Peter Schrager, Bart Scott tap brakes on New England Patriots hype under Mike Vrabel

The New England Patriots dynasty is clearly over after bottoming out in 2023 and 2024. Still, there is hope for the future in New England with the Patriots seemingly finding their next franchise quarterback in Drake Maye and hiring the well-respected Mike Vrabel.

There’s enough excitement about the moves the Patriots have made this offseason that the experts in Vegas actually have New England favored in 11 out of their 17 games. Despite that, ESPN analysts Peter Schrager and Bart Scott on Get Up tapped the brakes on the hype for New England under Vrabel.

“I think the delta,” Schrager said. “Which is the gap between last year’s team and this year’s team is so enormous that maybe the folks in Vegas have moved themselves a little too fast here. Mike Vrabel is an adult in the room. Josh McDaniels is one of the greatest offensive playcallers in NFL history. They come in and they replace a staff that was in over their heads. 11 games being favored out of 17, that seems a little rich. I don’t have them as a playoff team yet, but they are a professionally coached team once again.”

The Patriots were looking to replace legendary head coach Bill Belichick in 2024, and they did so by hiring one of his assistants and former linebacker Jerod Mayo. Things quickly went sideways, though, and after one season, New England hit the reset button by hiring former Tennessee Titans head coach and linebacker under Belichick, Mike Vrabel.

With him, Vrabel is bringing head coaching experience to the Patriots. He took the Titans to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. Still, Bart Scott doesn’t expect him to take New England to the playoffs again in 2025, given how the roster is currently constructed.

“Not at all. They went out and bought a lot of high-quality ingredients,” Scott said. “But that doesn’t make it a good meal. You’ve got to depend on a lot of older guys. Stefon Diggs comes off of injury. Morgan Moses, he’s great when he’s been available. The problem is he hasn’t been available. Vrabel, they get a +2 because of Vrabel. You know you have a dog in the room, somebody who’s not going to be outcoached. But, no. I don’t think they’re a playoff team.”

The Patriots have missed out on the playoffs for the last three seasons. The last time New England went on a run of four-straight seasons without a trip to the playoffs was from 1987-1993.