Kyle Shanahan pulls a Tom Brady when discussing the Patriots ahead of Week 4

The Patriots' 2024 season was unanimously deemed a rebuilding season that wasn't expected to yield much winning, as the focus would primarily be on growth and development under the new regime led by Jerod Mayo. That was especially prevalent when it was clear that rookie Drake Maye would spend most if not all, the year on the bench.

Their decision to sign veteran Jacoby Brissett to be the bridge player and mentor to the incoming rookie quarterback didn't lend much optimism about the Patriots' chances this year, which was widely accepted by fans in New England, especially since building for the future would mean more success long-term.

Some of that belief came to a halt when they unexpectedly beat the Bengals in the season opener, opening the door for fans and reporters to believe the team might actually have a better chance than initially anticipated. That belief remained even after their disappointing loss to the Seahawks in overtime the following week, but it came crashing down against the Jets last Thursday night.

The way the Patriots performed in all three phases of the game, but especially offensively, seemed like a jolt back to reality and a swift reminder of all the work this roster still needed to do and the inefficiencies they needed to overcome.

That leaves little hope that they'll somehow beat the 49ers on Sunday, but that didn't stop head coach Kyle Shanahan from overly complimenting the Patriots' season thus far, which seemed eerily similar to something Bill Belichick would do during his New England tenure.

Kyle Shanahan's compliments of Patriots offense seems like a Tom Brady old-school tactic

One of the most interesting tidbits we've learned since the departures of Tom Brady and Belichick was the quarterback's reveal of speaking so highly of a team they were getting ready to play against despite feeling the complete opposite.

That could be considered what Shanahan was doing when discussing the Patriots matchup on Sunday, especially when talking about Alex Van Pelt's questionable play-calling and his praise of Brissett despite the quarterback's struggles this season.

“Alex [Van Pelt] has been doing it for a while, does a really good job. In these three games, especially their first two games, they’re playing to their personnel very well. They got two very good running backs, they’re committing to the run.

...They got a formula to win. They got the right quarterback to tie with that, the right running back and definitely the right defense and special teams to balance that out.”

He may mean every word, and there's no trickery here, but it's also possible that it's just another example of a head coach trying to be as kind as possible about an upcoming opponent that they're likely overlooking due to the lack of competition they're expected to bring.

That's partly why the Patriots are 10.5-point underdogs going into this Week 4 game, and despite the number of injuries the 49ers are dealing with, they're expected to get their season back on track by dominating the Patriots on their home field, which seems to go against everything Shanahan said.

Hopefully, that's not what happens, though, and the Patriots put up more of a fight than anyone anticipates.

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