Defense Wins You Know What

It isn’t like the Patriots defense has been bad in recent years. Not as good as the ‘03-’04 bunch but still, you know… not bad. They were a Top 10 defense in points allowed last year and they were good enough to help win a Super Bowl only two years ago. Is it just easy to forget the defense when you have Tom Brady leading a Top 3 scoring offense? Maybe that’s part of it. After all, with Brady, Gronk, Edelman and the rest putting 28+ on the scoreboard every week, the defense only needs to be good enough.

Will good enough be good enough this year?

Perfect Tommy

I know. Practice. We’re talking about practice.

Still.

25 of 25. Perfect. Perfect Tommy.

The Heel Turn

The rest of the NFL had to cheat to try to stop the Patriots.

Will it work?

I find myself thinking they don’t really care.

It’s all about TV ratings, asses in seats, internet traffic and trending topics on social media. Cash money, homes. That’s what Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots bring to the table. Love ‘em or hate ‘em; there are no undecideds, no swing voters, no independents when it comes to the New England Patriots.

Sunshine, Puppies and Christmas in August

So far - despite a few (we hope) minor injuries and the usual PUP listers, despite the rain and despite the people who don’t play a psychiatrist on TV examining every gesture by Tom Brady as revelatory of some greater insight into the human condition - it’s been hard not to feel optimistic about the Patriots chances to bring home one more Lombardi Trophy.

Tom Brady Owes You Nothing But His Best On The Field

I don’t ready Boston Globe sports much. It isn’t worth the $0.99/month they charge (after the 5 free articles) and I mostly hate their writers anyway. No, that’s not fair. I totally hate their writers.

But every so often I slip up or they’re quoted on other platforms, like Ben Volin’s deep psychological analysis of Brady’s body language in early camp action I came across on the CBS Sports site. It wasn’t on his Globe bio page but maybe Volin took a psychology class as an undergrad. I’m sure he’s a keen observer of the human condition. And there was a kernel of truth in the Q&A with Volin. It was when he said, “I can’t say for sure.”

My bigger mistake was hitting a link that took me to Dan Shaughnessy’s “When Will Tom Brady Break His Silence” piece.

What Was That Definition of Insanity Again?

Pigskin pundits and bobbleheads, burned by past prognostications, are already backing away from the notion that this is the year the Patriots finish second in the AFC East. This despite Tom Brady’s four-game suspension. There’s still Sith Lord Belichick and his loyal lieutenants patrolling the sidelines. There’s the defense that gets to tune up for the regular season by facing Brady in training camp and there are all those weapons on offense Garoppolo will have at his disposal when things get really real. Everyone west of the Connecticut River is hoping against hope New England will stumble out of the gate at 1-3-0 if not 0-4-0 but like the gridiron cognoscenti, in their heart of hearts, they fear the Patriots.

Put another way, if you’re a Bills, Dolphins or Jets fan, the Patriots are in your head; Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are sitting on a couch in the living room of your head, watching Matt Damon movies.

If you’re a Patriots fan, you’re chuckling over the prospect that not one but two Ryan brothers will be fired at the end of this season, the notion Adam Gase can fix Ryan Tannehill and that this is the year Ryan Fitzpatrick gets to the playoffs.

Hey, want to go out and catch the new Bourne movie?

The Streets of Rome

As the Roman Empire was declining toward its historical autumn, did the good people living in the seven hills realize what was happening? Or did they lay about on their couches obliviously eating grapes from leaden bowls, bemoaning the Senate’s inaction on long-needed aqueduct repairs, increasingly annoyed by the complaints of the serving class demanding a 15 dinar minimum wage, dismissing the threat of a ragtag bunch of Visigoths to the north because things are always messed up in Germania, arguing with their brothers-in-law on the weekend over the recent rule changes designed to improve gladiator safety while waiting in line at the colosseum.

“Why don’t they just put skirts on them?”

Oh. Right. Yeah. Skirts. I guess those guys were secure in their own skins.