Still Chasing It

Was I the last citizen of Patriots Nation to See "Do Your Job II?" It seemed like all the local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads all got invited to the sneak preview. My invitation must've gotten lost in the mail. Did it live up to the hype?

Well, here's my one-word review for fellow Pats Fans: Chills.

If I had a time machine, it would already be Thursday. I am once again considering the purchase of a home defibrillator. (It's that or a new snow-blower.) Yes, I am psyched, geeked, amped, switched on, and wired for sound.

By late last week I had worked my way through depression and had gotten to acceptance over the Julian Edelman injury. Apparently, Bill Belichick never accepts, as evidenced by the trade of Jacoby Brissett for Phillip Dorsett over the weekend. Dorsett may not even be active for the Thursday night opener against the Chiefs but if I had that time machine it might be fun to visit October for a quick look at a vertical passing attack featuring Dorsett, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski. Get ready for the gridiron cognoscenti to marvel at 40-year old Tom Brady adding the long ball to his Hall of Fame resume.

But I shouldn't get ahead of myself.

We're on to Kansas City.

It's the only game that matters right now.

It won't be an easy game, either. The Chiefs are legit playoff contenders. Andy Reid may be unfamiliar with temporal physics but he's otherwise a very good head coach. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are playmakers. Alex Smith is underrated at QB and their defense will get after it.

The Patriots have several question marks entering the game. What will the offense look like without Julian Edelman? They're loaded at running back but do you really want to take the ball out of Tom Brady's hands? Who will line up on the special teams units? Can the defensive backs set the defensive line up for coverage sacks? Who are these 2017 New England Patriots?

We won't get the answers to all those questions until November, of course; in particular that last one. We're all just guessing at this point. Here are a few of mine.

The Patriots will Lead the League in 4th Quarter Rushing...

Every NFL team would like to score early and often and run the clock out in the 4th quarter but New England is actually built to do just that, with four players who averaged 15.0 yards per catch in 2016 with Dorsett, Cooks, Hogan, and Gronk. As they take the top off of defenses, Brady will have underneath options in Danny Amendola, Malcolm Mitchell, and pass-catching backs Dion Lewis and James White. After pounding the scoreboard over the first three quarters, Josh McDaniels will have Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead to close things out in the 4th quarter.

The Patriots will Win More Than 9 Games...

Thanks to the daily links page on Pats Pulpit, I came across Will Leitch's AFC East preview in which he predicted a 9-7-0 finish for the 2017 Patriots.

I know what you're thinking. Red meat for a Patriots fan. I didn't get angry, though, or roll my eyes or dismiss this dis. Instead I tried to work out the math.

First, Leitch himself projects the rest of the AFC East to be various flavors of awful, ranging from ghastly to merely dreadful. What should we think New England's divisional record will be? 6-0-0? 5-1-0 at worst, am I right? Let's say 5-1-0. So, Leitch is saying the Pats will go 4-6-0 outside of the AFC East. Here's their out of division schedule. Let me put on my Patriots Goggles and break it down...

Kansas City (H) - Hard to predict Week 1 match ups for sure but can I picture the Brady Bunch losing with Roger Goodell in the house? No. I can't.

New Orleans (A) - Do the Saints have a defense? Have two NFL teams ever combined for 100 points?

Houston (H) - The Texans play the Patriots tough on the field if not on the scoreboard. With all that talk about how Houston has the blueprint for beating New England, I'd imagine Belichick will want to use this game to send a message and that message will be, objects in my rear view are not closer than they look.

Carolina (H) - Christian McCaffrey will not be enough.

Tampa Bay (A) - This will be a measuring stick game for the young, up and coming Bucs. Hey, good news Tampa Bay! You are getting better! Despite all the brave post-game talk from the pewter pirates, no, you will not see the Patriots again this season.

Atlanta (H) - By halftime, Falcons players will be telling each other this one wouldn't have made up for the loss in the Super Bowl, anyway.

San Diego (H) - Long flight home for the Chargers after this one.

Denver (A) - Not going to lie. Even with Trevor Simien at QB, this one scares me a little bit.

Oakland (A) - Raiders better hope the Patriots won in Denver.

Pittsburgh (A) - Won't Ben Roethlisberger be playing hurt by this game?

Looks like I'm going with 14-2-0 for the Patriots in 2017.

The Point of Reference is 2004, not 2007...

The Patriots won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2003-2004 and posted back-to-back 14-2-0 regular season marks. The only significant change from '03 to '04 was the acquisition of RB Corey "Clock Killin'" Dillon; otherwise, Bill Belichick retained the core from 2003 to make another successful Super Bowl run.

The 2016 Patriots went 14-2-0 and won a Super Bowl. Belichick managed to retain the core of that championship roster while reloading at running back and adding a potentially significant contributor on offense in Brandin Cooks for 2017. I like the Deion Branch comp for Cooks far better than any thoughts of Randy Moss and the flying circus of 2007. Like 2004, the 2017 Patriots can field a lethally balanced offense that can run or pass the ball with equal efficiency.

The 2003-2004 team had a great defense but it's worth noting the 2016 defense did lead the league in fewest points allowed, return most of their starters and added Stephon Gilmore in the off-season.

Fantasy Beasts and Where Not to Find Them...

If you're a fantasy football GM, stay away from Patriots players, and not just their committee of running backs. New England has an offense by committee. They could have 8 players with 600+ yards from scrimmage in 2017. (Okay, that may be physically impossible but you get the point: Gillislee, Burkhead, White, Lewis, Cooks, Gronk, Hogan, Mitchell/Dorsett/Amendola). Week to week there will be a different hero. If you were able to consistently determine who that will be then you should be coaching an NFL franchise or at least be coordinating an NFL defense but you're not. You're underemployed and working in the failing retail sector so forget taking Gronk or Cooks or assuming Hogan will be Brady's new binkie with Edelman on IR. People who are paid a lot of money to figure out what Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, and Matt Patricia are going to do aren't getting that done. Take Julio Jones, David Johnson, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, Jr., Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson, Le'Veon Bell, or any of the other usual suspects. If you're taking any player from the Patriots you'd have to go with Brady and maybe Stephen Gostkowski.

Phillip Dorsett will Become a Contributor on Offense…

Last week, I mused upon Brady's ability to make his wide receivers better, using Reche Caldwell as my test case. I think Brady has a lot more to work with in Phillip Dorsett.

The Patriots Have a Rival and its Name is History…

The New England Patriots of Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have already written their names large in NFL history, regardless of what happens over this season (or beyond). They are now entering literally uncharted territory in seeking a 10th Super Bowl appearance. With the SB 51 comeback win, the debate over the greatest QB of all time was over. When it comes to postseason records, Tom Brady is playing against himself. The Steelers, Broncos, Texans, even the benighted Colts and the wannabe Dolphins would like to believe they are the Patriots rivals. Those teams talk about the Patriots a lot. The Patriots only talk about any one of those teams when they're next week's opponent.

The Patriots are no longer judged by individual games or regular season records; they're judged by Super Bowl wins. They are measured against the great franchises of NFL history. They are, in a word, unprecedented in their near two-decade long run of sustained dominance regardless of the era, though the salary cap (and the League's Machiavellian machinations) certainly makes the accomplishment even more impressive.

This is the greatest sports story ever written and it isn't over. Following the 3 out of 4 run of Super Bowl wins across the 2001 through 2004 seasons, I wondered for some time if the Patriots would win another Super Bowl in my lifetime. After Super Bowl 49 I thought I would never see a bigger win for New England or a better Super Bowl. Brady's 4th quarter. Malcolm Butler's interception. Then came Super Bowl 51, which in some ways played out like a metaphor for Tom Brady's football life; the 199th pick who became the GOAT, the man who eats adversity like avocado ice cream. He struggled early on - the pick-6, the 0.04% chance of winning - then authored the greatest 30 minutes of quarterback play ever witnessed. As a football fan, I can't imagine a greater, more incredible, improbable, unbelievable, and transcendent experience than the one I had watching the comeback from 28-3.

What do you do to top that?

I have no idea but if any team can, I believe it's the New England Patriots of Kraft, Belichick, and Brady.

Is it Thursday yet?