Patriots 2026-2027 Season

[Donoghus]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

It might've helped in the opener in Seattle.  Offense was terrible & all out of synch.

[Vermont Green]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

It might've helped in the opener in Seattle.  Offense was terrible & all out of synch.

I tend to agree that playing the starters (all of them, not just Maye) some in the preseason would have helped.  I acknowledge that there would also be the risk of injury.  Maye was not in sync with McDaniels those first few games and the whole team was not in sync with each other.

It is clearly a conscious decision by the team.

[Amonkey]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

It might've helped in the opener in Seattle.  Offense was terrible & all out of synch.

I tend to agree that playing the starters (all of them, not just Maye) some in the preseason would have helped.  I acknowledge that there would also be the risk of injury.  Maye was not in sync with McDaniels those first few games and the whole team was not in sync with each other.

It is clearly a conscientious decision by the team.

Playing against another team in a somewhat competitive game is vastly different than playing against your own team in practice. As a coach for my son's team, there would be times we would be scrimmaging against each other and I would feel pretty good about the decisions they were making, but then they would play against a new team with new skillset and different strategies and it would catch our team completely off guard.

[Donoghus]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

It might've helped in the opener in Seattle.  Offense was terrible & all out of synch.

I tend to agree that playing the starters (all of them, not just Maye) some in the preseason would have helped.  I acknowledge that there would also be the risk of injury.  Maye was not in sync with McDaniels those first few games and the whole team was not in sync with each other.

It is clearly a conscientious decision by the team.

Playing against another team in a somewhat competitive game is vastly different than playing against your own team in practice. As a coach for my son's team, there would be times we would be scrimmaging against each other and I would feel pretty good about the decisions they were making, but then they would play against a new team with new skillset and different strategies and it would catch our team completely off guard.

100%.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

[johnnygreen]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

During team practices and the joint practices in the preseason, no one is allowed to touch the quarterbacks. I would imagine that there is an adjustment period for quarterbacks once the games begin, especially with timing. There is a big difference between knowing no one can touch you and running for your life.

[Goldstar88]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

And then players get hurt in a preseason game and the fanbase says Mike, you idiot. Why are you playing starters in a meaningless game.

Look how many injuries the Pats have already this season. This is why they don?t play preseason. Not worth the risk.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

And then players get hurt in a preseason game and the fanbase says Mike, you idiot. Why are you playing starters in a meaningless game.

Look how many injuries the Pats have already this season. This is why they don?t play preseason. Not worth the risk.

Or did some of those injuries occur because the players weren't prepared for full-speed action?

[Vermont Green]

That is just it, I don't know if holding starters out of preseason makes it more likely they get injured at some point or less likely.  There are probably analytics on that.  Last season it worked out well relative to injuries, so far this season, not so much.

It is pretty clear what Vrabel's thinking on this is.  I can't say he is wrong, I really don't know.  It seems like the team would be more ready for the first 3-4 games if the starters played some.  But they may also still be 2-2 but with a couple more injuries.

I think in any case, the team should be more ready for the start of the season than it has been the last couple of seasons under Vrabel.  Whether that means playing starters some in the preseason, practicing/preparing otherwise differently, whatever.  I don't feel it is unrealistic to expect him to have the team more ready for the start of the season.  The difference between 2-2 to start and say 3-1 could be a playoff home game.  Or the ability to rest some starters the last week of the season.

[Goldstar88]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

And then players get hurt in a preseason game and the fanbase says Mike, you idiot. Why are you playing starters in a meaningless game.

Look how many injuries the Pats have already this season. This is why they don?t play preseason. Not worth the risk.

Or did some of those injuries occur because the players weren't prepared for full-speed action?

Players suffer injuries in practice, preseason and regular season games. It?s about minimizing risk.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

And then players get hurt in a preseason game and the fanbase says Mike, you idiot. Why are you playing starters in a meaningless game.

Look how many injuries the Pats have already this season. This is why they don?t play preseason. Not worth the risk.

Or did some of those injuries occur because the players weren't prepared for full-speed action?

Players suffer injuries in practice, preseason and regular season games. It?s about minimizing risk.

Then why have preseason? Get rid of it. If 90% (or more) of preseason minutes are played by second- and third-stringers, there's not much point to it.

[Goldstar88]

Imagine how much better the Pats would be right now if they hadn't taken the entire preseason off.

Drake playing a series or two in preseason was not going to change things much.

I had more than just a series or two for Drake in mind. Several series, for all of the starters.

And I realize that it's not just the Pats doing this, but it makes the first 3-4 weeks of the regular season absolute garbage to watch.

And then players get hurt in a preseason game and the fanbase says Mike, you idiot. Why are you playing starters in a meaningless game.

Look how many injuries the Pats have already this season. This is why they don?t play preseason. Not worth the risk.

Or did some of those injuries occur because the players weren't prepared for full-speed action?

Players suffer injuries in practice, preseason and regular season games. It?s about minimizing risk.

Then why have preseason? Get rid of it. If 90% (or more) of preseason minutes are played by second- and third-stringers, there's not much point to it.

Teams want to evaluate 2nd and 3rd stringers and the preseason gives them the ability to do that.

[Phantom255x]

This isn't just a Pats problem. Most teams now don't really play preseason and focus more on the joint practices. Or they treat the joint practices as an "intense preseason".

Hell, the Seahawks actually had fewer padded practices than the Patriots going into the season opener too. Some of these teams just don't play their stars and even if they did, it was maybe one half of one game. Sure, maybe the Pats should have done that instead of not playing anybody at all, but to be honest I'm not even sure how 1-2 quarters of football in the preseason suddenly makes you "in sync" and automatically enhances the chemistry of the team rightaway.

Belichick said this in the past and I think it's kind of the unspoken truth. The first 4 weeks (month) of a season is basically an extension of the preseason, and with the added week of regular season making it 18 weeks I think it's even more the case now. Yes I know it was a game across the world in Australia, but even the "superteam Rams" looked absolutely flat in their game early this season vs Niners. There's been a lot of ugly football to start.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This isn't just a Pats problem. Most teams now don't really play preseason and focus more on the joint practices. Or they treat the joint practices as an "intense preseason".

Hell, the Seahawks actually had fewer padded practices than the Patriots going into the season opener too. Some of these teams just don't play their stars and even if they did, it was maybe one half of one game. Sure, maybe the Pats should have done that instead of not playing anybody at all, but to be honest I'm not even sure how 1-2 quarters of football in the preseason suddenly makes you "in sync" and automatically enhances the chemistry of the team rightaway.

Belichick said this in the past and I think it's kind of the unspoken truth. The first 4 weeks (month) of a season is basically an extension of the preseason, and with the added week of regular season making it 18 weeks I think it's even more the case now. Yes I know it was a game across the world in Australia, but even the "superteam Rams" looked absolutely flat in their game early this season vs Niners. There's been a lot of ugly football to start.

It?s one thing for the first 3-4 weeks to be an extension of the preseason, but the first 3-4 weeks have become the preseason as far as starters are concerned. Which makes for garbage football that?s painful to watch.

[BitterJim]

This isn't just a Pats problem. Most teams now don't really play preseason and focus more on the joint practices. Or they treat the joint practices as an "intense preseason".

Hell, the Seahawks actually had fewer padded practices than the Patriots going into the season opener too. Some of these teams just don't play their stars and even if they did, it was maybe one half of one game. Sure, maybe the Pats should have done that instead of not playing anybody at all, but to be honest I'm not even sure how 1-2 quarters of football in the preseason suddenly makes you "in sync" and automatically enhances the chemistry of the team rightaway.

Belichick said this in the past and I think it's kind of the unspoken truth. The first 4 weeks (month) of a season is basically an extension of the preseason, and with the added week of regular season making it 18 weeks I think it's even more the case now. Yes I know it was a game across the world in Australia, but even the "superteam Rams" looked absolutely flat in their game early this season vs Niners. There's been a lot of ugly football to start.

1-2 quarters won't magically make you in-sync with teammates, but it will help highlight where your gaps are better than practice will. Then you can use practices to help close those gaps.