Will the Patriots make the Playoffs Next Season

[Hyped]

This sums the thread up:

 

[Sorrynotsorry]

They strengthen the line. Yes. They get a wide receiver room. Yes.
They get some dynamic rpo offense with using Milton to block or play action behind Maye. Yes

The money should be spent on the offense while the defense develops.

We can get a wild card.

The offense is the key next year to a rebuild.

 

[Real fan 02]

Team had the 32nd ranked Offense if Offense was was better Mayo would still be here. Get a LT and WR like Higgins we are in the Playoffs.

As you PF2 and Pape have perfectly pointed out all season and I didn't want to accept it.. the coaching was the biggest problem.. even worse than the talent. For example I know the defense was banged up.. but good coaching would still have the defe been respectable. A good defense is what Drake needed last season.

 

[archstanton543]

The offense is the key next year to a rebuild.

Don't sleep on the D. They ranked dead last in sacks and nearly last in pressures and QB hits. They're in desperate need of help on that side of the ball too. They have too many holes to fill in one off season, which is why I voted no.

(I would have voted RLKAG if that was an option)

 

[Real fan 02]

Don't sleep on the D. They ranked dead last in sacks and nearly last in pressures and QB hits. They're in desperate need of help on that side of the ball too. They have too many holes to fill in one off season, which is why I voted no.

(I would have voted RLKAG if that was an option)

Arch, well put. I'm glad that posters are realizing how bad the defense was and needs help. We need to revamp the Defensive line.. DT,DE are must haves! Draft Carter, sign chase young and add some depth will make a world of difference. We don't know what Barmore and his health situation is.. as he came back to prematurely.

 

[KCSVEN]

I'm voting yes with the assumption Vrabel is able to bring in some free agents and they don't blow the 4 pick. Unclear if Carter will be there, several mocks only have 1 QB going in top 3.

You need 10 wins. 2024 DVOA ranking below (Pats were 29)
Bills X2-4
Jets X2-23
Dolphins X2-21
Falcons-20
Panthers-30
Browns-32
Giants-28
Raiders-27
Steelers-15
Ravens-1
Bengals-13
Saints-22
Bucs-11
Titans-31

They play Bills twice and the Ravens, 3 games total that are top 10 teams. What if Bills are last game of year again and locked in?

11 of their games are teams #20 or worse in DVOA.

Only the Raiders on the list have a ton of cap space. 2nd to Pats. Patriots have almost triple the cap space of the other teams they play.

Saints, Browns, Dolphins, Falcons, Bills are 7 of the 17 games and teams with negative cap space. Bucs have 1 million. The Patriots are in the best position to improve, and they have a QB.

I see 11 wins as a possibility.

 

[archstanton543]

Only the Raiders on the list have a ton of cap space. 2nd to Pats. Patriots have almost triple the cap space of the other teams they play.

I know people don't like Curran around here but he did make a good point in his latest article. He said, "[Teams don't] get that much better in Free Agency anymore because the best players get re-signed."

Having a lot of cap space is great and all but the players that hit the market are those that their team think aren't worth keeping. And they're usually right (Juju, for example). You could get lucky, sure, but teams find ways to keep their best players unlike in the past.

 

[Real fan 02]

I'm voting yes with the assumption Vrabel is able to bring in some free agents and they don't blow the 4 pick. Unclear if Carter will be there, several mocks only have 1 QB going in top 3.

You need 10 wins. 2024 DVOA ranking below (Pats were 29)
Bills X2-4
Jets X2-23
Dolphins X2-21
Falcons-20
Panthers-30
Browns-32
Giants-28
Raiders-27
Steelers-15
Ravens-1
Bengals-13
Saints-22
Bucs-11
Titans-31

They play Bills twice and the Ravens, 3 games total that are top 10 teams. What if Bills are last game of year again and locked in?

11 of their games are teams #20 or worse in DVOA.

Only the Raiders on the list have a ton of cap space. 2nd to Pats. Patriots have almost triple the cap space of the other teams they play.

Saints, Browns, Dolphins, Falcons, Bills are 7 of the 17 games and teams with negative cap space. Bucs have 1 million. The Patriots are in the best position to improve, and they have a QB.

I see 11 wins as a possibility.

Agreed. In short I see us splitting with the bills. Sweeping the Jets and finally beating Tua twice. That gives us 5 division wins. Sound fundamental football and top notch coaching along with some elite weapons for Drake should propel us this season.. it's been long enough it's time for the NEP to make some noise next season.

 

[KCSVEN]

I know people don't like Curran around here but he did make a good point in his latest article. He said, "[Teams don't] get that much better in Free Agency anymore because the best players get re-signed."

Having a lot of cap space is great and all but the players that hit the market are those that their team think aren't worth keeping. And they're usually right (Juju, for example). You could get lucky, sure, but teams find ways to keep their best players unlike in the past.

Except he's wrong. The analyses I did show 5 starters on average are free agents for the good teams. Nearly half the contributing starters for Vikings are free agents. The Vikings are probably the worst drafting team in the NFL in terms of % success rate, they are horrid overall and solely a playoff team due to free agents.

You get most of your starters in the draft, but next most is free agents. Yeah, it's rare a Tee Higgins or Joe Thuney get to Free agency, but Hunter Henry NFL quality starter types are crucial to Buildng a team.

Almost 25% of your starters come from free agency. You absolutely get better by signing quality free agents. You get your studs in the first round of the draft and resign them. You overpay for a stud in free agency because they are rare.

Trey Smith, Ronnie Stanley and Tee Higgins would be massive upgrades, any 1 of them would be and at least 1 if not all 3 are getting to free agency.

 

[Real fan 02]

Agreed. In short I see us splitting with the bills. Sweeping the Jets and finally beating Tua twice. That gives us 5 division wins. Sound fundamental football and top notch coaching along with some elite weapons for Drake should propel us this season.. it's been long enough it's time for the NEP to make some noise next season.

@archstanton543

You have to take into account we lost 7 one score games last season. If we had better coaching we win at least 5 of them. Next seasons schedule isn't as daunting. Vrabel gives us such a coaching advantage in the Division. I say we finally beat Tua. Let's start there.

 

[archstanton543]

@archstanton543

You have to take into account we lost 7 one score games last season. If we had better coaching we win at least 5 of them. Next seasons schedule isn't as daunting. Vrabel gives us such a coaching advantage in the Division. I say we finally beat Tua. Let's start there.

An L's an L. Whether it's by one score or 6 scores. It's too hard to tell at this point whether or not those teams will improve in the off season and by how much. The Pats could also whiff on players this off season. The Pats are going into the season with a new HC, a likely new OC and DC. There's just too many variables and unknowns to make a solid prediction...that's why I went with "no" since it's based off of the team as it stands right now.

If we did a poll in, say, August, I might change my mind.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

I’m saying YES. They will fix the lines and Maye will take a big step forward. This will make everyone on offense better. Vrabel will plug the holes in defense, and get them back to where they were at a couple of years ago, and the momentum will get them a WC spot, and Vrabel the Coach of the Year.

It’s possible. I think we need fewer players than most think we do. It’s tempting to look at players in isolation and just say they suck, but one of the reasons they may suck is because the guy next to them really sucks. If we get a dominant edge rusher, for example, the guy on the other side starts looking like an all pro because so much attention is paid to the dominant rusher. The interior linemen start to look better, because that edge guy might move around, creating chaos for the whole offensive line. So, just one guy changes everything about the defensive line. Even the corners look better because the quarterback just doesn’t have the same amount of time to throw.

 

[Real fan 02]

An L's an L. Whether it's by one score or 6 scores. It's too hard to tell at this point whether or not those teams will improve in the off season and by how much. The Pats could also whiff on players this off season. The Pats are going into the season with a new HC, a likely new OC and DC. There's just too many variables and unknowns to make a solid prediction...that's why I went with "no" since it's based off of the team as it stands right now.

If we did a poll in, say, August, I might change my mind.

The focus is on the NEP.. Buffalo is the division leader. We focus on winning in the division first. Have to beat the teams in your division to know how you stack up. Simply better coaching and better situational football were imprints in a patriots teams DNA. We have to vastly upgrade the roster and coach the players that are here. I can confidently say.. in my opinion we will be a contender next season if we can do the obvious.

 

[Real fan 02]

It’s possible. I think we need fewer players than most think we do. It’s tempting to look at players in isolation and just say they suck, but one of the reasons they may suck is because the guy next to them really sucks. If we get a dominant edge rusher, for example, the guy on the other side starts looking like an all pro because so much attention is paid to the dominant rusher. The interior linemen start to look better, because that edge guy might move around, creating chaos for the whole offensive line. So, just one guy changes everything about the defensive line. Even the corners look better because the quarterback just doesn’t have the same amount of time to throw.

Exactly. As I've posted adding some pass rushers and depth to the DL vastly improves the D. We also can't speak enough on just how important coaching is. I for one realized this more than anything this past season. For example look at all the teams that made the post season. What they all have in common is good coaching. We should be one of those team come next season. Adding vrabel, some good tough and smart players to the roster will make a world of difference.

 

[lancerman]

The focus is on the NEP.. Buffalo is the division leader. We focus on winning in the division first. Have to beat the teams in your division to know how you stack up. Simply better coaching and better situational football were imprints in a patriots teams DNA. We have to vastly upgrade the roster and coach the players that are here. I can confidently say.. in my opinion we will be a contender next season if we can do the obvious.

The issue is most teams lose by a single score. Assuming the result will just flip by getting somewhat better is not how it works. Most fanbases say that and then realize the ratio of one score games they flip is just not nearly as large as they think. The Buffalo and Rams games were one score games. We still have a long way to go before we can comfortably say we are better and can change that outcome. Miami had a one score game against us and a very decisive ass kicking. We are nowhere close to them and they couldn't make the playoffs. We also got very decisively beat by some bottom feeders.

 

[Real fan 02]

The issue is most teams lose by a single score. Assuming the result will just flip by getting somewhat better is not how it works. Most fanbases say that and then realize the ratio of one score games they flip is just not nearly as large as they think. The Buffalo and Rams games were one score games. We still have a long way to go before we can comfortably say we are better and can change that outcome. Miami had a one score game against us and a very decisive ass kicking. We are nowhere close to them and they couldn't make the playoffs. We also got very decisively beat by some bottom feeders.

Agreed. This is why having the right coaching staff makes the difference as well add having roster talent. Have to be able merge sound coaching with talent in order to be in a position to get better. I would like to start winning in our division to finally beat Tua. I'd start there.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It’s possible. I think we need fewer players than most think we do. It’s tempting to look at players in isolation and just say they suck, but one of the reasons they may suck is because the guy next to them really sucks. If we get a dominant edge rusher, for example, the guy on the other side starts looking like an all pro because so much attention is paid to the dominant rusher. The interior linemen start to look better, because that edge guy might move around, creating chaos for the whole offensive line. So, just one guy changes everything about the defensive line. Even the corners look better because the quarterback just doesn’t have the same amount of time to throw.

Agree completely. And if they nail their choices in free agency and the first round of the draft they will push 5-8 current starters into bench roles, which is where they really belong. Given the amount of $$$ Vrabel has to use, and the 4 pick overall they can get a tremendous amount done. People can crap on Wolf all they want, but his decision to stay out of last years free agent market is the reason Vrabel has so much to work with in what should be a much better market. He did so at his own peril, and got shredded for it here, but now they can reap the rewards from it.

It’s amazing how fast Patriot fans, myself included, went from gloom and despair over the state of the franchise, to bullish on the future. A big part of that is that with Vrabel we now exactly what culture they will install, and what kind of team he is going to build. With Mayo there was no idea at all what he wanted the team to become, where as with Vrabel we know they will become as tough as any team, and stupid mistakes won’t be tolerated. There will be total accountability. I’m really looking forward positively.

 

[Kasmir]

There's a former Ravens linebacker that needs to have his say here.

Our former TE has that more than covered.

 

[archstanton543]

Our former TE has that more than covered.

Did he off a guy? Possibly more?

 

[Kasmir]

Did he off a guy? Possibly more?

Perhaps regrettably, he's unavailable for comment.