Christmas Wish List: New England Patriots Edition

The New England Patriots have been one of the NFL’s only dynasties over the past two decades. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick elevated the team to all new heights. Now, half of that dynamic duo has moved on and it might not be long before the second half does as well. 2020 has been an ugly season for the Pats, one of which they’re not used to. There’s plenty to ask for this holiday season, but here’s a start.

A Quick Turn Around

The AFC East is all of a sudden competitive again. While the New York Jets don’t appear to be rebounding any time soon, the Bills and Dolphins look to have finally found a groove. Buffalo has talented veterans young enough to keep them competitive. Miami has a young developmental talent that could be around a while. The Pats on the other hand are at the tail end of their dynasty and if they want to keep things alive will have to start planning a youth movement.

More Patriots: Is the Pats Dynasty Over?

A More Consistent QB

Cam Newton was hyped up as the guy who’s going to make New England a favorite for a Super Bowl run. Fast forward to midseason and the Patriots quarterback has been average at best. While they’re not too far off from the division lead, the up and down of their play especially at quarterback doesn’t prove they can go on a run they would need to win back-to-back playoff games. They’ll be active this offseason but with cap issues, they might have to find bargain basement players to round out their roster. Unfortunately, they’re winning too many games to be at the top of the draft order to acquire a top QB.

Bill Belichick’s Replacement

Between covid, the Patriots struggles, and getting up there in age it would be a good time for Bill Belichick to walk away. He has nothing left to prove as a coach. Even if he was trying to stick around and overtake Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history, he’d still need 5 more years of 10 win seasons. The way the Pats look and how the division is coming on, it might be longer than that. With the difficulty of the 2020 season, don’t be surprised to see Belichick walk away at the end of this season.

New England has been the masterminds of the NFL for some time now but it appears their time is up. They might not need a full breakdown and rebuild of their roster, but it does need a solid overhaul. Two decades of great football is hard to pull off so if fans have to suffer through a couple of bad seasons to get back on track, so be it. At least the rest of the NFL can finally take a breath.