Adversity Isn't Just A Suburb of Boston

See what I did there? I'm riffing on "Denial isn't just a river…" Oh, you got it? Okay...

If you're a Patriots fan, you know this is when it really gets interesting. The team is running like a 20-year old Ford 150 in dire need of a tune up. Injuries are piling up and seem to be clustering around a few key position groups. Has there been controversy? (Antonio Brown. Check.) Are there rumors of a rift between Tom/Bill/Robert and Bill/Robert/Tom? (That's become a cottage industry for pigskin pundits and bobbleheads, hasn't it?) Somehow, the cap-strapped Patriots are connected to every disgruntled player on the Other 31. Meanwhile, New England is working out street free agents who are coming off a disappointing, injury-limited start to their careers. Hey, when you're short on cap cash, you got to shop at the pigskin Dollar Store.

Time to plug some holes in the wall with toothpaste…

So, we've seen this movie before, haven't we? Wide receivers playing defensive back. Guys who busted out at other stops in their NFL career suddenly playing meaningful snaps for one of the greatest franchises in modern league history. A mid-season trade for a guy who starts the next game and puts up a sack and four tackles for loss. (Fingers crossed!)

With Jakob Johnson joining James Develin on IR, maybe Belichick brings Ben Watson back and starts lining up Ryan Izzo at fullback. Or maybe he starts activating another offensive lineman on game day and the Pats go full bulldozer with Sony Michel at tailback and a G/C type at fullback.

Maybe GM Bill re-works a contract or two to free up the space for Trader Bill to make a deal for a wide receiver or a tight end or an offensive lineman that helps to stop the bleeding, stabilize the offense, and keys another playoff run.

Or maybe HC Bill says, "Nah! I'm good with Jakobi and Gunner." 

Hard to say which of those two scenarios is more likely/crazy, isn't it?

Maybe N'Keal Harry and Isaiah Wynn return from IR and produce as their draft pedigrees demand. 

It could happen.

Let's not forget how good a healthy trio of Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Phillip Dorsett looked in Week 1. Let's also not forget that any NFL offense can struggle when missing key pieces while facing a good defense (I'm looking at you, Kansas City Chiefs). A "struggling" Patriots offense did score 21 of those 35 points against the Giants Thursday night, after all.

Oh, and Brady scoring on the QB Sneak - twice - isn't evidence the Patriots don't have other options; that's New England flexing. That's big boy football. No fullback? All our tight ends hurt? Okay. We'll line up. You line up. Here it comes. You know what it is. Stop it if you can. 

Oh. You didn't. 

Pardon me while I kiss my biceps.

And all those pigskin pundits and bobbleheads saying this Patriots defense hasn't really played anyone? Yeah, okay. I mean, it's basically the same defense that won the Super Bowl while holding the high scoring offense of the LA Rams to just 3 points, but, sure. New England hasn't played anyone. 

Yet. 

You do know Bill Belichick is running this defense, don't you? The man who already has a game plan in the Hall of Fame, who may be the greatest defensive coordinator (Bill Parcells didn't win a Super Bowl without Belichick as his DC) as well as the greatest head coach in the history of the NFL?

Bill is going to get stupid in November? I guess that's a… plan?

Maybe the Patriots offense never clicks, can't find itself, can't overcome the injuries. Maybe even a historical defense can't carry this team all the way to the Super Bowl. 

Nobody knows.

That's what makes what happens next so special.