
It's true that a team without a quarterback has little chance, but given the talent drain the Patriots have experienced at tight end and receiver, it's debatable that any quarterback would have had a chance to succeed in New England in 2020. While that will probably warrant the most headlines - as it did throughout 2020 because of Cam Newton's uneven play and Jarrett Stidham never emerging as the possible heir as some projected - it would be wildly missing what is an even greater issue. No question looms larger than the same one that was being asked in March, when Brady officially pulled the plug on his time in New England. "There are a lot of guys that are in the locker room that aren't going to be next year." "When you have a season like we did this year, and you're not going to the playoffs, you have embarrassing losses, this roster is going to be a lot different," veteran cornerback Jason McCourty said.

Those inside the walls of Gillette Stadium are expecting a major shake-up in 2021. And this one cuts deep for many who, while grateful for unprecedented success over two decades, are simply following Belichick's own credo that the past is irrelevant to what happens going forward. He remains the right person to lead the turnaround, simply because one disappointing season amid a pandemic doesn't erase 20 prior years of unprecedented excellence.īut communicating his vision of how he plans to do so would be a welcome start for the invested, passionate fan base, part of which is still coming to grips with the idea Brady is leading the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Ĭhange is often hard. One of the most significant: Why is the roster he assembled with director of player personnel Nick Caserio - which was embarrassed in a 38-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night - so short on talent?Ī combination of shaky drafting, free-agent misses, COVID-19 opt-outs, salary-cap restrictions and the departure of quarterback Tom Brady has contributed to the current snapshot, putting Belichick, 68, on the spot to fix it. Once the New England Patriots were officially eliminated from the 2020 NFL playoffs in Week 15, coach Bill Belichick said there were team-based questions to answer as he now begins looking at things from a big-picture standpoint.


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You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserīill Belichick remains right person to help restock Patriots' rosterįOXBOROUGH, Mass.
