I have been burned many times and I created the thread. Haha. No guarantees that the Jets will succeed in 2016, but they are right in the thick of things with the rest of the AFC. Injuries, luck, etc will likely determine how the teams get separated.
We have more talent than we've had in a long time. We have quality coaches on both sides of the ball AND a quality HC for the first time since Tuna and his staff. The problem is the QBs we have and the schedule. It will be interesting to say the least. Kudos to you for being able to be so optimistic after having been burned. Most of us who have been burned with any frequency have become more jaded and cynical.
Plenty of time later in the season for 'jade and cynical'. Training camp is a time for dreams to spring eternal! Get those fn green glasses on.
I honestly don't see the patriots making the playoffs. Starting 1-3 and splitting the rest puts them at 7-9. The AFC East is wide open.
If the Patriots start off 1-3 without Tom Brady this could very well be their toughest regular season road they've seen in quite some time. For ex: Without Brady @ Arizona (Loss). vs. Dolphins (win). vs. Texans (loss) & vs. Bills (loss). I can easily see 1-3. This Jimmy kid may end up wetting the bed for all we know while up against the likes of two top 5 defenses in Arizona and Houston. Playing against a Buffalo defense may not be a cakewalk for this inexperienced QB either. We all know Ryan can expose mediocre/inexperienced QB's. Brady's First 4 games back from suspension aren't cupcakes either with 3 being road games. N.E faithful could be praying there aren't any rust factors for an aging Tom. @ Cleveland. vs. Bengals. @ Pittsburgh. @ Buffalo. vs. Seattle. @ San Francisco. @ New York Jets. vs. Rams. Those next 4 games above could also be difficult. Seattle followed by traveling to the West Coast for San Fran before traveling back to the East (from the West Coast) to play a divisional rival Jets team (coming off a bye week). The Rams could be decent too with a stout defense. vs. Ravens. @ Denver. vs. Jets. @ Miam. Denver & N.Y could be two of the best defenses. Baltimore could be tough. I don't know. I just have a feeling that N.E's defense will be tested like they've never been tested. Especially early on without Brady.
If I'm am 80 year old man whose joy in life is watching trains drive by, and I win the lottery, chances are I'll buy a bunch of land in Austin, Texas and have someone grow organic goods while I post nonsense on the internet.
Or you could spend 13 years insulting people on the internet for no reason, that seems more like something you would be interested in.
I see the Patriots starting the season 3-1 or 2-2. Probably finish the season around 11-5. The Jets definitely have a chance to seize the division, but no way they are going 7-9.
I can see us having a tougher schedule (on paper) as being a blessing in disguise under two scenarios. 1.) These players and our coaching staff have known we'll have a tough schedule coming up throughout the offseason. Maybe this can give us an edge mentally heading into the season while starting off with a sense of urgency out the gates, rather than coming out flat. 2.) If we do end up making the playoffs, we could then be considered as a "battle tested team" come postseason play. These are just some of my thoughts as I've been reading about our team heading into this up coming season with a stronger strength of schedule awaing us...
I'm not going to predict wins & losses but I see us being in the thick of it coming down the stretch. Tough schedule, yes but I think we've got a better team then last year .
The Pats with Bellicheater and Shady Brady have been and will prob be the juggernaut in the AFC this year despite the 4 game hiccup Garrapollo is going to play well so I wouldn't count any NE games as gimme losses especially having BB as his Coach Solution: we must beat them heads up and play our asses off every game
