The Patriots obviously did not have a very good 2020 season, finishing 7-9, which was their worst record since 2000.
New England had Cam Newton at quarterback and then were missing several key players who opted out due to COVID-19. On defense it was about surviving each week opposed to putting players in positions to succeed.
ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Louis Riddick said recently Bill Belichick was "miserable" last season.
“If you talked to him last year, he was miserable,” he said, via The Boston Globe. “He was grumpy about what was going on with his football team and how he could not get it to play the way he’s accustomed to. And you knew it was not going to sit well with him.”
Preventing another season that like was one of the major reasons why he and the organization spent so much money this offseason.
“He’s a guy who has a tremendous amount of pride,” Riddick said. “And you know he wasn’t just going to sit idly by and put his tail between his legs and not come out with, I don’t know if it’s necessarily something to prove, but wanting his football team to look like it has always looked, which is a contender. And last year it didn’t look like that.”
Former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis also believes the aggressive offseason will turn things around quickly.
“You ask me if he was happy going 7-9? No, but I think the day that season was over he was already on his way with a plan on how to right the ship,” he said. “I think he took advantage of the situation like no one else. He made his team stronger — by leaps and bounds — and put them in a position to contend again very quickly.”
The Patriots will open the 2021 regular season Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.