Bedard had a major hissy fit over the Talib trade, but he seems to have gotten over it.
The last 7 games of the season should be different from the first 9, for a couple of reasons:
1. The Pats have essentially won the AFC East, and are playing for playoff position and more important to round the team into serious playoff competitive form. We're 3 games up on the Jets and Bills with victories over each (2 over Buffalo) and 2 games up on Miami. The Jet and Bills are out of it, and Miami is an extreme long shot. BB has 7 games to whip this team into playoff shape, and hopefully position it optimally for a serious title run.
2. The move of McCourty to FS seems like a permanent thing, which will limit the weekly personnel movement, and Talib comes off suspension tomorrow. The Pats will finally be in position to start playing some aggressive press-man defensive with a deep cover-1 safety. Andrew Luck and Matt Schaub are the only really good QBs they face in their last 7 games.
Bedard's also right about the Bills. They've been pesky for the Pats for a while, going back to the opening of the 2009 season. Lot of ugly and awkward games. The 25-24 comeback to start 2009, and a 17-10 win later that year. An ugly 38-30 win early in 2010. The 4 interception loss last year, and the ugly start in the 2nd game before coming to win. And having to come from behind this year after being down in the 3rd quarter. Only 1 of the past 8 games against the Bills has been one-sided. It just hasn't been an easy matchup for the Pats.
Regardless, I agree with him. The season starts now, for better or worse. Time to start finding out if BB can turn this team into a serious contender.