It’s likely the New England Patriots regress in the 2020 season.
It only makes sense for a team who just lost Tom Brady — while having no real contingency plan in place. Bill Belichick is still one of the greatest coaches in football history, making an interesting narrative on whether or not the Patriots can overcome the situation at quarterback.
Las Vegas doesn’t believe Belichick can overcome and thrive in the situation at hand. Ceasars Sportsbook dropped the NFL win totals for all 32 teams and have the Patriots opening with 8.5 wins — the lowest since 2003. Head oddsmaker at Ceasars, Jeff Davis, spoke with ESPN’s Mike Reiss about New England’s odds.
“My raw number on the Patriots is less than eight [wins],” Davis said. “Outside of the secondary, which is one of the best in the league, the rest of their roster I think is one of the worst in the NFL.”
Aside from having Belichick, a solid group of coaches and an elite secondary, the Patriots aren’t in the greatest shape right now. The tight end position hasn’t been addressed, the linebacker corps fell apart quickly, the receivers group isn’t that strong and they lack solid depth throughout the roster.
Brady held the Patriots up under many circumstances, hiding the flaws that sometimes glaringly stuck out. Belichick has his work cut out for him, and it might be with a second-year quarterback running the ship.
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