There’s A Good Chance the New England Patriots Struggle This Season

Chris Sims made waves earlier this week when he declared Jared Stidham is more talented than Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa. With the vacancy at quarterback left by future Hall of Famer Tom Bray, the Patriots hope so.

Chris Sims might be selling Tua Tagovailoa short, but Jared Stidham has big shoes to fill. First, even if Tom Brady was still in New England, the Patriots struggled down the stretch last year. Betting on defense for the first half of their 10 picks, the Pats didn’t select an offensive player until they selected two tight ends 10 picks apart in the third round, a clear indication of Stidham’s development.

With two tight ends and their number one receiving being slot WR Julian Edelman, the Patriots look to be focused on tight formations and quick release, a staple of a Tom Brady-lead offenses. However, keeping two tight ends frequently on the field is more or less a max-protect, ball security game plan. Control the clocks and the run, use the pass to keep the chains moving.

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While plenty of quarterbacks have filled in for Brady in the past, don’t look for the Pats to have immediate success early on in this season. Name drop Matt Flynn or Jimmy Garoppolo if you must, but there were far more pieces left of the offense with Brady out than when he moved on. Danny Amendola was a big part of that team, as was Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman. Only one of those three players remain.

Focusing on the other side of the football, the Patriots have had a solid foundation of defense along the way. Between Matt Patricia and Brian Flores, their defenses have been pretty stout during their championship runs. While they’re not gutting their entire team, New England was preemptive on defense, drafting heavy in the first couple rounds.

Even with a retooling on defense, the pressure is still on Jared Stidham to perform. He’s only one of three quarterbacks on the roster with journeyman Brian Hoyer and UDFA J’Mar Smith. Hoyer has been the placeholder for many teams before arriving in New England and no one expects an undrafted quarterback to win the starting spot. It looks like Stidham will be their guy long term.

Then, of course, there’s free-agent QB Cam Newton. If none of the three quarterbacks stick, the Patriots could be holding off Cam as their black up plan.

New England struggled to dominate last year even with Tom Brady under center. Now the Patriots have a first-time starter, an aging dynasty, rookies who have to gel, and expectations to uphold. While everyone can say Bill Belichick is the reason for Brady’s success, there are far too many odds too stacked against him.