The New England Patriots are coming off another dream season that ended with their fifth Super Bowl win. Then they went out and got considerably better on paper in the offseason, leading many people to wonder if this team really could run the table and go 19-0 en route to another championship.
Just don’t suggest that to Julian Edelman. The Patriots receiver touched on this subject recently, and he’s not a fan. Not at all.
“You can’t worry about what other people say, honestly,” Edelman said, via Adam Kurkjian of the Boston Herald. “I mean, there’s no script to this thing. There’s no camera. This isn’t Hollywood. This is real life. When you go out and play in the National Football League, it’s one of those things where it’s even stupid to think about that. It’s never been done. You don’t really want to talk about it. My focus is more on trying to get ready for the season, trying to learn your teammates, form your identity. [The 19-0 talk is] stupid. That’s it.”
If we’re being honest, Edelman is 100-percent correct here. New England’s failed bid at 19-0 back in 2007 was before his time, but the men who matter most in the organization surely haven’t forgotten the sting of that final loss to the New York Giants.
Are the Patriots the most impressive team in the NFL heading into the 2017 season? Yes. By a long shot. They don’t have any perceivable weaknesses on the roster, feature an all-time great quarterback and head coach.
Would it really surprise anyone if they did end up going 19-0? Not really. But given the craziness that occurs every year, every week and every game, it also wouldn’t be shocking if they lost a few games en route to the playoffs. And then once they’re in (and they will be in), anything is possible.