnaround out of every team in the AFC after Houston? Coach Bill's team won 5 fewer games in 2020 than in 2019, a dubious feat matched only by conference powerhouses the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. We are headed for some very lean years and things will get worse before they get better. There is no excuse for this. Krafty Bob has the supposed best coach in the league and many on here say Krafty also has the best GM in the league. There's no reason, if this is true, that the club should not be back in the playoffs NEXT year. Again, Wade Phillips and Dave Wannstedt did it; so should the supposed all time greatest coach in NFL history.

People backing Bill last offseason weren't phased that Brady left because the team was still "good" and they took the "next man up" philosophy a little too seriously. Then when Bill has a bad season and is criticized they say, "well the team was bad and they had a record number of opt outs" even though he team was pretty much identical to last season going 12-4 minus Brady. HT was really the only significant loss. Then you ask why the team is bad and then they leave the chat.

Wannstedt and Phillps both had well balanced teams and got competent QB play. On the other hand, aside from QB, the Pats have massive holes at WR, TE and front 7 which they are arguably the worst. If Bill can't stop the bleeding at at least one of these areas next season, 7-9 would've looked like a good season going forward.

 

[Triumph]

Great.

I was predicting 4 years.

 

[XLIX]

I'm going to take a page out of the anti-Bradyites playbook: Anything short of a Super Bowl Championship and Belichick without Brady is a failure.

As for the ESPN article, it is absolutely 100% worthless but the type of thing they publish to get people talking about them.

 

[TomPatriot]

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'.

When is ESPN going to become a clear cut contender again?

 

[IllegalContact]

woop

de

damn

doo

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Whew! That's a relief. I thought they were never going to get back, but if ESPN says three years, then three years it must be.

I wonder how they ranked them when they were 5--11 in 2000.

 

[Boomer B]

Bil is here until he no longer wants to be here.......

While I would agree that Bill has earned the right to see the rebuild through and have his say when he wants to leave, it doesn’t really work that way.

The biggest thing the Krafts will consider is Bill’s salary. If we don’t get this fixed (he finds the right QB) soon why would Kraft want to pay $20m to Bill if the results aren’t good? He can pay someone $6 million for the same type of result.

You have to look at it as a business decision also. 5 years with Bill costs the team $100m. 5 years with a new coach costs in the range of $30m. Will Kraft pay an extra $70m to Bill for the memories? It’s still a production business. I think Bill needs to show this team is turning the corner in the next few years.

 

[Kontradiction]

They are wrong! We almost made it this year if it weren’t for the too many losses

Yeah, I mean if you take out the nine losses, this was a 7-0 team.

 

[Sicilian]

Yeah, I mean if you take out the nine losses, this was a 7-0 team.

Suck it Mercury Morris!

 

[mgteich]

Fortunes change quickly in the NFL. Chiefs are a perfect example, Mahomes lands there and makes them relevant after 50 years of crap and changes the narrative of Andy Reid over night.

If that's all it takes, we might have to wait more than 2-3 years.

 

[sb1]

People backing Bill last offseason weren't phased that Brady left because the team was still "good" and they took the "next man up" philosophy a little too seriously. Then when Bill has a bad season and is criticized they say, "well the team was bad and they had a record number of opt outs" even though he team was pretty much identical to last season going 12-4 minus Brady. HT was really the only significant loss. Then you ask why the team is bad and then they leave the chat.

Wannstedt and Phillps both had well balanced teams and got competent QB play. On the other hand, aside from QB, the Pats have massive holes at WR, TE and front 7 which they are arguably the worst. If Bill can't stop the bleeding at at least one of these areas next season, 7-9 would've looked like a good season going forward.

To be fair the defense was very good in 2019 even if overrated. That was my thinking and expectation behind a 9-7 prediction along with competent QB play.

Unfortunately they got neither in 2020.

 

[Wax Frog]

How to live your best life.

Step 1. Stop going to ESPN. Ever.

Is that one of the Four Agreements? If yes, sign me up

 

[Ring 6]

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.

There is no excuse not to contend in 2021. They were 7-9 against a very hard schedule with the worst QB in the nfl. They have 60,000,000 in cap space.

 

[Ring 6]

They weren't the difference from the Pats being in the playoffs.

No the worst QB in the nfl was but with those players they would have even overcome that to have a wining season

 

[sb1]

There is no excuse not to contend in 2021. They were 7-9 against a very hard schedule with the worst QB in the nfl. They have 60,000,000 in cap space.

Then they need a QB and a passing offense right away who can win games. If Garoppolo isn’t available not sure where else they’ll find one.

 

[Ring 6]

Then they need a QB and a passing offense right away who can win games. If Garoppolo isn’t available not sure where else they’ll find one.

There are plenty of qbs to find. It’s is priority 1. This is the year they have resources. Of course they fix the biggest need.
And they don’t need anything “right away” its February.

 

[PaulNEPats]

Seems reasonable unless we light it up in FA

 

[captain stone]

Bil is here until he no longer wants to be here.......

And just why the hell should that be?

 

[Ross12]

The article is stupid but 3 years to be in the mix to win the conference seems like a reasonable target. Maybe 2 if they get wild in free agency this off-season, draft well and acquire a good QB.

 

[venecol]

Not going to blame BB for letting Brady walk too early. Maybe he knows Stidham is Steve Youngesque. Yea, that's the ticket.