As the New England Patriots gear up for their 2024 regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, polarizing Boston sports fan Bill Simmons is already voicing serious concerns about his beloved team.
On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons, who heads The Ringer, shared a pessimistic outlook for the Patriots’ upcoming season, even suggesting it may be over before it begins.
Simmons pointed to several key issues, including starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, rookie head coach Jerod Mayo, and a shaky offensive line, as reasons for his bleak assessment.
“My beloved Pats, this is the worst team I think we’ve had since I was a senior in college,” Simmons lamented. “The offensive line is so bad, and everyone in Patriots Nation has been talking about it.”
Simmons referenced a hypothetical scenario where rookie quarterback Drake Maye, known for his strong arm and sky-high potential, struggles behind an inadequate offensive line.
“Drake Maye has a couple of really nice throws, and Chris Collinsworth says, ‘Oh my God, Mike, this kid, what he’s seeing. How did he do that? He’s 21 years old!’ Then, five minutes later, Maye’s running for his life on every play because there’s no left tackle, no right tackle, and we don’t have a center who can snap the ball.”
He went on to criticize the quarterback and coach pairing, saying, “The QB/coach combo is in the bottom three of the league or something like that.”
Despite his overall pessimism, Simmons does believe one thing matters most for the Patriots this year: protecting their young star quarterback.
“I love Drake Maye,” Simmons said. “The only thing that matters this season is that Drake Maye doesn’t get hurt.”
In response to the offensive line struggles, the Patriots recently signed Zachary Thomas and Demontrey Jacobs off waivers, hoping to shore up protection for their quarterbacks.
Recently, New England’s rookie head coach Jerod Mayo officially named Brissett as the starting quarterback. Although the decision was expected, most Patriots fans were disappointed by the news.
Simmons brings up a great point about the importance of keeping Maye healthy. However, New England knows it’s going to be a very long season for the Pats and Maye’s development is just about the only exciting storyline on the team.
During a recent press conference, Mayo explained the decision-making process for naming the starting quarterback, which he described as thorough and measured.
“It’s a process when it comes to selecting who the starting quarterback is,” Mayo said “We have decided – or I have decided – that Jacoby Brissett will be our starting quarterback this season.” (Interesting choice of words by the way.)
Mayo emphasized that the decision is not a temporary one, stressing that the team is fully behind Brissett for the entire season. (Although most fans expect to see Maye at some point this season.)
“As an organization, we are 100 percent behind Jacoby,” Mayo stated. “I’ve spoken with both Jacoby and Drake, and I feel like we’re all on the same page from an organizational perspective.”
He acknowledged the challenge of balancing short-term goals with long-term aspirations, saying, “The hard part is thinking in the short term and the long term at the same time. But we believe Jacoby gives us our best chance to win right now.”
Of course, the headline of this story is the definition of sarcasm.
It’s no secret that not everyone loves Bill Simmons. Also, very few people outside of New England will have much sympathy for the Patriots as they dredge through what looks to be a lengthy rebuild.
Having said that, what are your thoughts on the Pats going forward?
Do you think Maye will end up living up to the hype? … What about Mayo? Is he truly the right man for the job, or does his coaching inexperience concern you???