Can the Patriots follow the Bengals’ team-building blueprint? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots are in the midst of a rebuild after two decades of dominance. As they prepare for what’s likely to be a long season in Foxboro, they can find inspiration in their Week 1 opponent – the Cincinnati Bengals.
There were dark days in Cincinnati before star quarterback Joe Burrow arrived in 2020. The Bengals had five consecutive losing seasons — including a 4-11-1 record in 2020 and a 2-14 record in 2019 — before Burrow led them to a Super Bowl appearance in his second season. They haven’t had a losing record since.
New England hopes to eventually find similar success with their new first-round quarterback, Drake Maye. Can executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and Co. follow Ciincinnati’s team-building blueprint and regain their reputation as a perennial contender?
Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson joined Tom E. Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast and shared his thoughts.
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“Oh yeah,” Hobson said. “I mean, if the quarterback is as good as they say, and it sounds like he’s the next coming of Josh Allen, that’s a good place to start.
“Think about what they’re coming off of. I mean, the last time the Patriots were here to open a season was the last opening day that Drew Bledsoe started for the Patriots. That was 2001 and now we’re all the way back and it’s the first post-Bill Belichick game. If it’s not ground zero, they’re close. They’ve got a guy from the Belichick school, but they need the quarterback. If he’s legit, then that’s as good a place as any to start. But if he’s not, you’ve see what happens if it’s not. Mac Jones wasn’t the answer and there was chaos.”
Burrow and the Bengals squeaked into the 2021 playoffs despite a lackluster offensive line. Since then, Cincinnati ahs invested heavily in pass protectors while surrounding Burrow with legitimate weapons.
Assuming Maye is “the guy,” those should be the next steps in the Patriots’ rebuild process.
“The thing is, ever since Aaron Donald threw Burrow to the ground at the end of that Super Bowl, they’ve done nothing but spend money and draft on the offensive line,” Hobson said of the Bengals.
“I’m sure that’s what the Patriots are gonna do. They’re gonna be drafting offensive linemen, they’re gonna be drafting wide receivers. The thing was, in 2021, the second year into the experiment or the Burrow plan, they caught lightning in a bottle because Ja’Marr Chase was so good.”
Kickoff for Sunday’s Pats-Bengals matchup is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Also in the episode: