New England Patriots: 3 Bold predictions for Week 1 vs. Dolphins

2. Newton, New England offense will look rusty right away

Another thing that will likely take place during the course of the season-opening content for New England is that its new-look offense will take some time to get up to speed and get acclimated with each other.

Not only are the Patriots dealing with a new quarterback under center for the first time since 2000, with the addition of Cam Newton at quarterback to replace the legendary Tom Brady who is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but New England will have to figure out exactly how this team will look and what areas it will thrive in on a weekly basis.

In past years, Brady has been able to take things over in the passing game when the Patriots offense was struggling to find its rhythm or groove during a game. There is still a question as to if Newton will be able to mirror that and step up to the occasion.

The other aspect of the operation of the offense in New England is the question of if it will be more of a run-first offense for the first time in nearly two decades or if it will continue to mix things up both through the air and on the ground. Newton could allow the team to be more of a duel threat more than the Patriots have been used to in the past, which could make that transition and decision-making of the future of this offense more clear.

Another thing to keep an eye on is how the running back unit will look with Sony Michel still dealing with some injury issues and New England likely to rely on a group effort to lead that aspect of the offense spearheaded by James White out of the backfield.

There are plenty of question marks surrounding the Patriots leading into the 2020 season, and without any time together during preseason games this year, we might see the offense struggle a bit right out of the gate in the season opener on Sunday against the Dolphins.