People need to think less like a fan and more like a coach. BB chose Stidham over Brady, Newton, Winston, Dalton, Love, and all the remaining drafted QBs after Love. If Belichick wanted anyone on that list, that guy would be the Patriots QB. (At one point they had the cap room to have any of those options but instead used the money elsewhere.) IMO, that to me means BB sees Stidham in a similar tier as those players AS THEY ARE CURRENTLY CONSTITUTED . . . so 43-year-old Brady, turnover-prone Winston, injury-prone Newton, average Andy Dalton, and a host of would-be rookies that need a lot of development. BB also knows that for similar production, Stidham knows the system and would cost 1/20th the price of the other guys. I can't see Hoyer winning the job with his 10-year track record of mediocrity (35--years-old, 16-22 as a starter, and an 82.5 QB rating). At this point, where Stidham was drafted and how he did at Auburn are irrelevant.
We have seen NE with a similar roster and strategy in 2001 (albeit transformed by an injury to Bledsoe): strong defense, inexperienced QB, few offensive weapons, heavy ball control / rushing attack. The 2001 offensive numbers for NE weren't pretty but they won:
Tom Brady
2843-18-12
Antowain Smith 1349 YFS - 13 total TD
Troy Brown 1290 YFS - 5 total TD
David Patten 816 YFS - 5 total TD
Kevin Faulk 358 YFS - 3 total TD
Marc Edwards 307 YFS - 3 total TD
JR Redmond 251 YFS - 0 TD
Terry Glenn 204 YFS - 1 TD
Jermaine Wiggins 133 YFS - 4 TD
Charles Johnson 111 YFS - 1 TD
Leftovers 162 YFS - 0 TD
I get that offenses now get a lot more production than almost 20 years ago, so those numbers would be even weaker now than then. The 2001 Patriots defense allowed 271 points. The 2019 Patriots defense allowed 225. Yes, I understand, the defense played a D-II college schedule the first half of the season, but they still allowed the 7th or 8th fewest points over the second half of the season. They lost some key pieces, but knock on wood they should still be solid. And certainly they have a much tougher schedule this year compared to last year. Also notable is that there may not be any sort of homefield advantage this season if fans are not able to attend games.
But Stidham should be able to produce better numbers than what Brady did in 2001. Michel (if healthy) might be able to hit Edwards' 1157 rushing yards. A healthy Edelman might approach Troy Brown's numbers. Harry could reach Patten's numbers. And a ham sandwich might be able to outproduce the 2001 total of 168 receiving yards from the TE position. (Last year, their TE production was horrible . . . and even that group hit 424 receiving yards).
IMO, that's the model that BB is looking to emulate for the 2020 Patriots. On paper, you would never look at the stats from the 2001 team and think they were more than a 6-10 team. Yet they went 11-5 and won the SB.