Will the Patriots take back the division next season?

[Patnation21]

I think the Bills will be on top for quite a while unfortunately. I expect us to have a bit of regression next year before we start to get better in 2023.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

I mean Josh Allen can be scrambling and get hit hard enough to break his collar bone. You never know.

ha, right, about the only way. Those two "touchdown every time" games are inexplicable and worrisome.

 

[crawhammer]

Very early but for now I go with a prediction of 8 or 9 wins for 2022.

Fair or not, any fewer than 9 wins will be considered a failure and Belichick will start taking on some heavy criticism.

Option 3 and 4 are basically the same, since I doubt Bill sticks around for more than 3 years, especially if they can't win the Division in that time.

I think Belichick coaches for 5 more seasons or until they reach another Super Bowl, whichever comes first. If he gets the team to another Super Bowl through a rebuild with a new quarterback then he'll feel like he proved something. If he can't get it done in 5 years then he'll probably say enough is enough. If he retires without the team winning another division and/or not making it to another AFCCG then his detractors are going to say he couldn't win without Brady.

Belichick also wants to catch Shula so he'll probably stick around long enough for that anyway. Unless the team completely falls apart and they're winning 5-7 games per season... then he just runs out of time.

 

[Tunescribe]

If the Pats don't go 4-0 vs. Miami (as presently constituted) and the Jete, something's wrong. That would make the two Prairie Cows games crucial. Getting swept by the Dolphins this past season was inexcusable.

 

[Ivan]

The off-season hasn’t even begun yet. Once they get to training camp we should have a much better idea of what the outlook is. Buffalo ended up being a really strong team and they are the clear favorite to win the division, the Patriots need to build off of this season, and have another strong off-season if they want to really challenge for the division

The best thing about this season is that once they dug the hole the rest of the games were mostly must win games, and playing with that pressure helps to develop teams.

 

[BobDigital]

It's very simple. They have Josh Allen. We don't. Same reason us having Brady made it nearly impossible for them to take the division. That being said, Allen isn't the obstacle Brady was for them, but it is a huge advantage. Unless Mac proves he can be that level of QB, I think the Pats with a very good 52 and some breaks can steal a few years even with a worse QB, but we need to be considered the underdog every year due to that one fact alone. The NFL is a QB driven league, it isn't the end all be all, but it is overwhelmingly the most important thing. If you've been a Patriots fan watching Brady all these years and don't realize that, you haven't been paying attention.

 

[Rob0729]

As of right now, I would say no. They currently are not as good as the Bills. Come the time the season starts, who knows?

 

[Biffins]

Need to wait for Josh's $45m contract to kick in with similar cap hits. Then we can have a chance. It's not this year. Unless Josh gets injured or something.

 

[FCB02062]

barring An Allen injury and the fact that Mayo and bills kids are still on the defensive staff, we will continue to see Buffalo put up massive #s vs the Mayo/Bills Kid defense...lots of people forget the 38-9 debacle in 2020 in game 15....take out the weather game and Mayo and Bills Kids defense has given up 38, 33 and 47 to Buffalo... the division is buffalos for the next 5-10 years. maybe Someone else wins one here and there but it's a Bills Mafia world and Pats are just living In it

 

[Tunescribe]

barring An Allen injury and the fact that Mayo and bills kids are still on the defensive staff, we will continue to see Buffalo put up massive #s vs the Mayo/Bills Kid defense...lots of people forget the 38-9 debacle in 2020 in game 15....take out the weather game and Mayo and Bills Kids defense has given up 38, 33 and 47 to Buffalo... the division is buffalos for the next 5-10 years. maybe Someone else wins one here and there but it's a Bills Mafia world and Pats are just living In it

 

[Foxypats]

Too much negativity in this thread! Any thing is possible and I will wait to see how the off season shakes out . We can absolutely compete with them. Will never stop believing!!!

 

[Guts]

Too much negativity in this thread! Any thing is possible and I will wait to see how the off season shakes out . We can absolutely compete with them. Will never stop believing!!!

Not negativity more like realism. The Bills have the better QB and better weapons and to be honest better defense. Obviously we are a long way to go to see how it will shake out. On paper though the Bills are the class of the AFC East. Anything is possible though maybe we have another amazing draft and bring in some studs in FA then we sure can make some noise. Let's see what happens

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

Nope, and probably not even 2023 barring a Josh Allen injury

As some have said:

Many coaching staff departures and new OC/No OC for a 2nd year QB isn't exactly pretty.

I don't trust Joe Judge and potentially Adam Gase on offense

Our defense is flawed


And beyond that, our roster on offense is alright, but not good enough to do any deep playoff damage barring some type of insane 2nd year leap from Mac Jones. Mac would have to be elite (top 3ish) for this offensive supporting cast to be Super Bowl level.

Jc Jackson might not get resigned... *sigh*

Our cap isn't small, but it's not exactly free. And we haven't had 2 good drafts in a row that often.

I think some best case scenario is 10-7 and we finish 2nd in the division, but the more likely scenario imo is only 7-8 wins.

Worst case is 6-11.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Bills would have won the SB had they not fecked up the end of the divisional game. They will be tough to beat for the foreseeable future. Don't forget those crappy Pats 90s teams always played the Kelly Bills tough. This Pats team not so much.

 

[GreenCow]

The Patriots only needed one more win to have a tie record with the Bills. And you can play the (mostly useless) game of changing the one play that would've turned one of the L's into a W. Like Folk hitting the goal vs. Tampa or not fumbling in the first Miami game.

So the most charitable/kind look is that Harris hold on in Miami for one play and the 2021 Pats are tied with the Bills.

But, I know it looked terrible at the end and it was. BB will need to build a roster that doesn't punk out before the season is over.

The problem with that thinking is that the Bills would have been 16-1 by that logic. Every loss but 1 came down to 1 play.

 

[brdmaverick]

It's Buffalo's division to lose...plain and simple

 

[Triumph]

If Buffalo does not win the Super Bowl this coming season they never will.

The Pats have too many needs to overtake the Bills. DL,OL,WR,DB. If J C Jackson sits out and demands a trade, the Pats are in dire straights.

 

[Boomer B]

Pats might regress a bit. We just lost some pieces to the coaching staff and we have a somewhat tough schedule.

 

[Boston Boxer]

New England Patriots

Home
Buffalo - L
Miami - W
NYJ - W
Baltimore - L
Cincinnati - L
Indianapolis - ? Who is at QB
Chicago - W
Detroit - W

Away
Buffalo - L
Miami - L
NYJ - W
Pittsburgh - ? Who is at QB
Cleveland - W
Las Vegas - ? Could go either way
Green Bay - ? Who is at QB
Minnesota - W
Arizona - ? Who is at QB

lots of questions at QB for teams we play next year.

 

[Boston Boxer]

If Buffalo does not win the Super Bowl this coming season they never will.

The Pats have too many needs to overtake the Bills. DL,OL,WR,DB. If J C Jackson sits out and demands a trade, the Pats are in dire straights.

LB too