Let’s just say Pete Rose is probably no longer a New England Patriots fan.
For the first time in what seems like an eternity, not even Las Vegas has faith in the Patriots this season. Usually, they seem to love the Patriots and have them as the Super Bowl favorites every single year. This year, however, that changed after the team lost to the Carolina Panthers (of all teams to lose to).
Prior to the season starting, the Patriots had a lot of 3-to-1 odds. That’s no guarantee, of course, but let’s be real here: most of us thought the Patriots got better in the offseason when they brought in Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks. Sure, the Julian Edelman injury did not help their case–nor did Rob Gronkowski’s little mishap–but offense really isn’t their issue this season.
Through four teams, they Pats were letting up more than 30 points per game with their secondary playing like… well, not like the Patriots secondary played last year to put it nicely. And if we wanna break that down further, the communication in the secondary hasn’t been there. That’s Gilmore’s fault. That’s Malcolm “I wanna play for the Saints” Butler’s fault. And that’s anyone else who plays back there’s fault. But let’s not sit here and dish blame out when these guys are freak athletes. They’re like former NFLer turned actor Terry Crews.
If you were wondering who the Super Bowl favorites are now that the Patriots aren’t it, CG Technology has the Pittsburgh Steelers at 9-to-2 odds (4.5-to-1 odds) and the Patriots still at 5-to-1 odds. If you look at MGM Sportsbooks, however, they have the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs co-favored at 7-to-2 odds. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t really have anything else in mind and know the sort of adversity the Patriots have overcome in recent years.
Still, it’s only four games into the season. No need to panic… yet.