When you lose the most emblematic NFL player of all time, things are going to change whether you like it or not. The QB won all six rings in franchise history. You can't overlook that.
So what can New England do now? Well, aside from WR Julian Edelman, Brady had basically lost every decent weapon he had. Their running game, which was vital for their Super Bowl LIII win, didn't produce as much as you'd expect last season. Thus the question arises. Brady and Belichick were always the perfect tandem, and as long as they were together, the Patriots would be candidates no matter what.
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However, now Belichick is alone. The right thing to do is to tank. As of right now, a Super Bowl is not on the map. They are +1800, according to Vegas, to win it all. So lose, and start rebuilding for the future.
There are a few problems with this. First, you can't start properly as of now. New England has only one first-round pick (23), and one second-rounder. Then you have 12 more picks, but six of them are either sixth-rounders or fall back to the seventh, so that's limited.
Second, and maybe the most important one, they still have Belichick. Unless he wants to take a leave of absence during this whole season, New England will find a way to win more games than they should, therefore falling under in the 2021 Draft, where prospects like Trevor Lawrence should be up for grabs if you have a terrible 2020 season.
The AFC East is a weird division to be a part of right now as well. As of right now, they are still the favorites to win the division (-110). But they have clear holes in their squad, no quality at the QB position, a doubtful running game, no catching threats besides Edelman, and so on. The Belichick allure is what keeps them on top.
The Buffalo Bills are their main rivals, with a +175 chance to win the division. They have a rising quarterback in Josh Allen, a good running game in second-year stud Devin Singletary, and an unbelievable receiving core in newly arrived wideout Steffon Diggs, that joins John Brown, Cole Beasley, and TE Dawson Knox.
So the Patriots are, on paper, the favorites, but it's not like that, nor should they try to win it. This can only go two ways for the Pats. Either you tank and rebuild for the next two to three years, or you'll be in NFL Purgatory for years to come.
That's what logic says, but remember, Bill Belichick is the dark lord of the NFL, the guy has magic, mystique, scandals, wins, attitude, and talent not only to overcome the odds but to anger the rest of the league while doing so.
You can never truly discount Belichick, just rewind the time when he went 10-5 with Matt Cassell, he is an anomaly in the league, and he spans two decades being the best coach of them all. Common sense says that the Pats should not only lose but stink in the process. Belichick usually says otherwise.
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