If we, as Patriots fans, don't like ESPN and don't take their opinion seriously because they are biased against the Patriots, does that mean that we should take other outlets opinions' seriously?
The answer should really be it depends on the outlet--and it shouldn't really matter if you agree with them or not so long as they are rational. That's why Colin Cowherd deserves some credit for his latest NFL rankings. He ranked the Patriots high (not the highest), and gave a reasonable explanation for it all.
Here's what the host of "The Herd" on FS1 had to say about the Patriots:
“It’s a quarterback-coach league, they’ve scored 38 points in each of their last two games,” Cowherd said on Tuesday. “Again, they don’t have a pass rush and I don’t know if you can generate one. Their secondary is great, it’s the strength of their team. (Tom) Brady, Gronk (Rob Gronkowski), (Julian) Edelman, Chris Hogan, Sony Michel — that rookie running back — James White. The strength of their offense is they’ve got a lot of efficient offensive players. Not a lot of dynamic guys, but a lot of efficient guys. They pick up yards. Lot of first downs, lot of time of possession. Defensively, no pass rush, but they’re tremendous at corner and great at safety. And I think they have the best coach and quarterback in the NFL, so I have them at four.”
1. Rams
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 9, 2018
2. Chiefs
3. Saints
4. Patriots
5. Chargers@ColinCowherd ranks his Top 10 NFL teams heading into Week 6 pic.twitter.com/Vax19Jwhtc
Now I'd say that's a pretty honest assessment of the team and what they need to work on. If they want to be able to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the pass rush will definitely need to be better. Kyle Van Noy even talked about it to reporters this week, so you know it's legit.
But yeah, No. 4 ain't bad right now. They need to do more to prove themselves if they want to keep climbing up though.