Absurdly Metro
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2007
- Messages
- 580
- Reaction score
- 173
First let me say I don't need to be talked down from the ledge. I understand it is only week two and there's a lot of football still to be played. I have a lot of faith in the Hooded One and TFB to lead this team to the playoffs and hopefully to a fourth SB title THIS year.
That said, the only thing I can compare the 2009 Patriots season to so far is telling your kid there is no Santa Claus. Many of us believed this team was one of, if not the ONE elite team in the NFL coming out of the gates.
We believed Brady was back and would light it up again. We didn't necessarily think 2009 would be as prolific as 2007 but, with a couple years together, and Brady all the way back from his injury, we thought this offense was the best in the business (or at least on par with NO). We weren't realistically looking for another run at 19-0 (although we did dream about it sometimes) but we figured with Brady back and a revamped secondary there was no way this team wouldn't win more games than the Matt Cassel led, defensively deficient squad from a year ago.
Sure we bristled when BB threw Vrabel in to sweeten the pot on the KC deal. It felt wrong to us on some level. It seemed cold. It seemed like we didn't get enough in return. It seemed like BB somehow undervalued those assets. But what do we know? We're just fans. So we swallowed the kool-aid and told ourselves Vrabes was finished anyway. Washed up. Has been. Couldn't help us anymore. Thanks for the memories but BB knows best.
Then came the Seymour fiasco. Reminded us of another great Patriots rather ignominous exit from Foxboro back in 2003. Just like Vrabes before him, the RS situation just felt wrong to us on some level. It too seemed cold. It also seemed to weaken our chances to win this year in exchange for a better chance to keep winning in later years. We were skeptical. We wondered how the DL could afford to lose a player of Seymour's stature and ability. We wondered who the opposing coaches would have to game plan for now that Big Sey was gone. We wondered who would required double teams and still be able to collapse the pocket. But, like with Vrabel, we sucked it up and told ourselves Richard was dispensible too. Just another in a long line of parts in BB's mighty Patriot machine. Imminently replaceable just like all the others who've come and gone.
Oh well. It was finally time for some football! The kool-aid felt more potent than ever. So we drank some more and soon were overcome. It told us strange things. After all, Brady was back. The Patriot Messiah had risen from the dead and was coming back again in glory to smite his foes and tread them under his feet en route to another trip to the promised land. This Patriot offense would subdue our foes in the early part of the year to compensate for the young, revamped defense. This would buy some time for all of those new, young faces on defense to learn to play together and to gel. We were still a dominant team... or so we thought.
Then the Pats came out and stunk up the joint the first two weeks and shattered our little football fantasy. Please don't misunderstand. It's not that we've given up on the team, or the season, or BB, or TFB. It's not that we don't believe anymore.
It's just that like a little kid at Christmas our lofty expectations have met with a very different and difficult reality to start this season. Our sense of entitlement has been stripped away with full blown blunt force trauma.
So take it easy on us. We just found out there is no Santa Claus. It was only Rex Ryan in a big red suit.
That said, the only thing I can compare the 2009 Patriots season to so far is telling your kid there is no Santa Claus. Many of us believed this team was one of, if not the ONE elite team in the NFL coming out of the gates.
We believed Brady was back and would light it up again. We didn't necessarily think 2009 would be as prolific as 2007 but, with a couple years together, and Brady all the way back from his injury, we thought this offense was the best in the business (or at least on par with NO). We weren't realistically looking for another run at 19-0 (although we did dream about it sometimes) but we figured with Brady back and a revamped secondary there was no way this team wouldn't win more games than the Matt Cassel led, defensively deficient squad from a year ago.
Sure we bristled when BB threw Vrabel in to sweeten the pot on the KC deal. It felt wrong to us on some level. It seemed cold. It seemed like we didn't get enough in return. It seemed like BB somehow undervalued those assets. But what do we know? We're just fans. So we swallowed the kool-aid and told ourselves Vrabes was finished anyway. Washed up. Has been. Couldn't help us anymore. Thanks for the memories but BB knows best.
Then came the Seymour fiasco. Reminded us of another great Patriots rather ignominous exit from Foxboro back in 2003. Just like Vrabes before him, the RS situation just felt wrong to us on some level. It too seemed cold. It also seemed to weaken our chances to win this year in exchange for a better chance to keep winning in later years. We were skeptical. We wondered how the DL could afford to lose a player of Seymour's stature and ability. We wondered who the opposing coaches would have to game plan for now that Big Sey was gone. We wondered who would required double teams and still be able to collapse the pocket. But, like with Vrabel, we sucked it up and told ourselves Richard was dispensible too. Just another in a long line of parts in BB's mighty Patriot machine. Imminently replaceable just like all the others who've come and gone.
Oh well. It was finally time for some football! The kool-aid felt more potent than ever. So we drank some more and soon were overcome. It told us strange things. After all, Brady was back. The Patriot Messiah had risen from the dead and was coming back again in glory to smite his foes and tread them under his feet en route to another trip to the promised land. This Patriot offense would subdue our foes in the early part of the year to compensate for the young, revamped defense. This would buy some time for all of those new, young faces on defense to learn to play together and to gel. We were still a dominant team... or so we thought.
Then the Pats came out and stunk up the joint the first two weeks and shattered our little football fantasy. Please don't misunderstand. It's not that we've given up on the team, or the season, or BB, or TFB. It's not that we don't believe anymore.
It's just that like a little kid at Christmas our lofty expectations have met with a very different and difficult reality to start this season. Our sense of entitlement has been stripped away with full blown blunt force trauma.
So take it easy on us. We just found out there is no Santa Claus. It was only Rex Ryan in a big red suit.