The State of the Patriots: Accountability Check

The Patriots don’t look very good right now. And unsurprisingly, folks everywhere seem to have plenty to say about it.

The problem with these September takes is that, correct or incorrect, they get buried under the next four months of football and by the time December and January rolls around, the NFL is such a completely different place that nobody has the time or energy to go back and see what people thought as the season was kicking off. In that respect, anybody can more or less say anything they want, overlook the times they were completely wrong, and only focus on the times when they got it right.

Which is the point of this article. My hope is for everyone who has a strong opinion on the state of the 2018 Patriots, one way or another, to express that opinion in the comments below. Tell us why the 2018 team is NOTHING like the 2003, 2004, 2018, and 2016 teams that all took a few beatdowns on the way to Super Bowl glory. Tell us why we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Lament the end of the dynasty. Acknowledge the small bump in the road. We all have an opinion on the way things are going and what the future holds, and we haven’t been shy expressing those opinions on other articles and forums, so I’d like to see if I can get them all here and revisit them at season’s end.

Obviously, nobody knows what the next 13 weeks holds, and at the end of the day getting called out for being wrong (or praised for being right) isn’t going to move the needle at all in the grand scheme of things. I just thought it might be a good exercise, for those of you who tend to live very much in the moment, to see how much can change - or not change - between now and the end of the season.

Just to reiterate: by commenting on this article, you hereby give your permission to have that comment posted in an article I will put up at the end of the season in which I see who was right and who was wrong. If you were correct, you’ll be acknowledged for it. If you were way off, be willing to face the music. Opposing fans welcome as well - just be ready for the potential consequences of accountability.