Identity Management

A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day.

-Aragorn at the Black Gate, “The Return of the King”

I finally understood my selfish reason for seeing the Bengals game as something of a must win just before kickoff.

I don’t want this to be over. I don’t want Tom Brady to be over. I know it’s going to end. It has to end. I just don’t want it to end now. I was so sure I’d see it coming. I’d be able to prepare myself emotionally for the inevitable. It wasn’t supposed to sneak up on me. It seemed like it had on that Monday night in Kansas City. I worked my way quickly through denial and anger, spent almost no time bargaining and spent the greatest part of the week in a deep pigskin depression. When the rumors of “tension” between Brady and the coaches surfaced before game time, it seemed a cruel and fatal blow. The Patriot Way was crumbling before our very eyes. A Bengals blowout seemed inevitable.

Then they played the game. Brady was Brady. Gronk was Gronk. The 2TE offense was back with Tim Wright playing the Joker to near perfection. Ridley and Vereen were the two-headed contract-seeking monster I thought they would be. The offensive line looked like Dante Scarnecchia was still coaching. They scored on special teams; a hallmark of the championship teams. Stephen Gostkowski made his fantasy owners very happy. The banged up defense came to play, led by a vintage performance from Darrelle Revis. They were the Patriots team we’d expected to see since the season opened. They were the Patriots we’ve known for the last fourteen years.

A Patriots team that many of us deserted in the wake of their devastating loss in Kansas City.

Watching Bill Belichick’s post-game press conference, I couldn’t help thinking that he was hurt on a personal level by the things that had been said and written by local and national pigskin pundits and bobbleheads. After all the wins, all the playoff appearances, five Super Bowl appearances and three Lombardy Trophies, this was how he was treated? 229 regular season wins wasn’t enough to buy him even a quarter inch of slack and now he would be asked to justify himself by the very people who had dismissed him as irrelevant.

Most of the reviews of Belichick’s turn at the podium as vintage Bill but the sneering enjoyment that seemed to frame his answers in past post-game pressers just wasn’t there.

Question: Was this a satisfying victory given all the criticism and questions that were asked this week about the team?

Answer: Criticism from who?

Question: The media. People in this room. The fans.

In case you’ve forgotten, Bill, we all turned on you. We all questioned you. We revisited every bad draft pick, every trade, the inability to surround Tom Brady with weapons, we characterized you as egocentric and stubborn and conveniently forgot the annual divisional titles, the five conference championships and the three Lombardy Trophies. And we don’t feel any regrets for treating you so shamefully…

Answer: With all due respect, I mean really? Look, we have a job to do. We're focused on doing that job. We're not going to sit around and listen to what everybody else says. We try to do the best we can.

It sure sounded like Bill being Bill.

Does anyone believe that Bill Belichick, the man who knows everything, had no idea what was being said about him and his team?

I’m not a psychologist (though I do have 8 credits from college psych classes) but Belichick didn’t seem to get any satisfaction from that moment. He seemed tired. Tired of having to justify himself, his methods, his record.

Maybe this past week will wind up being the best thing that could’ve happened to the 2014 Patriots. Like Cortez’ men, watching their ships burn, they had no choice but to turn to each other. Bigger than the score of the game were those moments afterwards; Brady hugging Josh McDaniels on the sideline, his embrace of Revis after the post-game interview with Michelle Tafoya, Gronk’s heartfelt defense of Tom Brady after the game. Great teams are great because they are more than the sum of their parts. Great teams are great because they have each other’s backs. Great teams are great because the best among them cares for the least.

The game ball Brady received for eclipsing the 50,000 yards passing mark won’t sit on the mantelpiece at home. Why?

That should go to the Patriot Hall of Fame. That should be for the fans to be able to see because we accomplish everything together.

They’re still the Patriots.

We’re on to Buffalo, right?