End of an Era
We all know all good things come to an end. So I knew that the Bill Belicheck lead Patriots wouldn’t play forever. I just didn’t realize that his reign would end with him still at the helm. Even more surprisingly I would have never suspected that Tom Brady would be the primary the culprit.
Like any love affair that hits great highs which are unsustainable the end arrives long before either party is aware. Now don’t get me wrong as written previously in this space I am a Bill Belicheck intravenous Kool-Aid user. I never saw Vince Lombardi but I can’t imagine a better coach (in any sport). Likewise unless Tom Brady gets caught with either a dead woman or a live little boy he is a God in my eyes. We were stuck in the endless cycle of Fall mediocrity with “Nancy” Drew Bledsoe at the helm (not much talk about his Hall of Fame credentials anymore). BB and TB brought us three great championship seasons. But alas those are a distant memory.
Hindsight, always being 20/20 says the end was clearly that 2008 Superbowl loss to the Giants after the 16-0 season. The New England secondary hasn’t stopped a quarterback since they launched Eli from average to MVP.
Even after that game Bill’s teams had their chances but ironically it’s been Brady who failed to execute with the game on the line. In the 2007, AFC Championship game had Brady converted a third and six the Patriots would have made their sixth Superbowl. In last year’s 2012 Superbowl had Brady converted the pass to the open Wes Welker he and Terry Bradshaw would be wearing four rings. Granted Brady has had to try and overcome the fact that his teams can’t play defense, but nonetheless more often then not (actually always recently) he’s failed to deliver with the game on the line.
So as I watched a Bill Belicheck team completely implode against a mediocre at best Seattle team I realized what Bill has had to know for a while. The days of New England Patriot championships are behind us. First off Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator has little if any idea what he’s doing (see 2007-2008 seasons). If the offense has success on a given drive he tries something else. At the end of the first half the Patriots completely mismanaged the clock and turned a first and goal into halftime. Again with the game on the line in the fourth quarter and ahead by 13 points had McDaniels any idea what he was doing and had Brady been able to execute the Patriots would have won easily. Losing and losing badly to Arizona and Seattle two of the NFL’s worst teams means one thing sports fans. Like the Patriots secondary this team is beat.
KOKO
