Where the pats stand right now

[BobDigital]

There are still a few moves they can do, but they look mostly ready right now hrading onto the draft. Here are my grades.

Offense.

QB: Cam/tbd - I think Cam wasn't as bad as some say he was last year. The offense simply didn't have the skill players. That being said, he isn't good enough to take us where we want to go. Grade: D
OL: Brown Mason Andrews Onwenu Wynn back up IOL Karras, back up OT tbd. Overall a very good group with no weak spot. The only question is what happens if Brown or Wynn miss time? But back up OT bring your concern is a good spot. Grade: A-
RB: Harris, White, Michel, Vitals(FB). A very good and diverse group. About the next best thing you can have besides a true super star at the spot. High hopes for Harris. Grafe: B+
TE: Henry, Smith. I'm curious to see who'll be the 3rd TE, but not too curious. This is all about the top 2 guys. Id still rather have Little or Kelce over both next year. Outside of that it's questionable if there will be a team better off in that spot than us. Grade: A-
WR: Agholor, Bourne, Edelman, Meyers. Still not a strong point, but not horrible. If Edelman retires it will look a little worse. While they want have that clear cut number 1 option, they will be able to flood the field with decent targets and try to pick on the weak links. Grade: D+

Overall offensive grade: C (but with a better QB it improves a lot). The lack of a true #1 option hurt, but they can run, protect the QB, and give any D at least some match up issues with their 2 TE set.

DL Guy Godeaux Anderson Judon Wonovich Wise. There is still a lot to work out here, and another piece could be added on the outside imo. While Judon is called an OLB I think he'll mostly play DE for us. A good cast but one more star player would put them over the top. Grade: B
LB: Hightower Van Noy Bentley - A big strength of the team. Grade A-
CB: Gilmore Jackson Jones Williams. I'll assume for now Jackson is staying. I do still hope McCourty comes back. Even without him this group is arguably the best in the NFL. Grade: A
S: McCourty Mills Phillips Dugger. A group that should have a very good top 2. And I like Dugger. Grade B+ (Edit, forgot about Phillips the first time... D'oh!)

Overall Defensive grade: B+ This defense is really more than the sum of it's parts. The only issue it has is that without a 5 man rush I don't see how they reliably get pressure. They have the coverage to pull it off against most teams. Bit against a team with the skill position depth to beat man, they can be had a bit. Not to mention they aren't reallt built to stop TEs or RBs. But you rarely have everything. Overall this D is clearly Championship caliber.

STs Grade: B I'm not getting into this much. Kicker is still a position I wish we were better in. But I like everything else well enough.

Overall Grade: B- right now we look like a typical mid tier WC playoff team. Our coaching advantage is nice. It would be nice to say we're a QB away, but I think we are are kust a tad more than a QB away. Very close though.

 

[Pape]

Cam really was as bad as people said last year. There's tape to prove it.

Special Teams -
Nick Folk was steady last season. and hit some big kicks when needed... 90+% on FG's and XPA's ... volume was low though, so that might be a reason... Kicker can be upgraded though, and hopefully this draft season will bring in a few decent udfa kickers to try out...

Punting was a strong point, Jake Bailey did a bang up job... and he handled kick off duties well, covering up one of Folks major deficiencies... positioning was good, and when it mattered, it seemed like he nailed punt after punt...

Kick off and Punt Coverage was reliable... iirc, no one scored on them last year... and Gunner turned into a good, reliable returner... should have had two returns except for a ticky tack penalty...

Not to mention both Bailey and Olszewski both getting first team All Pro honors...

Gotta give the Special Teams units overall an A-

 

[Nunchucks]

Offense would be an A with a real QB

 

[BobDigital]

Offense would be an A with a real QB

Disagree. The only offenses with a chance to be in the A range as of right now are the Bucs and KC. Even if you add Mahomes or Brady to this cast, who is the headline guy they throw to? Where is the Evans? Or Kelce/Hill? If you add in a QB whose good but not absolute top tier, like Josh Allen or Watson you would be a B at best. Only with an absolute monster at QB like Brady/Mahomes would you be elevated to B+ range.

If I had to compare this offense to any of the Patriots offenses, I would say they remind me of 2004. They could have an overall run game almost as good as that team. I think their OL is at that level. Their pass catching targets aren't amazing and clearly not designed the same way, but they are deep and have options. the only difference is we'll have a QB besides damn near prime Tom Brady.

I think a lot of fans are being unrealistic when it comes to the talent level of our skill position players. The one thing that is very good for us when it comes to our offense is that it will travel well, and no team is really well built to defend it as it's very atypical.

 

[Steve102]

The offense would have been a C with Brady. Cam is horrible, his mechanics are all fouled up, either due to years of bad coaching or injuries or both. Cam, while being a great locker room guy, all around good dude and snappy dresser, is not the answer at QB. @Pape is right, specials are in good shape. Everything else needs an upgrade and looks like it's been addressed. Now we wait until the end of April to see how the draft goes.

 

[ashley]

There are still a few moves they can do, but they look mostly ready right now hrading onto the draft. Here are my grades.

STs Grade: B I'm not getting into this much. Kicker is still a position I wish we were better in. But I like everything else well enough.

Bob, I know giving grades is very subjective and I respect your opinion, but if you're giving our special teams unit which is the best in the league a B.....wow, you're a tough grader!!!! Also think of our Tight end position, O-line, RB's are less than an A....again tough grader.

 

[moosekill]

Bob, I know giving grades is very subjective and I respect your opinion, but if you're giving our special teams unit which is the best in the league a B.....wow, you're a tough grader!!!! Also think if our Tight end position, O-line, RB's are less than an A....again tough grader.

Yes, you have one of the top two or three sets of tight ends and offensive lines in the league, they both have to be an A. Agree with your grade on the running backs. We have 3 good ones, and one ? but no great ones.

 

[RobertWeathers]

There are still a few moves they can do, but they look mostly ready right now hrading onto the draft. Here are my grades.

Offense.

QB: Cam/tbd - I think Cam wasn't as bad as some say he was last year. The offense simply didn't have the skill players. That being said, he isn't good enough to take us where we want to go. Grade: D
OL: Brown Mason Andrews Onwenu Wynn back up IOL Karras, back up OT tbd. Overall a very good group with no weak spot. The only question is what happens if Brown or Wynn miss time? But back up OT bring your concern is a good spot. Grade: A-
RB: Harris, White, Michel, Vitals(FB). A very good and diverse group. About the next best thing you can have besides a true super star at the spot. High hopes for Harris. Grafe: B+
TE: Henry, Smith. I'm curious to see who'll be the 3rd TE, but not too curious. This is all about the top 2 guys. Id still rather have Little or Kelce over both next year. Outside of that it's questionable if there will be a team better off in that spot than us. Grade: A-
WR: Agholor, Bourne, Edelman, Meyers. Still not a strong point, but not horrible. If Edelman retires it will look a little worse. While they want have that clear cut number 1 option, they will be able to flood the field with decent targets and try to pick on the weak links. Grade: D+

Overall offensive grade: C (but with a better QB it improves a lot). The lack of a true #1 option hurt, but they can run, protect the QB, and give any D at least some match up issues with their 2 TE set.

DL Guy Godeaux Anderson Judon Wonovich Wise. There is still a lot to work out here, and another piece could be added on the outside imo. While Judon is called an OLB I think he'll mostly play DE for us. A good cast but one more star player would put them over the top. Grade: B
LB: Hightower Van Noy Bentley - A big strength of the team. Grade A-
CB: Gilmore Jackson Jones Williams. I'll assume for now Jackson is staying. I do still hope McCourty comes back. Even without him this group is arguably the best in the NFL. Grade: A
S: McCourty Mills Dugger. A group that should have a very good top 2. And I like Dugger. Grade B+

Overall Defensive grade: B+ This defense is really more than the sum of it's parts. The only issue it has is that without a 5 man rush I don't see how they reliably get pressure. They have the coverage to pull it off against most teams. Bit against a team with the skill position depth to beat man, they can be had a bit. Not to mention they aren't reallt built to stop TEs or RBs. But you rarely have everything. Overall this D is clearly Championship caliber.

STs Grade: B I'm not getting into this much. Kicker is still a position I wish we were better in. But I like everything else well enough.

Overall Grade: B- right now we look like a typical mid tier WC playoff team. Our coaching advantage is nice. It would be nice to say we're a QB away, but I think we are are kust a tad more than a QB away. Very close though.

There is no question the talent on offense has been vastly upgraded. We can all agree on that. WR, TE, White back, RBs are good. O-line will be very good etc.

We can also agree the offense stops and starts with the QB making good decisions and making accurate throws.

This offense does not need Mahomes to be efficient. Hell the Titans averaged more than 30ppg with Tannehiill and the Dolts 28ppg with Rivers.

The average NFL offense put up 25ppg.

Based on how sub-standard Cam is and the talent on offense it feels like a 24ppg offense.

 

[Nunchucks]

Disagree. The only offenses with a chance to be in the A range as of right now are the Bucs and KC. Even if you add Mahomes or Brady to this cast, who is the headline guy they throw to? Where is the Evans? Or Kelce/Hill? If you add in a QB whose good but not absolute top tier, like Josh Allen or Watson you would be a B at best. Only with an absolute monster at QB like Brady/Mahomes would you be elevated to B+ range.

If I had to compare this offense to any of the Patriots offenses, I would say they remind me of 2004. They could have an overall run game almost as good as that team. I think their OL is at that level. Their pass catching targets aren't amazing and clearly not designed the same way, but they are deep and have options. the only difference is we'll have a QB besides damn near prime Tom Brady.

I think a lot of fans are being unrealistic when it comes to the talent level of our skill position players. The one thing that is very good for us when it comes to our offense is that it will travel well, and no team is really well built to defend it as it's very atypical.

Run the ball, throw to the TEs and go deep when opportunities arise. A team with speedy weapons is not needed when there are 2 TEs like Smith and Henry, an OL that is dominant, and dynamic rbs.

This offense would be beastly with a qb.

 

[oldrover]

Cam really was as bad as people said last year.

I thought he was pretty solid the first three games pre-COVID. But that view is sometimes...

...unpopular.

 

[Uptown]

.

 

[sb1]

QB: D-
RB: B+ - would love to give this group an A but I worry about injuries here
WR: C only if Edelman is healthy
TE: B Draft a guy like Pitts and this turns into an A.
OL: B+

Defense:
DL: C+
LB: B-
Secondary: A-

ST: A-
Coaching: A-

I see a 9 win roster. I think the floor is higher than it was a month ago but I'm not seeing the upside yet without a QB.

 

[aluminum seats]

Feel like a D for the wide receivers is harsh but who the hell knows

 

[Pape]

I thought he was pretty solid the first three games pre-COVID. But that view is sometimes...

...unpopular.

except for the Seattle game, it was a run heavy offense... Cam had to manage his position, he never took over the games... If there was a positive to his play it was on the ground... So I can't say i agree with your opinion that he was "pretty solid" because we (most likely) have differing ideas of what pretty solid means... I think that Cam was propped up by a new look dolphins still trying to work out the kinks, a league worst seattle defense and a rudderless ship in vegas... when we started playing the harder part of the schedule, he didn't do anything noteworthy... i get that its not all on him, but as the qb, it really is all on him

 

[Patsgofor4]

QB: D-
RB: B+ - would love to give this group an A but I worry about injuries here
WR: C only if Edelman is healthy
TE: B Draft a guy like Pitts and this turns into an A.
OL: B+

Defense:
DL: C+
LB: B-
Secondary: A-

ST: A-
Coaching: A-

I see a 9 win roster. I think the floor is higher than it was a month ago but I'm not seeing the upside yet without a QB.

Considering that that they easily could have gone 8-8 last year and have an weaker SOS this year (theoretically) you’re estimate seems very pessimistic. If their TEs are a B, no teams have A rated TEs.

 

[amfootball]

Hard to tell in March. Who knows how many of these FAs will be solid contributors. I don't feel good about our WRs as they are JAGs. I like the TEs a lot and the RBs. QB is putrid so until we fix that than how to know what we can do. I am thrilled with the Oline so that will help whoever the QB is and that is critical.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

Lets see what sticks to the walls before ....we cast judgment.....I am sure there are more ingredients to come .....

 

[Uptown]

Obviously, we’ll fill in talent/depth in certain areas per usual, but we’re really just a QB away. We won 7 games with one of, if not the most untalented group of skill position players (outside of RB) in the league last year. We beat BAL, OAK & could’ve beaten KC if our QBs could play football. We’ll be fine..

 

[mgteich]

There are still a few moves they can do, but they look mostly ready right now hrading onto the draft. Here are my grades.

Offense.

QB: Cam/tbd - I think Cam wasn't as bad as some say he was last year. The offense simply didn't have the skill players. That being said, he isn't good enough to take us where we want to go. Grade: D
OL: Brown Mason Andrews Onwenu Wynn back up IOL Karras, back up OT tbd. Overall a very good group with no weak spot. The only question is what happens if Brown or Wynn miss time? But back up OT bring your concern is a good spot. Grade: A-
RB: Harris, White, Michel, Vitals(FB). A very good and diverse group. About the next best thing you can have besides a true super star at the spot. High hopes for Harris. Grafe: B+
TE: Henry, Smith. I'm curious to see who'll be the 3rd TE, but not too curious. This is all about the top 2 guys. Id still rather have Little or Kelce over both next year. Outside of that it's questionable if there will be a team better off in that spot than us. Grade: A-
WR: Agholor, Bourne, Edelman, Meyers. Still not a strong point, but not horrible. If Edelman retires it will look a little worse. While they want have that clear cut number 1 option, they will be able to flood the field with decent targets and try to pick on the weak links. Grade: D+

Overall offensive grade: C (but with a better QB it improves a lot). The lack of a true #1 option hurt, but they can run, protect the QB, and give any D at least some match up issues with their 2 TE set.

DL Guy Godeaux Anderson Judon Wonovich Wise. There is still a lot to work out here, and another piece could be added on the outside imo. While Judon is called an OLB I think he'll mostly play DE for us. A good cast but one more star player would put them over the top. Grade: B
LB: Hightower Van Noy Bentley - A big strength of the team. Grade A-
CB: Gilmore Jackson Jones Williams. I'll assume for now Jackson is staying. I do still hope McCourty comes back. Even without him this group is arguably the best in the NFL. Grade: A
S: McCourty Mills Dugger. A group that should have a very good top 2. And I like Dugger. Grade B+

Overall Defensive grade: B+ This defense is really more than the sum of it's parts. The only issue it has is that without a 5 man rush I don't see how they reliably get pressure. They have the coverage to pull it off against most teams. Bit against a team with the skill position depth to beat man, they can be had a bit. Not to mention they aren't reallt built to stop TEs or RBs. But you rarely have everything. Overall this D is clearly Championship caliber.

STs Grade: B I'm not getting into this much. Kicker is still a position I wish we were better in. But I like everything else well enough.

Overall Grade: B- right now we look like a typical mid tier WC playoff team. Our coaching advantage is nice. It would be nice to say we're a QB away, but I think we are are kust a tad more than a QB away. Very close though.

Did our starting SS really get cut when I wasn't paying attention?

 

[Ross12]

QB: D-
RB: B+ - would love to give this group an A but I worry about injuries here
WR: C only if Edelman is healthy
TE: B Draft a guy like Pitts and this turns into an A.
OL: B+

Defense:
DL: C+
LB: B-
Secondary: A-

ST: A-
Coaching: A-

I see a 9 win roster. I think the floor is higher than it was a month ago but I'm not seeing the upside yet without a QB.

I'd say 10 wins. They got 7 last year; they improved immensely at TE and a fair bit at WR; their D is better and their schedule is easier. There's also an extra game which I think is winnable. I'd say:

Wins:
Home: Dolphins, Jets, Jaguars, Saints
Away: Jets, Texans, Colts, Panthers, Chargers
TBD: Cowboys

Losses:
Home: Bills, Titans, Buccaneers, Browns
Away: Bills, Dolphins, Falcons

I could certainly see an argument for a few either way. If they add someone like Garoppolo I'd probably bump this up to 11 or even 12 wins (assuming he's healthy most games). Probably adds wins against teams like the Falcons, Browns and maybe the Bills once.