Disco Volante
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2007
- Messages
- 6,725
- Reaction score
- 971
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080904
Prediction No. 11: The Patriots will not make the Super Bowl.
I'm not feeling it. My Dad disagrees. We argued about it on the phone. He loves our easy schedule. I pointed out that the playoffs won't be so easy. He said I was a fair-weather fan and needed to move back home. I took it personally. Voices were raised. He asked me who I liked more than the Pats. I told him, "If my life depended on it, I'd go with Jacksonville." He pointed out my bipolar behavior during the Celtics' playoff run. I asked him to name three things that have gone right since January other than Belichick getting cheered on the Jumbotron during every big Celtics game. He drew a blank. I asked if there's been a single good sign in the gawd-awful preseason that I missed. He thought rookie middle linebacker Jerod Mayo looked good, and seemed mildly excited about LaMont Jordan. I asked if we could get 16 games out of Randy Moss again. He didn't know. I asked if it worried him that our offensive line gave away Super Bowl XLII and looked even worse in the preseason. He agreed that, yes, this was an awful sign. I asked him to name our starting cornerbacks. He said "Ellis Hobbs and maybe Wheatley, the rookie." I asked if that was the same Ellis Hobbs who he has been complaining about for the past two years. He said yes. We finally ended the conversation because it's much more fun these days to talk about Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie.
Here's the point: I don't know what I'm getting from the Patriots this year. They still have a giant bull's-eye on them every week, only they don't have last season's depth because they didn't get enough from those rookie classes in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (partly because they dealt picks to get Moss and Wes Welker last year, partly because they lost No. 32 in this past draft with Spygate, partly because they uncharacteristically botched a few picks), and again, the offensive line and secondary loom as potential problem areas. Plus, what are the residual emotional effects from last season? Is Brady healthy? Will they wear down from being America's villain for the second straight year? I kept waiting for signs of life from the preseason … anything … just a glimmer. Nothing. They remind me of the Pistons from 2005 to 2007, a talented team that thinks it can just turn it on whenever it wants, only the Pats aren't quite as talented as they used to be. I am concerned.