Patriots 2024 Season

[Goldstar88]

What is making people sold on Maye? Sure, he?s athletic and has a strong arm, but it takes a lot more than that to be successful as a QB. Just ask Trevor Lawrence. It?s going to come down to decision making and IQ, which is still a huge question mark with Drake.

[Vermont Green]

There is a lot of grey area between "sold" on him and "given up" on him.  There is talent and athleticism.  A lot actually.  There are also bad decisions and lack of poise in some situations.  But this is all in the context of a really bad team; bad line, bad receivers, bad scheme.  I am definitely not ready to give up on him nor am I ready to declare he is the next big thing.

[SparzWizard]

Drake Maye and the Pats looking solid against his classmate Caleb Williams at Soldier Field

[kraidstar]

What is making people sold on Maye? Sure, he?s athletic and has a strong arm, but it takes a lot more than that to be successful as a QB. Just ask Trevor Lawrence. It?s going to come down to decision making and IQ, which is still a huge question mark with Drake.

He's incredible at sensing and evading pressure, and has a good feel for the game. He was waaaaaaaay better than Caleb Williams today,  tossing dimes under horrific wind conditions.

Every game he does have a couple stupid plays. Like today throwing the ball right at the defender in front of him. But I think that's fixable. He's putting himself into favorable situations.

And he keeps his head up even when his teammates are letting him down (which is frequently). It's a nice change of pace from Mac's negativity - which reared its head again today in a dysfunctional Jags loss to Minnesota.

But Maye is an absolute freak. It's almost unbelievable how much raw talent he has. If he can limit the dumb turnovers he'll be fine. To put things in perspective,  Sam Darnold was making far worse throws today for a very talented Vikings team that is 7-2. If Drake can be smarter than Sam freaking Darnold - and if Wolf actually has a good draft or two - we're going to be a contender fairly soon.

[Roy H.]

I'm sensing a coaching change coming in Chicago.  My God was that embarrassing.

[Vermont Green]

The Bears played horribly, there is no debating that.  But this was also a very good game by the Pats.  Fewer penalties, fewer mistakes overall.  Got to give credit to the players and the coaches.   The interception was a very bad play for Maye but overall, he was great.  Great for a rookie anyway.

Keep in mind that Drake Maye is 22, 2 years younger than Daniels (who will be 24 in Dec) and 1 year younger than Williams (who will be 23 in Nov).  That makes a difference.  How good would Daniels have been if he came into the NFL two seasons ago, at about the same age as Maye?  Or how much better do you think Maye will be in 2 seasons?  There is hope for the Pats.

[SparzWizard]

I'm sensing a coaching change coming in Chicago.  My God was that embarrassing.

Da Bears have lost 3 in a row after their bye week including two blowout losses and one to a hail mary. Yikes.

[SparzWizard]

The Bears played horribly, there is no debating that.  But this was also a very good game by the Pats.  Fewer penalties, fewer mistakes overall.  Got to give credit to the players and the coaches.   The interception was a very bad play for Maye but overall, he was great.  Great for a rookie anyway.

Keep in mind that Drake Maye is 22, 2 years younger than Daniels (who will be 24 in Dec) and 1 year younger than Williams (who will be 23 in Nov).  That makes a difference.  How good would Daniels have been if he came into the NFL two seasons ago, at about the same age as Maye?  Or how much better do you think Maye will be in 2 seasons?  There is hope for the Pats.

But is there hope as long as Eliot Wolf is the GM for this team who won't bolster the o-line and Robert Kraft still the owner of this club who is conservative in spending?

[Vermont Green]

The Bears played horribly, there is no debating that.  But this was also a very good game by the Pats.  Fewer penalties, fewer mistakes overall.  Got to give credit to the players and the coaches.   The interception was a very bad play for Maye but overall, he was great.  Great for a rookie anyway.

Keep in mind that Drake Maye is 22, 2 years younger than Daniels (who will be 24 in Dec) and 1 year younger than Williams (who will be 23 in Nov).  That makes a difference.  How good would Daniels have been if he came into the NFL two seasons ago, at about the same age as Maye?  Or how much better do you think Maye will be in 2 seasons?  There is hope for the Pats.

But is there hope as long as Eliot Wolf is the GM for this team who won't bolster the o-line and Robert Kraft still the owner of this club who is conservative in spending?

I think there is.  I am not ready to give up on Wolf after just one off season.  See how we look with Strange, Andrews, and Wallace back to reinforce the OL.  Plus pick/FA additions, and the OL could look a lot better.  I actually like our young receivers not named Thornton.  And the defense will be better too.

That said, I am not "sold" on Wolf either.  He still has plenty to prove but no GM was going to fix everything in just one off season.

[Phantom255x]

This team could very well be a playoff team if the Krafts actually invested a little more into the team. Like I'm not saying they had to go out and add 10 elite players, even just 1 legit offensive tackle, a #1 WR and probably another quality LB on defense to go along with what they currently have could definitely be a wild card team. They are 3-7 but just two games out of the playoffs currently. And that's also with Barmore, Judon (traded), Bentley, Peppers (investigation) and David Andrews out. 

Big offseason ahead though. If Wolf and/or the Krafts don't invest and add the necessary talent then unfortunately it may not matter what Maye becomes (unless it's somehow Mahomes but that's doubtful). You still need some pieces around the QB. Who is Maye's "Travis Kelce/Gronk/Diggs/Chase/Hill/Edelman/Jefferson" type alpha option. Maybe it's on the roster currently but I'd like to hope they can add a real #1 to go along with Henry/Douglas/Boutte/Polk/Baker going forward. Then with your first round pick, use that on a tackle.

[Goldstar88]

Another terrible WR pick. 

@AdamSchefter

Patriots are releasing 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, per source.

[Vermont Green]

Another terrible WR pick. 

@AdamSchefter

Patriots are releasing 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, per source.

Harry (2020 1st) and Thornton (2022 2nd) go down as two really bad picks.  Let's hope that Boutte, Polk and Baker turn out, like Douglas seems to have.  I think these young receivers could be better than people think.  The bad OL makes it tough on receivers too, not just on the QB.  I think we have to shore up the OL before we give up on any of these remaining young receivers.  It is hard to know with Baker, but I think the other 3 have shown enough under difficult circumstances to instill some confidence or hope.  Even Baker, I believe, has shown NFL ability in preseason and practice, I don't know what his issues are.  But probably too soon to give up on even him.

To me, priority #1 for next off season is the OL (not exactly a hot take).  Cole Strange should be back, maybe at Center.  Onwenu and Sow are both solid guards.  Wallace could be a good RT, hard to know, but not unrealistic.  Some others we have now could be fine for depth.  Seems pretty obvious that the need is a LT.  With the OL, if you have even one soft spot, the whole thing breaks down, the whole line looks bad.  Shore up that one soft spot, and things can improve dramatically.  I am not counting on D. Andrews coming back, but he could be a wild card in all this.

I would target the OL and defensive depth in the draft.  Target OL (LT in particular) and maybe a WR in free agency.  There will of course be a RB picked up here and there, vets on D, the usual stuff.  I have some hope at the moment for this team.  Good defense takes a village.  You need to be solid everywhere and have depth.  We seem thin at LB after loosing Bentley and Judon.  Draft should be able to help with that.  It never hurts to bring in solid vets on D, but I don't feel like we need to make a big FA splash on D.  Draft well, fortify what we have, and the D should be fine.

[SparzWizard]

Bolster the OL. Including the backups. We need quality or at least average enough line to hold up. Currently fielding a D or F-grade OL out there.

Next is weapons. We need more weapons more versatility.

And then lastly the defense.

[Phantom255x]

If you ask me, Tee Higgins would be a home run acquisition this offseason for the Pats and Drake Maye. I know his numbers haven't popped this year but I think that's a result of being behind Chase and the Bengals being meh this season. Also he missed a few games to injury.

He's still only 25 and I think could be further rejuvenated being the alpha on a young team led by Maye. Higgins/Douglas/Polk/Bourne/Baker is not a bad group at all. Henry the #1 TE.

Now I'm not going to pretend like I know all the FAs and draft picks, but ultimately if the Pats can add Higgins in FA, draft a tackle in the 1st round, then spend their cap space on another O-Lineman, a CB to pair alongside Gonzalez/Jones, 2 linebackers while getting back Bentley/Strange/Andrews and others from injury they could be in a nice spot next season.

I don't think the Pats need to actually do a ton to get back to being a playoff team/contender, but they absolutely have to acquire real talent and close the deals this time. Enough with the "2nd tier/depth signings", you can make a few of them BUT lets actually get a real tackle + #1 WR.

[Neurotic Guy]

If you ask me, Tee Higgins would be a home run acquisition this offseason for the Pats and Drake Maye. I know his numbers haven't popped this year but I think that's a result of being behind Chase and the Bengals being meh this season. Also he missed a few games to injury.

He's still only 25 and I think could be further rejuvenated being the alpha on a young team led by Maye. Higgins/Douglas/Polk/Bourne/Baker is not a bad group at all. Henry the #1 TE.

Now I'm not going to pretend like I know all the FAs and draft picks, but ultimately if the Pats can add Higgins in FA, draft a tackle in the 1st round, then spend their cap space on another O-Lineman, a CB to pair alongside Gonzalez/Jones, 2 linebackers while getting back Bentley/Strange/Andrews and others from injury they could be in a nice spot next season.

I don't think the Pats need to actually do a ton to get back to being a playoff team/contender, but they absolutely have to acquire real talent and close the deals this time. Enough with the "2nd tier/depth signings", you can make a few of them BUT lets actually get a real tackle + #1 WR.

You left out Boutte who may be their best receiver right now.  I think the big question is whether a legit #1 receiver immediately transforms this group from well below average to solid or dangerous.