Tom Brady has left the building in New England, and oddsmakers in Vegas have taken notice.
Oddsmakers at Caesars Sportsbook have put Brady’s former squad at 8.5 wins for the year. A number that, according to Ben Fawkes of ESPN, is the lowest projected win total for the Pats since 2003.
Losing not just Brady, but also the struggle to replace the playmaking ability of Rob Gronkowski and relative lack of star-power on the offensive side, all play a part in that relatively modest prediction.
Caesars oddsmaker Jeff Davis explained the reasoning behind the projection to ESPN.
“I’m very much struggling to find this team being a 10-win team,” Davis said. “I’m just not buying this team at all. This team will show just how good Belichick and his staff are, compared to some of the other staffs. This might be the year that reality sets in with New England.”
Of course, Belichick took the Patriots to 11 wins in his one and only season without Brady since 2001. Though, that team had Randy Moss in his prime and a bunch of other elite players that the Patriots currently lack.
“The Patriots have won at least nine games every year since 2001,” Pro Football Talk reports.
For what it’s worth, Brady’s new team, the Buccaneers, opened with a projected win total of 9.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn