I wouldn't. But I thought that's what they were doing so I was sort of looking forward to a 3-13 Patriots season for once.
they weren't gonna go 3-13 ever with that defense and special teams. They were a fringe playoff team and Cam could get them there
No. But with a concentrated effort to make sure they get the #1 pick (benching/IRing key starters, etc.) and a bum at quarterback it was somewhat possible. Now they're solidified assuming Cam's healthy - which I'm sure he is.
Why did he sign for peanuts like that? Are they pulling some cheating stuff again? 40% of his contract on the books, 60% delivered to his bank account via the Robert Kraft special
They're still weaker than last year and I don't think this puts them into the KC/Baltimore conversation of 'sure bets'. If Cam starts all 16 games and hasn't fallen off the performance cliff, I think this turns them from a middling .500 team at best into definite challengers for the division.
With a bum shoulder and no juice in his legs. He's had a year and a half to recover and workout. I think he'll regain some rushing ability as I think he was more tentative about it because of his shoulder. The arm is the potential issue. It can be really hard to regain velocity and arm strength. He is a freak of physical nature though. But the problem with his arm strength is he always had a motion that relied heavily on a whipping motion from his body. It's like a pitcher with a violent motion. It's tough to regain velocity after you lose it. And he really didn't have it at all last year without putting everything he had behind every throw last year before he was shelved. However, if there's any coordinator that can hide deficiencies it's McDaniels (especially with Edelman underneath). And if there's any physical specimen that can possibly recover it's Cam. The dudes a 4.5 260 pound quarterback whose absolutely shredded.
He also is 13 games over .500 for his career while accounting for 240 touchdowns to 122 turnovers, along with a league MVP and SB appearance. Cam's a good player and he gets the best coaching staff he's ever had with a full year of recovery and an offensive line that actually has NFL tackles.
He hasn't stayed healthy in 1.5 years. The Pats OL has always been good because Brady gets rid of the ball faster than most and they don't need to block anyone for longer than 2 seconds. I'm not really worried about the Pats signing Cam.
What's changed though? The offense is virtually untouched from last season and they went 12-4 in Brady's worst season since 2013. Harry enters his second year in the league and they added two young talented rookie tightends (a spot that was pretty much a net zero last year). The defense lost two linebackers, but still has all of their cornerstone pieces. And Belichick churns our linebackers anyway. That's an 11-5 team as it stands right now, if not better. Good runningbacks, hall of fame receiver, two above average guards and a Belichick coached defense/HOF coaching staff. If Matt Cassel can get them to 11-5 and be pretty much awful the rest of his career, Cam will cruise to getting them there.