00:00Tony put in front of us a story in The Athletic, The New York Times, where they went through NFL
00:05teams that are underrated and overrated.
00:09And wouldn't you know it? In the overrated category, landed your New England Patriots.
00:14Overrated, says The Athletic slash New York Times.
00:19I'll read you the blurb. We'll start with that, okay?
00:21Sure.
00:21And listen, out there, if you want to talk football, it is an excellent time to do it, okay?
00:25Over the next couple hours, anything you want with the Patriots, or anything else for that matter, feel free.
00:30617-779-0985.
00:33But The Athletic writes, Patriots overrated.
00:35The Patriots certainly exceeded expectations in 2025, overtaking Buffalo for the division and reaching the Super Bowl.
00:41Mike Vrabel and his players badly want to resolve unfinished business in 2026, but doing so could prove challenging.
00:49New England will not have the luxury of sneaking up on teams this season.
00:52The Patriots also have a grueling start with three road games in their first four weeks and two back-to
00:58-back road trips in their first 10.
01:00The Patriots landed A.J. Brown and hopes he can help elevate Drake May.
01:04But chemistry could take some time.
01:06New England also still seems to lack a game-changing pass rush, which needs to change for their defense to
01:12take another step forward.
01:13That's just what The Athletic wrote.
01:14I ask you generically, are the Patriots overrated or underrated?
01:17So if you have asked me this question a week ago, a month ago, what have you, I would have
01:22said they are overrated.
01:23After last year, how could they not be?
01:25They weren't a 14-3 team.
01:27They went to the Super Bowl.
01:29And amid all of that, they grossly overachieved.
01:33We all know that.
01:33But I'm now reading so much of this and feeling and hearing so much of this that I'm starting to
01:41wonder if they're actually starting to be underrated, which is kind of a silly thing to do.
01:45But I do believe that we are now kind of giving them an excuse for not being as good as
01:51they are.
01:52And I think if we look at just the roster, independent of the schedule, and look at the reality of
01:59the situation, you would say the quarterback should be better.
02:04He's in the second year of an offense now for the first time.
02:07He's got a coordinator two years in a row.
02:09They've added two wide receivers in A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs.
02:14They have helped, I think, the offensive line, two of the biggest acquisitions they made during the offseason.
02:20He's in moments of first-round draft pick, offensive tackle.
02:23He's not going to start, at least right now.
02:25But the point is that that group is being planned for and is getting better.
02:29They signed Elijah Vera Tucker.
02:30The offensive line is better.
02:32I add all that up.
02:33The experience, the additions on our offensive line, the additions at the skill position.
02:38And I say they should be substantially better on the offensive side of the ball.
02:43On the defensive side, they really haven't lost all that much.
02:47I do have concerns about the edge.
02:51Landry's hurt.
02:52He's going to be on PUP to start training camp.
02:55And Yakis obviously is a mystery here.
02:58It has been throughout the preseason.
03:01But...
03:01Let me have one more.
03:02Okay.
03:02I don't think Chris Gonzalez is a certainty this year.
03:04Okay, so that's fair, too.
03:05Or a fully effective Chris Gonzalez.
03:07And I admit that I am sort of assuming that the Gonzalez thing is going to get cleared up at
03:12some point.
03:12And he is going to play and remain with the Patriots.
03:15So, as of right now, he's a Patriot.
03:18So, when I look at their roster, they're pretty good.
03:24They were pretty good last year.
03:26They weren't 14-3 good, but they were pretty good.
03:29And they have had a good offseason.
03:31And I think now we're all sitting here saying, well, 9-8 would be a good year.
03:3510-7 would be a good year.
03:36I think they're better than that.
03:38I think they're probably one of the best half-dozen teams in the conference.
03:42And if you look at them that way, based on talent, they should be.
03:46They have a good young quarterback.
03:48They have a good coach.
03:49They've improved their offense, which was easily the weakest point of the team last year.
03:53They should be pretty good.
03:54Now I think they're a little underrated.
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