The New England Patriots once defined NFL dominance, but after a couple of down years as the Brady-Belichick era came to an end, the path forward is unclear. Ross Tucker was joined back at Media Row in New Orleans by former Patriots quarterback and current analyst Scott Zolak to reflect on the past, weigh in on Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel, and break down where the franchise goes from here.
To get a feel for how Patriots fans feel going into the 2025 season, Zolak told Tucker that everyone is excited about quarterback Drake Maye. What stands out to Zolak is Maye’s mentality. Zolak noted that Maye was not fazed by losses and does not make the same mistake twice. Even Maye’s mistakes, according to Zolak, come at the expense of tip balls or receivers not being open. The young quarterback out of North Carolina just gets it. When it comes to culture, Zolak believes the franchise got accustomed to how Belichick ran things because he was with the team for two decades. Once Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fans realized that even though Belichick was a phenomenal coach and leader of men, Brady covered up many holes, according to Zolak.
Zolak compared the Patriots of the Brady-Belichick years to today’s Kansas City Chiefs, noting that he has called five Super Bowls and 13 AFC title games during his tenure behind the mic. To Zolak’s point, when Belichick and Brady were together, the Pats were playing for a Super Bowl roughly 55% of the time. Zolak stressed that the Patriots still have plenty of holes to fill, but head coach is not one of them. Zolak explained that he loves the hiring of Vrabel and believes he is more like Bill Parcells than Belichick. Parcells was more of a people person, says Zolak, while Belichick just tells you how it is and does not care about the backlash. Zolak added that Parcells cared about what you thought and had a firm grasp of communicating with the media. He believes Vrabel possesses that same edge when handling the press.
So, how many wins will the Patriots secure in the 2025 NFL season? Zolak believes it’ll be 7 or 8. His reasoning is that the schedule is not that bad, and the furthest west the Patriots will travel is New Orleans.
Check out Ross’ full conversation with Zolak in the full video or podcast below. And make sure to tune into the Ross Tucker Podcast on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Scott Zolak on Bill Belichick, the state of the New England Patriots, & more!
VIDEO:
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