Making It Up As They Go

There's a dark subtext to seeing the Patriots set the record with their 17th consecutive season winning 10 games (or more, of course). I mean… That can't go on forever. Right? 

It doesn't help that the consensus amongst pigskin pundits and bobbleheads seems to be that this is the worst 10-1-0 team in NFL history. Wounded. Living off their rep and a soft schedule. No longer Super Bowl contenders. (Can you say a more hurtful thing about the Patriots?) Is that The Cliff photobombing Tom Brady's Instagram posts? 

If there's an upside, it's that Bill Belichick is some kind of pigskin alchemist who can transform doubt into blocked punts. 

Can the Patriots win out (or can they get a little help from ex-Pat Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers?) and secure the #1 seed in the playoffs? Have they already put together the defensive game plan to shut down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense (or does Ernie Adamsl have a few thousand more Monte Carlo simulations still to be run)? Has Belichick found one more dusty codicil in the NFL rule book that will translate to a game-turning play and make John Harbaugh's face turn purple just before his head explodes? Will Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady figure things out and start posting 30s down the stretch?

Or is this 17th season of 10+ wins the End of Days for Brady and Belichick?

No. The answer to that question is no.

That's not to say I'm guaranteeing a 7th Lombardi Trophy for Tom Brady.

But…

If there's a team that could finish 15-1-0 on the strength of a shutdown defense, special team scores, and an offense that refuses to turn over the football, it's the Patriots.

If there's a coach who could come up with a game plan to slow down Lamar Jackson, it's Bill Belichick.

If there's a coach who understands the rulebook and how to use it better than Bill Belichick, it isn't John Harbaugh (or anyone else).

If there's a quarterback who could take this late autumn of our discontent and make it glorious February, it's this son of Santa Clara, Tom Brady. 

It would be a lot to ask of most teams but the New England Patriots are not most teams. 

I don't know how it will turn out. I don't know if the Patriots offense will look markedly better this Sunday night in Houston or if anyone can figure out how to stop the Ravens juggernaut. I don't know anything (really, ask my friends) but I can't wait to find out.