Photo: Joe Robbins / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
By Chris Ryan
One of my favorite quotes is, "If you expect nothing of anybody, you'll never be disappointed."
Not much is expected of the 2024 New England Patriots in a region that generally has a championship or bust mentality that has largely been cultivated by the success of this franchise.
But, that mentality has shifted regarding this franchise. Pro football Hall of Famer Ty Law spent ten seasons with Pats, went to four Super Bowls and won three. He came into our iHeart New Hampshire studios Friday morning to promote his Corvus Vodka brand.
"Vegas has them (winning) four-and-a-half games," said Law. "That's not cool."
"But, let's manage expectations. I'm hoping for the best, and Jerod Mayo is a good friend of mine and we want to see him do well, but we have to give him time. It's not going to be an overnight sensation. I think a successful season, not by normal Patriots standards would be (around) .500."
The Patriots begin the season Sunday in Cincinnati against the Bengals and as you'd anticipate, they are largely staying away from defining expectations or succumbing to the noise that they could be the worst team in football.
Patriots second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez said that the doubters can be motivating force, but the players are largely ignoring that noise.
"I feel like not a lot of players pay attention to the outside noise," he said. "We preach just pay attention to what's being said inside the building, not on the outside."
From my perspective it is nearly impossible to set expectations for this group because we don't really know who they are:
-Is Jerod Mayo and his staff ready to compete at a high level in this league?
-The Patriots defense was a huge asset last year that kept them in games, but can they overcome the losses of Matthew Judon (trade) and Christian Barmore (blood clots)?
-The offensive line struggled to protect the quarterback in the preseason, training camp and the joint practice with the Eagles. Can it be fixed?
-Jacoby Brissett has proven he can manage an offense, but can he make enough plays to win games, and remain the starting QB?
We will have answers to these questions in the first few weeks of the season, and then we'll have a better idea as to whether we can expect nothing from this group.
The Press Pass column drops Fridays and the show airs on iHeart NH Saturday and Sunday at 11a. Chris also covers the Patriots for WBZ-Boston's News Radio and host's New Hampshire Today weekdays from 6-9a on iHeart NH.