The New England Patriots have high hopes that the Mike Vrabel era will see the team begin its climb back to glory in the AFC East. A division title over the Buffalo Bills does not appear to be in the cards for the current season, but an 8- or 9-win season would represent significant improvement and indicate that the team is regaining its footing.

The championships of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era are in the long-ago past, soon to become the distant past. Now it's about building a dominating defense and a respectable offense.

One of the keys to the offense is quite obvious. The Patriots need second-year quarterback Drake Maye to take a couple of major steps up the ladder and become a competent and consistent leader. Nobody is asking him to compare with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen

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