Just a few weeks ago, the New England Patriots appeared primed to storm out of the gate en route to another successful season. Unfortunately for the reigning Super Bowl champions, a level of uncertainty now looms over them as the 2019 season nears.
The Patriots caught a handful of tough breaks in the final weeks of the preseason. Center David Andrews will be sidelined for the entire campaign with a medical issue, while 2019 first-rounder N’Keal Harry will miss at least the first eight games as he begins the season on injured reserve. There were some general concerns regarding the Patriots’ offense prior to the updates on Andrews and Harry, and they only have intensified with the season opener less than a week away.
Doubt, obviously, shouldn’t be cast on Tom Brady and Co. Another AFC East title likely awaits the Patriots, who probably will be firmly in the mix for a spot in Super Bowl LIV as well. But for now, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager believes New England is surrounded by more question marks than any other team heading into Week 1.
“One thing I know about the New England Patriots this year is that they’re gonna win 10 games, maybe 11. They’re gonna win 10 games, it’s what they do,” Schrager said Tuesday on “Good Morning Football. “But they have some real question marks. We talk about Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) a lot, right? Like, Gronk, Gronk, Gronk. David Andrews, the starting center with the blood clot issue, is gonna miss the season. That is a huge deal for Tom Brady. This is the center he’s had the last several seasons. Their offensive line also lost Trent Brown this season. There are real questions about who’s catching balls from Tom Brady. We could talk about Josh Gordon and how wonderful he is. What version of Josh Gordon are we getting? He wasn’t there all summer. No Gronk, (Julian) Edelman — we’ll see what we got outta that — and after that, I don’t know who’s catching balls. The Patriots offense, it’s crazy to say it with (Josh) McDaniels and Brady, but I still think are question marks with what they got.”
September often appears to be extending training camp in Foxboro. The Patriots routinely use the first few weeks of the season to form their identity before really hitting their stride as we enter the fall months. It likely will be no different in 2019, especially considering the amount of changeover — both to the roster and coaching staff — New England endured in the offseason.
As such, we probably shouldn’t invest too much time now in trying to answer all of the aforementioned questions. The answers likely will become abundantly clear in mid-to-late October.
