Heath Evans likes look of 2017 team

FOXBOROUGH — Heath Evans has something to say about the 2017 Patriots, and he knows Bill Belichick isn’t going to be happy about it.

The former New England fullback and current NFL Network analyst, in town Wednesday to cover his old team, made a prediction about this year’s Patriots squad.

“Bill is going to hate me for saying this,” he said with a small smile, waiting a beat before continuing.

“But if every team in the league stays flawlessly healthy, if every coaching staff coached as flawlessly as they could, to the best of their ability, and if every player across the league played to their utmost ability, the Patriots are going to win every game.”

Evans then rushes in to add a disclaimer.



“But the beauty of our league? You never know what’s going to happen,” he said after practice on Wednesday. “I saw [Julian Edelman] limping around today. Like in 2008, with [Tom] Brady getting hurt and Matt Cassel comes in and helps us win 11 games. The nature of our league is what makes it the most popular league in all of sports; you never know what’s going to happen.

“At the end of the day, it’s about work ethic,” he added. “It’s guys buying into the mantras that work, and they have the coaching mantras that work here.”

The undefeated hype has already started around the 2017 team, with some national outlets picking them to go unbeaten. Evans, who was a part of the 2007 team that went 16-0 in the regular season and came within two minutes of finishing off a perfect year, said that season, Belichick didn’t address the possibility of going undefeated.

“I remember in ’07 when the chatter started to build, I’m not even sure he even addressed it,” remembered Evans. “I think the mantras of ‘Ignore the Noise’ and ‘Do Your Job’ were always pressed. I think the best thing about Bill’s rules are that they are all inclusive. So you kind of know.

“I’m not even sure Bill addresses the fact or mentions the words ’19-0.’ But he addresses the marching orders that have made this team successful, which is ‘Do Your Job’ and ‘Put In The Work.’ And if you listen to your coaches, the majority of the time, you’re going to be in the right place at the right time. Those marching orders are what ring true.”