New England Patriots - NESN.com
Can we all be serious for a moment?
The New England Patriots’ schedule was officially released Wednesday, giving us our first look at the path they’ll take on what is expected to be a bounce-back season.
I just don’t think things will be as easy as some people are presenting.
I’ve taken on the role as our resident brake pumper here at NESN, and it isn’t a fun one. I’d love to clamor for Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, wouldn’t mind blindly crowning Will Campbell and certainly wish I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough to believe the Celtics have a chance of coming out of the Eastern Conference without Jayson Tatum, I just can’t bring myself to do it.
New England’s schedule is certainly among the most favorable in the NFL, but calls for the postseason, double-digit wins and a division title are asinine.
The Patriots’ official announcement produced plenty of fans to toss out ridiculous record predictions, which were expected and can be found here. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, whose judgment has historically been clouded by his fandom, should still have enough first-hand experience covering the sport to know that his call for a 12-5 season is insane. CLNS’ Taylor Kyles is a tremendous fella who I admire on a personal and professional level, but he’s crazy for saying they’ll go 13-4.
Eliot Wolf did a great job spearheading the roster reset. Mike Vrabel is a great head coach who will raise both the floor and ceiling of this club. Drake Maye should take a step forward. Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis might be enough to have this defense near the top of the NFL.
I just don’t think they’re miracle workers.
It’s easy to say that every team hits roadblocks, but there’s a reason that has become a cliché.
The Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets look like cakewalks on paper, but every season we see upsets. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons are being grossly underestimated. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens will pummel you. Can you count on everyone to stay healthy? No. Do we think the offensive line and receiving corps are where they need to be to compete with strong opposing units? I don’t.
I’d be a coward to judge people without giving my own record prediction, though, so make sure to screenshot this next part so you can dunk on me in January.
The Patriots are improved, but they aren’t exactly world-beaters, which is why I have them going 9-8. I’d be willing to bet they split their divisional matchups, while grabbing wins over the Raiders, Panthers, Saints, Titans, Browns and Giants — four of which will be at Gillette Stadium.
Whad’ya think? If you have them finishing with a different record, let us know in the comments.
