It feels safe to say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster, top to bottom, is stronger than the New England Patriots’.
But with all things considered, Nick Wright is expecting Tom Brady’s old team to have a more successful 2020 season than his new franchise.
The “First Things First” host, a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan and unapologetic Patriots hater, explained why Wednesday morning on FOX Sports 1.
“New England should be better,” Wright said. “Like, I should end up disappointed in this. New England last year went 12-4 despite having a mediocre offense and mediocre quarterback play. The defense and coaching staff should be excellent once again. That division, you’re not going up against Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Teddy Bridgewater. You’re going up against Tua (Tagovailoa) or (Ryan) Fitzpatrick, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen. I know all of a sudden people are high on the Bills. They still have a quarterback who has as many career 275-yard passing games as I do. So I think the Patriots are far better set up to be more successful this year and win the division.”
"I'm wired to root against the New England Patriots. … I'll be rooting for Tampa Bay. But New England should be better. The Patriots aren't going up against Brees, Ryan & Bridgewater. They're going up against Tua or Fitzpatrick, Darnold & Allen." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/UcL5hzf2Ki
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 6, 2020
Wright’s FS1 colleague, Colin Cowherd, projects a much different result for the 2020 Patriots. Not only does Cowherd have the Patriots missing out on the AFC East title for the first time since 2008, he believes they’ll finish dead last in the division.
These varied predictions likely are largely due in part to the uncertainty surrounding first-year starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham. But if the myriad reports are true, the Patriots have quite a bit of faith in the 2019 fourth-rounder.
