New England Patriots: 3 biggest obstacles heading into 2018 NFL season
By Ryan Feyre
With Tom Brady turning 41, the New England Patriots look as vulnerable as ever entering the 2018-19 season.
In a year filled with Alex Guerrero questions, conspiracy articles, and Julian Edelman suspension theories, the New England Patriots want nothing more than to kick off the 2018-19 NFL regular season.
Unfortunately, this regular season may feature the Pats at their most vulnerable during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era.
Brady is now 41, and not getting any younger, meaning the organization has to be even more careful with his aging body than normal. Not only did New England lose Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers (for a gargantuan contract), but the Pats’ next best option is Brian Hoyer, who has not won a game in his past six starts, according to Pro Football-Reference.
In fact, the only time Hoyer has really had any success as a starting quarterback is when he was with the Houston Texans back in 2015.
Take that with a grain of salt though. Houston was only 9-7, and won the division with that record.
If the Pats were to finish with that record, they’d probably still make the postseason, especially in the weak AFC East, but it wouldn’t be ideal.
For the first time since the mid-2000s, the Pats have more questions than answers.
Here, we are going to look at three problems worth noting for New England heading into Week 1 of the 2018-19 NFL regular season.