Evaluations and Expectations

I know you’ve heard it before. I’ve said it myself. It’s just the preseason. They aren’t game-planning. It’s about building the roster, not winning the games. Somehow it’s just not as reassuring after the third preseason game as it was after the first.

  

I’m trying to stay positive. There are plenty of reasons to stay positive, of course. Belichick. Brady, of course. Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Lloyd. Plenty of weapons on offense and the defense is improved. Still, I don’t think I was the only one who fully expected the Patriots to roll the Buccaneers last Friday night.

That didn’t happen.

Expectations are a bitch. You go see “The Dark Knight Rises” expecting a movie better than the first two Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale Batman movies combined and you’re disappointed. Go in with lower expectations – you’ve read some reviews, some friends made it to the box office before you did – and you come away happy with a thoroughly satisfying ending to the trilogy.

Expectations for the Patriots are and have been high for the last decade: Super Bowl or bust. Every game, even preseason games, tends to be a referendum on one question: Can this New England team take home the Lombardi Trophy?

It didn’t look like it Friday night.

The offensive line has not been able to protect Brady. Opponents have surely noticed New England’s lack of success when Brady is pressured, hit and sacked. (As a general note, I think defensive coordinators recognize that pressuring the QB is a key to success generally; not even the greatest of NFL QB’s are exempt from this.) Buffalo organized their off-season around building a defensive front with the singular intent of putting Tom Brady on his back. The New York Jets still have a formidable defense. Looking over the 2012 schedule we see other challenges in the Ravens, Broncos, Texans and 49ers.

Will 10-6-0 win the AFC East?

Will it be enough to get into the playoffs?

Will it be enough to win the Super Bowl?

Okay, yes, the Giants finished the regular season at 9-7-0 last year. Thanks for reminding me. (You’re welcome.) But you know what I mean. (Do I?) Can this offensive line keep Brady upright? (Okay yes, I do get that. Go on.) The running game looks improved but Corey Dillon ain’t walking through that door. The defense is improved but it can’t be compared to the Top 5 defense of ’03-’04.

Brady is still the key.

For the moment, we’re left to wonder, to hope, to live our lives in quiet desperation, staring blankly at the papers on our desks at work, looking for solace in exploded, 3-D pie charts, weeks’ old expense reports and questionable cost/benefit analysis. A few bullet points to consider in those moments of pigskin introspection…

• We could be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have issues on their offensive line, too. I guess the good news for them is that when they have a breakdown in protection only Kevin Kolb gets hurt.
• Our franchise didn’t just draft a QB of the Future who is 28 years old. Time for my annual reminder that the last head coach to win a playoff game for the Cleveland Browns is Bill Belichick. I think he was 12 years old.
• With Todd Haley the new offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, we can look forward to the inevitable sideline fisticuffs between Haley and Ben Roethlisberger. I’ll set the over/under at Week 5. No, it won’t have any impact on the Patriots’ Win-Loss but it will no doubt be hilarious.
• We won’t suffer the cruel, cold irony served up to Broncos’ fans as Peyton Manning sets career marks for interceptions and fumbles while watching Tim Tebow lead the Jets into the playoffs.
• We could be talking ourselves into Mark Sanchez as a franchise quarterback.
• We could be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys. America’s Ex-Girlfriend comes with all the expectations baggage carried by the Patriots over the last decade but without any hardware to show for it.
• We could be telling ourselves that Tony Romo can win a playoff game.
• Our team could have a racist moniker like Washington’s.
• We could be rooting for the Miami Dolphins, reliving the glory days of Dan Marino losing his one Super Bowl game. Have all his records been broken at this point? Still. Good times.
• We could be hoping for 8-8-0 like the fans in Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Minnesota and St. Louis. I’ve been there. It’s not a good place to be.

In case that didn’t cheer you up…