If I squint through my optimism glasses, here's what I can see:
- The OL coalesces into an average group. I cannot see them being any better than that, but maybe - MAYBE - they can become "average".
- Maye continues his growth and by week 4 he's starting and we're seeing things we haven't seen out of a QB here in quite a while.
- Marcus Jones is the kick/punt returner who electrifies the crowd and gives the Pats a dynamic return threat, breaking off several long returns including a couple of touchdowns.
- Polk and Baker and yes, even Thornton, take steps forward and become a legit WR group. Douglas, IMO, is already there, but it would be awesome to have four good young WRs. LONG way to go but remember, I'm squinting here.
- The defense plays really well and guys like Wise and White and Dugger and Gonzalez really pop and play at pro bowl level caliber.
- The coaching is surprisingly good.
End result: somehow they get to 9 wins against a difficult schedule, and, though they miss the playoffs, we see unbridled hope for the future.