People forget the #Patriots were 1 yard away from beating the #Seahawks, a fumble away from beating the #Bills and lost their starting QB to COVID against the #Chiefs and still almost won with the terrible tandem of Hoyer and Stidham...
Newton had a two game skid after COVID (which clearly has an effect on players) where they got smoked by the #49ers and came down to the wire with the #Broncos
Point is, the #Patriots were a couple of unfortunate events from winning all of those games, and I know football isn’t black and white but 3/5 of those games could’ve/should’ve been wins. That team last year almost won 10 games.
This team patched a lot of their holes from last year already, and still has the draft to improve.
Year two of Newton with better weapons, hopefully defense plays better (I think they will), this could very easily be a playoff team in 2021.
SB Contenders? Maybe not, but still
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Nelson Agholor is an immediate upgrade as a primary deep threat for the #Patriots offense. Damiere Byrd was good for what he was, but should never have been asked to be the team's #2 receiver.
Agholor can fill his role from day one a lot better.
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Agholor has great burst off the line and can get up to top speed very quickly. Here he gets an inside release against the CB and uses his hands and subtle body lean to stack and get on top of the CB, then tracks the ball over his shoulder for a TD.
Running go routes isn't as simple as running faster than the CB, especially when they are playing this far off. Agholor knows this and has to stem release inside, then attack the corners outside hip to get him to do a turn to win on this go.
Jonnu Smith brings the obvious to the #Patriots in his contested catch ability, athleticism and ability to be a RAC monster, but what NE probably liked most about him was his ability to be an in-line blocking tight end.
Will be a great blocker and play-action threat for them.
Another thing that I noticed when watching Smith's 2020 tape for the #Titans, is how seemingly under-utilized his skillset was. Great blocker, but TEN wasn't a big drop-back team. Not saying the #Patriots are, but Smith has the athleticism to expand his route tree. Should be used
Smith has a very good release and can use his big frame and speed to win deep pretty consistently. Ran a lot of quick routes that didn't require much skill but fleeced defenses who didn't give him attention. Can be used for a lot more than he was in TEN to unlock full potential.