AP photo Patriots quarterback Tom Brady knows the team needs to improve its offense with one quarter of the season in the books.

We are all witnessing the transformation of the New England Patriots.

Perhaps a look back to the future, as we have reached the quarter pole of the 2019 NFL season, when it seems after four weeks the bad teams in the AFC outnumber the good.

The Patriots right now, given the personnel changes/losses on offense and the rise of the defense, look like parts of two different mini-eras: Offensively they resemble the 2006 and 2007 teams that quarterback Tom Brady led to the post season, as far even to the AFC Title Game (’07) but not quite good enough to get to that Super Bowl level. Defensively, they look like those teams that won three Super Bowls in four seasons (2001-04).

Those Super Bowl teams were more defense oriented. They had numerous big playmakers on that side of the ball, and offensively, with receivers who weren’t exactly household names, they won more than their share of football games. They made the big plays at the big times.

In today’s offensive-minded NFL, that may not be enough to dominate the way those Patriot teams did. But so far, it’s been enough for the Patriots to win.

The offense should have a much better feel for itself next week after visiting the horrible Washington Redskins. Brady and even most fans today are frustrated because they love it when the Patriots roll up the points, like they did vs. Pittsburgh on opening night.

But remember, they only scored 13 points in the Super Bowl and won, becaue their defense allowed just three – compared to 41 in the Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia the previous year. . New England’s defense has given up a mere 10 points in 16 quarters. That’s incredible, even against the sub-par offenses that they’ve faced.

And they’ll face another one on Sunday in Washington.

They faced a very, very good defense on Sunday, which banged up Brady, led him to once again be unhappy about how he and his unit performed. Never mind that two receivers (Edelman, Gordon) aren’t healthy, his left tackle and center are basically brand new, there is no tight end or fullback and his running game has suffered because of some of the above reasons.

They’ll likely continue to feed back Sony Michel who looked great on his first carry Sunday and average thereafter. Michel is the type of back who will be as good as what the blocking scheme – which will include the receivers even more, it seems – provides, when it works.

“I think when we were able to get a hat-on-a-hat, get solid contact on all the defenders, then we were able to make yardage,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said on Monday. “And when we weren’t, then we didn’t have that much success. … So it was a little bit of hit-and-miss in that area.”

Defensively, health is not nearly as big an issue, with linebacker Dont’a Hightower the main missing ingredient this past Sunday.

“It’s great to watch,” Brady said of his team’s defensive prowess during his weekly paid WEEI radio appearance Monday. “I think our offense knows (what it needs to do), Josh (offensive coordinator McDaniels) knows.

“No team is perfect this time of year. This is not the team we’re going to be in December. To go on the road and beat a 3-0 team is a great feeling. Again I wish we would have played better offensively. That would have helped us a lot. But we didn’t execute very well in any phase. The pass game, the run game, none of it was up to our expectations. …

“We’ve never really played well agains that defense. That’s the reality.”

The words: Not the team they will be in December. The problem the Patriots may have, however, is the teams they face from Oct. 27 through Dec. 8 (from Cleveland to the long-awaited Kansas City matchup) are capable, it seems, of scoring enough points to put a lot of pressure on Brady’s offense to do the same.

On the bright side, the Patriots will get the suspended tight end Ben Watson back. That’s telling that a 38-yea-old Watson is an upgrade from anything else the Patriots have at the position. He’ll get his feet went against Washington and the guess here is he will make an immediate impact.

“We’re just going to find ways to get better and improve,” Brady said, “and find things we can consistently do a good job of.

“There’s a lot to learn from (the Buffalo game).”

What they’ve learned is they can’t win the game againt top-notch defenses with the play of their offense alone as it’s currently constituted.

But, as we’ve seen before, the Patriots are better than anyone at changing on the fly. Check back around Week 14 to see what those changes may bring.

As we’ve learned before, Week Four is just waaaaay too early.

RANKINGS AFTER WEEK FOUR:

AFC: Kansas City (4-0). 2. New England (4-0). 3. Cleveland (2-2). 4. Baltimore (2-2). 5. Buffalo (3-1).

NFC: 1.Seattle (3-1). 2.New Orleans (3-1). 3. Dallas (3-1). 4. San Francisco (3-0). 5. L.A. Rams (3-1).

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