It's Complicated

The New England Patriots may not be looking past this Sunday's game with the New Orleans Saints but the same cannot be said for local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads. There's really nothing else they want to talk about but Tom Brady's return to Foxborough, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town October 3rd, 2021. 

Can you blame them?

First of all, we just observed the 20th Anniversary of Mo Lewis Day. It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. That was Bill Belichick in the Sgt. Pepper's hoodie, with Tom Brady as Billy Shears, singing, Will you still need me… when I'm 64?

Didn't even make it to 44.

And before Mo Lewis Day, we got the rather obvious and completely expected shade from local pigskin scribes' interviews with Alex Guerrero and Tom Brady, Sr., two men who never had Bill Belichick's name on their Christmas card list. 

The Pats are playing the Saints this Sunday. 

Any thoughts on that? 

No?

I guess I get it. Human beings like there to be a good guy and a bad guy. Just look at all the cop shows on TV. We'd like to keep it simple but it's really complicated.

To a degree, I think I understand the Belichick-Brady dynamic. 

I worked with a mentor/benefactor for about the same timeframe, a professional relationship that eventually fractured and ended badly. On the one hand, I was grateful for everything my mentor/benefactor had done for me; I would not have had the long, successful career I had without their help and guidance. On the other hand, after that relationship ended, I couldn't help but wonder if I could've done more if only I had moved on to some new and different challenges earlier in my career. I was defined by that relationship, a reputation that I couldn't escape, no matter what happened afterwards. And yet, I don't feel like the "good guy" when I look back with anger and regret on that time in my life.

I had some success in the latter years of my career, but I didn't go on to win a Super Bowl, so I guess that's where Tom Brady and I parted ways. That, and about a thousand other ways. But enough about me. 

Okay, this Sunday's Saints-Patriots matchup is just another game. It's one of the most just another games in the history of just another game. Yes, this Sunday will count as much in the standings as the game a week from Sunday (and all the other regular season games that follow). Yes, there's a big psychological difference between 2-1-0 and 1-2-0 but do the math; nobody's going to be eliminated from the playoffs on September 26th. 

Can we compare this Sunday's game to the Prodigal Son returning home with yet another ring on his finger?

No.

Hard no.

Not even close.

Add to that the fact that as Patriots fans, we still don't know who we're rooting for; we don't know what the 2021 Patriots are or rather will be, as has generally been the case with Bill Belichick's teams. September has been the month of 2-2-0, of figuring it out, of We're on to Cincinnati, of finding an identity. Am I really supposed to be concerned that Mac Jones doesn't have 5 TD passes of 20+ yards? Or should I be more concerned that Rhamondre Stevenson clearly wasn't ready to back up Damien Harris, or our "Top 5" offensive line has looked like they're still learning each other's first names?

I'm looking forward to this Sunday, because I may find some answers to those questions, and because they're still my boys, and I'll ride or die with the New England Patriots. 

The questions about Bill and Tom and good guys and bad guys can wait. Because they have to. Because there aren't really any answers to those questions.