Couple things here, obviously it’s the offseason and there isn’t much else to debate, and second, behind Brady he’s the most popular Patriot out there and given his larger-than-life personality, it’s certainly going to be something people are going discuss ad nauseum. (We’ll keep it limited here of course)…
I think in some ways us Pats fans are spoiled because we almost view the regular season as meaningless at this point, but I do think with the offense undergoing a major turnover we have to realize that we could be in for a race this year.
Miami is going to be better. Mike Pettine should have the Bills defense ready to play Brady the way they need to. And I know everyone like to pile on the Jets but our games with them under Rex are ALWAYS close early in the season.
So yes, of course having Gronk for the stretch run is key, but if he’s PUP’d he’ll miss two division games, and if he’s out until early November he’ll miss four division games. The post-bye portion of the schedule is tough, including the Broncos, Texans and Ravens, so the Pats should still hold their own fate in their hands, but they cannot afford to get into a hole in September and October.
They’ll need Gronk back asap.
