No surprise, NFL players are opting out. Little over 60, maybe more. This included six or more Patriots players, a number of which are defensive guys. For as much disdain as I have for their tainted legacy over the last 20 years, some say they might be tanking on purpose to get Trevor Lawrence. I'm going to call bullshit on this one.
Granted, the best quarterback they have is Cam Newton, though he hasn't played in almost a year. They don't have much experience with the other ones either. Brian Hoyer has started, but poor play and injuries haven't helped. That Stidham guy is terrible. Offensively, the run game wasn't good last year. No tight ends contributed. But it's not an offense that is going to tank. Defensively, they will find others to fill in the spots.
Bill Belichick has been around the NFL for 40 years. He knows what he can do with a defense. He's a reason the Giants have two of the four Super Bowl trophies (technically, four since he lost to them in 2007 and 2011). He got the best of Lawrence Taylor, arguably the greatest defensive player and NFL player ever. For 20 years, he knows what he needs in his Pats defense. Ty Law, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi early on. Vince Wilfork, Asante Samuel, in the middle part of the 2000s. Those are small examples.
However, this is not a Pats problem. A lot of reshuffling is going to happen for many of the teams. I would not have my expectations be high when the season begins next month if they start on time. Without any pre-season games, it won't serve as a good test until they meet an opponent in the regular season. Safety first, but not even one game? I have a bad feeling about the first week.
But what does the team gain from tanking? I think most of the bandwagoners will disappear if that happened. And even if Lawrence were to get, he's going somewhere else. I can see Tampa a little bit. The L.A. Chargers. Maybe Carolina or Pittsburgh. There's other locations I can see him going to. But yeah, they wouldn't tank on purpose. If Parcells didn't do it, neither would Belichick. Too much fight in someone like him to want to give up that quickly.
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