There is no secret in the world of football that the right man under center can change a team dramatically and take them from the rock bottom and turn them into a championship team. The opposite is true for the wrong person under center.
Liard points to the colts as a blueprint on how to tank.
"You remember Curtis Painter, don’t you? The primary signal-caller for the 2011 Indianapolis Colts, who finished with a 2-14 record?
Painter - along with Kerry Collins and Dan Orlovsky - combined to go 0-13 to start that season, rendering the ‘Suck for (Andrew) Luck’ strategy a success as Peyton Manning readied for his free agency tour."
To be fair, Collins was past his prime by that point, he was washed up. Orlovsky and Painter were career clipboard holders. Failing to performing at NFL back up levels when given the opportunity to play.
So where does that tie in to the Patriots? Belichick has never been known to tank, although it has been speculated that Bill has lost to help friends in the past. His loss to Chip Kelly who's job as Eagles head coach was on the line in 2015 is just one example.
Entering the 2020 season Belichick will be fielding nearly the same team that finished with a 12-4 record. There will be a few differences as there were some departures and there are also several players that are returning from injury.
The Patriots are still expected to field a top 10 defense lead by the trio of Hightower, Gilmore and Devin McCourty. The Patriots gave up 14 points per game in 2019 and that should continue during the 2020 season. Meaning whoever's under center for the Patriots needs to lead them to 17 points a game minimum.
To make up for the departures, Belichick drafted the following players (positions assigned according to Sportingnews.com)
Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne
Josh Uche, LB, Michigan
Anfernee Jennings, LB, Alabama
Devin Asiasi, TE, UCLA
Dalton Keene, TE, Virginia Tech
Justin Rohrwasser, K, Marshall
Michael Onwenu, G, Michigan
Justin Herron, OT, Wake Forest
Cassh Maluia, LB, Wyoming
Dustin Woodard, C, Memphis
Belichick also brought in the following undrafted and NFL free agents;
QB Brian Hoyer, Colts
QB J’Mar Smith, Louisiana Tech
QB Brian Lewerke, Michigan State
RB J.J. Taylor, Arizona
FB Danny Vitale, Packers
WR Damiere Byrd, Cardinals
WR Will Hastings, Auburn
WR Isaiah Zuber, Mississippi State
WR Sean Riley, Syracuse
WR Jeff Thomas, Miami
TE Rashod Berry, Ohio State
TE Jake Burt, Boston College
DT Beau Allen, Buccaneers
DT Bill Murray, William & Mary
DT Courtney Wallace Jr Louisiana Tech
DL Trebon Hill, Miami
Edge Nick Coe, Auburn
LB Brandon Copeland, Jets
LB Kyahva Tezino, San Diego State
LB De'Jon Harris Arkansas
CB Myles Bryant, Washington
S Adrian Phillips, Chargers
S Cody Davis, Jaguars
With the plethora of new players, Belichick answered team needs. Although he did not draft a receiver or a quarterback. Belichick has brought in both this offseason, even if not at the tier people expected.
Byrd is extremely fast running a running a 4.28 and can provide the needed speed the Patriots have been looking for. Hastings if he can make the roster, already has chemistry with Stidham. There will be a battle behind Edelman and Harry for the remaining spots.
As far as quarterbacks go, Brian Hoyer knows the system and the playbook. As for the other two quarterbacks, after the last 20 years, has anyone not learned that where a player is selected doesn't always translate into how good they are? Belichick is the king of treasure hunter when it comes undrafted free agents.
So what this all means for the 2020 NFL season is that Stidham will get a chance to prove himself. Stidham is not going to be expected to win 12 games, however if he can win 7 or 8 games, he can show he's capable of being the future of the franchise.
With the current roster, Belichick doesn't have to play to tank. Bill can go out and game plan to win. It will be up to the Players to execute the game plan.
As stated by analysts across the Sports world, and myself, the success of the Patriots will also be up to how well Josh McDaniels can call and run an offense without having the input of the greatest quarterback to ever play.
"If incumbent Jarrett Stidham proves that he can play, then Bill has discovered he can build around ‘Stid’ and he might just win another AFC East crown this year on the strength of his defense and special teams play to go with an offense that improves and evolves with the season." wrote Laird.
If the Patriots quarterback room is unable to lead the Patriots to victory, then the Patriots will be in a position to acquire a top quarterback in 2021.
The Patriots are still not in Rebuilding mode yet and instead are retooling, regardless if they have to draft a quarterback in the next draft. As pointed out by Laird in his article, the Patriots at the moment still have another thing going in their favor.
"It might not even take a league-worst record to get a shot at the top of the prospect crop for 2021; with a dwindling number of NFL teams in obvious need of QBs right now (Cam Newton currently can’t find a job), earning a top-five or even 10 draft pick might be enough to maneuver in position." Laird wrote.
The Patriots have one of the toughest schedules on paper, and I advise all to keep that in mind when watching Stidham and the offense play this upcoming season. Keep in mind the Patriots are building a run first team and that will impact the quarterbacks on the roster.
Remember Payton Manning went 3-13, Troy Aikman went 0-11, Drew Brees went 8-8, and our boy Drew Bledsoe went 5-7 during their first years as starters. How many games a quarterback wins during his first year doesn't translate into talent level or ability.
Regardless of what happens, the Patriots are sitting pretty heading into the 2020 season. If the Patriots can stay healthy and players can execute, there is no reason to think the Patriots wont continue their run of dominance. If not, it's still a win-win for the Patriots.
Although many doubt him, Belichick has once again set the Patriots up for success. While teams may have thought they blocked Belichick in the draft from getting his players, Bill just showed once again that he's smarter than everyone else.
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