An AFC East contender. Because once Tom Brady leaves New England the division is wide open. I highly doubt Josh Allen is the next Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and/or Tom Brady. Once the Patriots lose Tom Brady they'll become the Jets after Joe Namath, the Bills after Kelly and the Dolphins after Marino; it could take them generations to find their next Hall of Fame Quarterbacks.
The team who had the most injuries of ANY TEAM within the entire league while still being able to finish off the 2nd half of the season with more wins than any other team within the NFL (outside of Baltimore) @ 6-2 throughout our last 8 games. That's the team I followed. I also seen our young kid QB progress in just about every statistical category when in comparison to his rookie year despite playing behind one of the worst O-Line's within NFL history.
look, I like the wins as much as the next guy, but fuck, we're talking about beating the Giants, Redskins, Raiders, Dolphins on a gift PI call, Steelers playing a Duck at QB and the Bills resting their starters. Not exactly reason for unbridled optimism within your small mind.
The Jets have to Ace the off-season just to stay even at this point. It's going to take a minor miracle to build a playoff contender for next season. Maybe 2021 when Douglas and company have had a couple of drafts to solidify the base.
One thing that will be interesting is Belichick over the next few years. He's obviously already an NFL immortal reputation and resume wise but the one slight little crease in the velvet is the "he wouldn't have done it without Brady" part. If he can somehow outlast Brady, and even make (probably doesn't have to win it) another Super Bowl with some other QB and "prove" he was the top dog in the Belichick/Brady chicken and egg argument then he almost goes to whatever is beyond NFL immortal. And I would assume that's on his mind.
He's getting OLD. He looks it. I remember when I saw Parcells in Dallas and to me he just looked OLD. I think Belichick is at that point now. He's had quite a run there but nothing lasts forever. Of course someone has to end it for him/them. Darnold makes a big jump in 2020, Buffalo is already a contender, Miami stuck it to 'em good in week 17 this past season. Once it gets to the point where he's not winning seemingly every week he'll feel the losses & the years I think. He has nothing left to prove. Garoppolo's and the 49ers success with him who can argue that Belichick couldn't have done the same with him at QB? As Mike Francesa would say he's going into Canton on rollerskates. I don't expect him to be around for much longer.
Tommy Two-tone is on the big decline, it's over and Bellicheck knows he can't beat the better teams with him
Bill Belichick is 136-39 with Tom Brady (77%). Bill Belichick is 51-65 without Tom Brady (43%). Bill Belichick is a career loser without Tom Brady and CAN NOT consistently win without Tom Brady ala a career losing record of 14 games below .500 after 106 games without Brady, does not lie.
Yeah I get that and to a large extent I agree. But I also think that even the "reduced" older Belichick with only 4th gear is still likely enough to cover the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins in any given year and probably still good enough to steal one last non-Brady Superbowl if he can blunder his way into another effective QB somehow. So given that my vote is that New England is not done yet. Not what they were a few seasons ago, but far from what I'd consider officially "done"
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...ext-years-super-bowl-wont-say-for-which-team/ Someone needs to give him a reality check. At 41, 42 ??? he isn't going to get better at this point.
when they were murdering our Jets and sat Brady down, the backup came in and tossed Jamal Adams an easy pick 6. A sign of things to come
