I’ve now had to turn off the Patriots game twice this season. I can’t remember the last time I did that. It seemed so promising for the Pats to start the season. Cam Newton looked like Cam Newton, the running game was strong, the offensive line gave him time in the pocket, we were completing downfield passes… and then things began to go haywire. It started with Cam getting COVID. Then the atrocity in Kansas City happened. Then it was Stephon Gilmore with COVID. Then David Andrews broke his thumb. Now it seems like the Patriots can’t even score a touchdown. They kept the Denver Broncos out of the endzone and still lost somehow.

The 49ers game was bad. It was really hard to watch. I had myself thinking, is this what it’s like to be a Jets fan? What that boiled down to, for me, is a few things, the first being the obvious: the Patriots have no real talent at wide receiver. It’s just not good. When a 34 year banged-up old Julian Edelman is still your most talented deep threat… you need to rethink several things. It’s no longer a secret that Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft have been more than lackluster at drafting the skill players, or even signing them as of late. New England has such a rich, legendary history of wideouts: Troy Brown, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Deion Branch… it doesn’t quite look like that right now. It’s not just the wide receivers who are thin either, who exactly do they have at tight end? Ryan Izzo and two rookies who have yet to catch a single pass? Not great.

This season is not a total loss quite yet, however. This upcoming game against the Bills (who look pretty dangerous) will tell us a lot about the character of this new look Patriots team. I don’t think the Broncos loss was valid (I don’t care who you are, if you only practice once in two weeks you’re not beating anyone in the NFL), and Kansas City, as bad as that game was, was a very winnable game for New England. And by the way, Kansas City does not seem like the powerhouse they’re supposed to be this year. I believe the 49ers loss was inexcusable, but their only real loss next to Seattle, however different those games were.

The main takeaways for me are these: the Patriots need wide receivers and fast, Cam needs his mojo back, and the defense needs to figure out how to defend the long ball against quarterbacks that know how to throw it. If they can figure those things out quickly, a good playoff run should be in order. I’m not expecting a Super Bowl, but I’m sure as hell expecting better than this.

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