Anything can happen. I admit, I didn’t feel that way a month
ago. A month ago this looked like a blowout loss at home. No chance. No hope.
After the loss to the Chiefs, it wasn’t just the 2014 season that was over,
Brady was over, Belichick was over and the New England Patriots could only hope
that Jimmy Garoppolo would be ready for opening day 2015. Today? There’s a
chance. It won’t be easy, not without Jerod Mayo and Chandler Jones, but
there’s a chance.
Four weeks ago we’d all forgotten something we should never
have forgotten.
Some of us seem genetically predisposed to rise to the
occasion. The rest of us must’ve missed that particular nucleotide. Tom Brady
must’ve been James Bond in another lifetime. He certainly played this past Sunday
like he had a license to kill.
We knew it was coming. As soon as the schedule was announced
we knew it was coming. The six game mid-season gauntlet that would make or
break the 2014 Patriots. And that was when everyone thought they were Super
Bowl contenders. Now? Now it seems they’ll be lucky to go 2-4-0.
Maybe 1-5-0.
Ouch.
I wasn’t buying it – certainly not 1-5-0 – until I heard
Chandler Jones would be out for a month with a hip injury and then, okay, I
still wasn’t buying it. I get it though. This doesn’t look good. Succumbing to
the siren call of recency: New England cannot stop the run and generally
they’re not very good, nowhere near as good as their record, having to eke out
wins against the woeful Jets and other bad teams and their signature win came
against a Bengals team we thought was good but now realize are pigskin
charlatans. Tom Brady has had a good stretch, sure, but he’s no longer elite
and the game has clearly passed Bill Belichick by.
The Patriots are about to be stripped naked, poked with
pitchforks and chased through the streets of Foxborough by some actual good
teams.
Kill
the monster!
Okay, let me start with this. Let’s say the Patriots do go
2-4-0. That would put them at 7-6-0 with three divisional games left to finish
the season (vs. Miami, @NYJ, vs. Buffalo). They would need to sweep those games
and hope 10-6-0 wins any and all tiebreakers.
It’s doable.
But not ideal.
Could the Patriots do better than 2-4-0 over the next six
games?
Chicago
Bears – This is a home game for the Patriots so it’s a must get.
The Bears will be loaded for, um, the Bears will be desperate and is often the
case with the “us against the world” scenario following a locker room meltdown
like Brandon Marshall had after the Bears extended their home winless streak
against the Dolphins. Expect the visitor to bring their “A” game. See, Oakland
Raiders. The Patriots are going to find it difficult on defense missing Jerod
Mayo and for the next three games, Chandler Jones.
Quick
Aside: I was intrigued by the Akeem
Ayers trade. Until I heard about Ayer’s multiple off-season knee
surgeries. Yeesh! Okay, if his knees are all better and there’s even the
slightest chance Ayers can return to his 2012 form, then I guess it’s worth a 6th
round pick. As for the rumored signing of defensive end Alan
Branch, well, this
is not encouraging and for whatever reason, he’s yet to practice (and his
signing isn’t yet official). He did play for Seattle a couple years ago. I’ll
hold out hope that these are the type of mid-level veteran acquisitions that
once made Belichick famous. Okay…
I’d be happy to see the Patriots go to a blitz-heavy game
plan but that just doesn’t sound like Belichick, does it? Still, I’d like to
see Jay Cutler sacked a lot which will be hard without Chandler Jones unless
the Pats blitz. Why is it so much fun to see Jay Cutler get sacked? It’s not
just me, is it? Anyway, I think the Patriots can outscore the Bears. Something
like 43-37. New England gets the extra possessions they need to win off two
turnovers. I mean, it’s Jay Cutler. I think I’m betting the under, really.
Patriots 6-2-0
Denver
Broncos – Another “Everything Must Go!” sale for the Manning vs.
Brady cottage industry. The Broncos are kind of juggernauty again in 2014 both on
offense and on defense. I expect the Patriots to be involved in yet another
shootout but sadly come up short. (Alternative Future: New England wins on a
Julian Edelman punt return. Ooh! Ooh! A Danny Amendola kickoff return!) Is
there really such a thing as a good loss? I’m going with no. You’ve got to
believe Aqib Talib will be moderately jacked for this one. Do you think Wes
Welker remembers that he once played for the Patriots? (Ha, ha! What? Too
soon?) If he does, I’m guessing bygones are not bygones. In fact, I can’t
believe it’s not personal and I definitely
don’t believe it’s over. Plus, Peyton Manning has the kind of weapons Tom Brady
never gets (except for that one time). I’m thinking 49-45 Broncos. Hey, if the
Pats can only beat the Broncos once this season… Am I right?
Patriots 6-3-0
Indianapolis
Colts – The Pats hit the road after their bye week to take on a
Colts team that has to be thinking a Super Bowl XLIX berth is a real
possibility for them. The AFC South is theirs to lose and Andrew Luck is the
total package. Can the Patriots catch the Colts blinded by the stars in their
eyes? It’s not something you can count on but it could happen. Any team can
come out flat and have a bad day. It’s one of life’s great pigskin mysteries. Sometimes
all it takes is a bad half, though I wouldn’t count on any halftime lead being
safe against Luck and the Colts offense.
Maybe it’s the bye week that has me thinking the Patriots can
steal this one. Belichick will have two weeks to game plan and there’s even a
long shot that Chandler Jones could be back for this game (probably not). Chuck
Pagano and his staff are more than capable and Indy will be coming off a bye
week, too, but I still have to give Belichick the edge here. Brady will be able
to put points on the board against the Colts defense. I’ll go 31-16 Patriots
for the usual and customary reasons; Belichick and Brady.
Patriots 7-3-0
Detroit
Lions – After dropping the Broncos game the Patriots can ill
afford another loss at home. I can’t see it happening against the Lions. Yes,
the defensive line is formidable but I’d give the Patriots the edge at every
other position group. Matthew Stafford beating Tom Brady? Please.
Quick
Aside: Look, I’m totally cool with Colin Kaepernick’s tattoos and
Matthew Stafford wearing his Lions’ baseball cap backwards ultimately has
nothing to do with wins and losses but I saw some pregame clips from last week
as the trainers were working with Calvin Johnson before the game and there was
Stafford checking in on his #1 wide receiver with his lid on backwards and I
thought, “When is this guy going to grow up?” As I said, I know how a guy wears
a hat has nothing to do with wins and losses and you want a starting QB who’s
loose enough to step into the huddle and ask “Isn’t that John
Candy?” but there’s also a certain seriousness you want in a franchise QB
and while you shouldn’t judge a man by his hat (I’m looking at you Pharrell)
I still can’t help wondering if Stafford has the whatever it is it takes to
reach an elite, championship level of play. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to
go yell at some kids in my yard. Okay…
Chandler Jones should be back for this one but he probably
won’t be 100%. Still, I’m not even sure this will be close. It’s just hard for
me to think of the Lions as competent. Or clutch. The bigger this game is for Detroit the more I like New England. I’ll go 34-13 Patriots.
Patriots 8-3-0
Green
Bay – Historic Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers. The Packers have a
championship offense and defense won’t be able to stop the Patriots’ offense.
So, that’s right, yet another shootout and whoever gets the ball last wins.
Quick
Aside: It’s hard not to like Aaron Rodgers’ “discount double-check”
persona. I have no idea who he is in real life. He might be a total dick but I’d
guess not. Hard to imagine he’s that good an actor. He certainly pulls off the
bemused/perplexed affect and the Hans and Franz ad –
once you get past the fact that you weren’t really waiting to see the Hans and
Franz characters ever again – is kind of fun and even if you saw it coming from
a mile away has a great visual punch line. Okay…
I’ll give the nod to the Pack at home, 38-26.
Patriots 8-4-0
San
Diego – Long flight and a tough opponent. The East-to-West trip is
a little easier than the West-to-East trip but nobody likes being stuck in an
airplane for 4+ hours, especially (I would think) plus-sized men. The Chargers
are very good. They don’t have much of a running game but with Philip Rivers
playing at an MVP level they haven’t needed much of a running game. Their
defense is better against the pass than against the run so they match up pretty
well with the Patriots. Unless Shane Vereen stays healthy and Jonas Gray
develops into a reliable option between the tackles, this will be a tough get for
the Patriots. It may well be that San Diego – with Denver and Kansas City in
their division – will need this game a lot more than New England. There’s some
history between these teams, too. I can only hope Rivers wants this game too
much and forces a few throws that turn into interceptions. Am I talking myself
into this one? Yes. Yes I am. Patriots 38-37.
Patriots 9-4-0
Okay. I’m not an objective observer but is 4-2-0 over the
next six games really out of the question? Another 12-4-0 season for the
Patriots? Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. If Brady continues to play like he has
over the last three weeks, the Patriots will be in every game they play with a
chance to win in the 4th quarter. Nothing in this pigskin life is
certain, of course. I’m making some assumptions; the offensive line will come
together, the defense will figure out how to play without Jerod Mayo, Akeem
Ayers’ knees are good to go, Chandler Jones will come back from the hip injury
and pick up where he left off, Shane Vereen can carry the load at RB1, Gronk
will stay healthy, Bill Belichick hasn’t forgotten more than you know about
football – he hasn’t forgotten anything and as noted above, Brady will be
Brady.
If you’re a Patriots’ fan, you’re probably familiar with the
phrase. It’s their Super Bowl. Opponents
have been bringing their “A” game to Foxborough since 2002. I get it. Beating
the Patriots still means something, even if they haven’t won a Super Bowl in
ten years. Back in the day when I was an Army brat rooting for the pre-Elway
Broncos with my dad stationed at Fort Carson, if Denver went 2-12-0 and one of
those wins came against the Oakland Raiders, that’s all I would spend the
off-season talking about. That was pretty much all I had to talk about.
If the New York Jets finish 2-14-0, and that second win comes
tonight against New England, well, it probably won’t save Rex Ryan’s job, but
it will give him something to tell his grandchildren. It might even spark the
Jets to a 4-12-0 finish.
Just when things were looking up, the Patriots are forced to
shuffle their underperforming offensive line due to Bryan Stork’s concussion.
Not good when you’re facing one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL. Even
better, Tom Brady rolled his ankle in practice and will be even less mobile
than usual. If that’s possible.
