The last two weeks have reminded me once again why the fans of the Other 31 hate Patriots fans.
Only a Pats fan could look at 9-5-0 and see Rock Bottom.
Admit it fellow Pats fans. Two weeks ago you were wondering what you were going to do on Super Bowl Sunday. Go see a movie with the wife and kids? Clean out the basement? Sit alone, weeping, in a darkened room?
Today? Your pigskin heroes are 10-5-0 and (thanks to a Texans' loss) back in the 2nd seed with a wildcard-round bye if they can win at home next Sunday against the Jets. You're chuckling inside at the longshot possibility the Patriots could still get the #1 seed and home field throughout the playoffs and renewing the long-term lease the Patriots hold in the heads of football fans west of the Connecticut River. That probably won't happen but as long as they beat the Jets, the Patriots will secure a playoff bye for the ninth season in a row.
That's right. Playing wild card weekend is rock bottom for Patriots fans.
Yeah. That's why they hate us.
More hater-aide…
After winning their 10th game and securing AFC East hats and t-shirts for their 10th consecutive divisional championship (something no other NFL team has accomplished) came the lists.
Christmas is the season of lists, isn't it?
Teams ranked by fewest 3+ game losing streaks over the last 16 years. Teams ranked by most 3+ game winning streaks over the last 16 years. Most 10-win seasons over the last 16 years. Longest streak of consecutive seasons with a plus-point differential (tying the 49ers at 18). Teams ranked by most wins/fewest wins in a season since 2001.
Always at the top of each list?
The New England Patriots.
9. Nine wins. 9-7-0. Yeah. 2002. The year after SB36. They failed to make the playoffs on a tiebreaker (I think). Since 2001, New England has not had a season below .500. Not one.
Next best on that fewest wins list is the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 6-win season. After that, the Baltimore Ravens with a 5-win season. Every other fan base in the NFL has had to suffer at least one 4-12-0 season since 2001 while watching the Patriots make it to 8 Super Bowls and win 5.
Hate the Patriots? Yeah they do.
Of course, the good citizens of Patriots Nation can't help picking nits. Yes, Tom Brady played an historically bad game statistically in the run game-fueled bludgeoning of the Bills (275 yards rushing!). Then again, it was clearly the Pats game-plan to avoid Buffalo's #1 pass defense and take advantage of their not #1 rush defense.
Am I worried about Tom Brady? I am not.
Am I worried about the Patriots' passing game? A little.
My completely ridiculous and indefensible rationalization for this Patriots' season is that Belichick has been managing his veteran roster for the playoffs and we'll all be glad to see a healthy Gronk and a full go Boomtower in January.
I've thought a lot about the '68-'69 Celtics watching the 2018 Patriots. It was the end of the Bill Russell era; a 48-34 regular season record and a 4-seed in the East, underdog winners over the 76ers and Knicks, capped by a Game 7 win in Los Angeles for their 11th championship in 13 seasons.
Analogies are never perfect, of course. I'm not calling this Tom Brady's final season and it's difficult comparing teams from two different sports let alone different eras but in both cases you have veteran teams playing for franchises with championship pedigrees, struggling through an underwhelming regular season (by their own standards at least), heading into the playoffs where they are hardly the consensus favorites to win the championship.
It would make for a great pigskin narrative, at least for those of us east of the Connecticut River. Not as good as the "Josh Gordon catches the game-winning TD in SB53" treatment I put together earlier in the season but still pretty good. Tom Brady as the aging Jonathan E. Rob Gronkowski as a modern day Paul Bunyan battling the chainsaw of time. Plenty of adversity/plot twists along the way. The Palace Intrigue hangover. Edelman's suspension. Practically the entire 2018 draft class on IR. Gordon's failed redemption. Pigskin pundits and bobbleheads rolling out the "is this their final year in a Patriots' uniform" stories about Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty, and Gronkowski.
Then again, real life is why we have movies.
And reality TV.
This is the first Patriots team in a long, long time I have no expectations for; just like 2001 I'm strapped in for the ride but I have no idea where we're going. Emotionally, I've held back a little bit season, I'll admit it, but I'm all in now. Maybe you look at their 10-5-0 record and think this Patriots team just isn't that good. 3-5-0 on the road. That "cover the children's eyes" loss to the Lions. The bizarro-Patriots losses back-to-back to the Dolphins and Steelers. The breakdowns, the turnovers, the penalties.
Despite all of that, these Patriots still found a way. They don't quit. They do their jobs. Even with the struggle to find an identity on offense, the inconsistencies on defense, and one of the worst seasons I can remember on special teams, the Patriots sit in the #2 seed with their fate in their own hands. I like these guys. The O-Line. James Develin. Sweet Feet. The Stephon Gilmore-led Secondary on D. Trey Flowers. Boomtower and KVN. Sony Michel. Gronk. Tom.
And I don't think they've played their best football, yet.
Wait, I know they haven't played their best football, yet.
Ride or die. Let's do this.
No comments:
Post a Comment