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This is not a "woe is me" or a "the sky is falling" thread. It's more of a reality check. Some people may not agree with me or may attack me or may flame me, but some may also agree.
The team is now 6 years past the days of the Dynasty years, and several massive blunders have been made in drafting and coaching in those 6 years. Our defensive co-ordinator, who happens to be our head coach, has seen the NFL pass him by. He is no longer the mad scientist who took a mediocre defense and came up with a scheme to beat the 15-1 Rams in SB 36. He is no longer the "genius" who is able to make half time adjustments to beat "Good-Great" teams. The Pats score a lot of points in blow out wins, and can't score when they face good defenses (sound familiar ?, Colts of the early 2000's).
The destruction of the Dynasty started with horrendous drafting in the early 2000's which has continued to this day. The Bethel Johnson's over the Anquan Boldin's, The Chad Jackson's over the Greg Jenning's (though that looked good at the time). Picking up a quantity of draft picks instead of picking quality has hurt this team big time. Though every year, the pundits seem to praise Belichick for going off of the board by making the "interesting" pick instead of picking the good player available, proclaiming, this is the "Patriot Way", this is why the Patriots win championships, yet they are talking about Ghosts. Every year, I see the Pats highly graded post draft, yet every year, I wait to see these players perform, yet they almost always wind up as terrible players (Tate, Crable, Butler, etc), or they can't make it to the field (IR, street clothes, etc). It reminds me of the Emporer's new clothes, the way the pundits praise Belichick's drafting. Yet I don't see it. So many of us have justified not picking certain players, because "they wouldn't fit" in the Patriot's system, I think that is a load of BS.
Now please note, I'm not complaining, I'm a Patriot's fan since 1975. I've seen the 1-15 and 2-14 teams, and stuck by them through thick and thin, and will stick with them during the impending decline. It's unfortunate, but sports is very cyclical, for instance, look at the 49er's. 5 Championships in 14 years, and then at least 10 years of mediocricy until they are back on the upswing. Same for the Raiders and Redskins, both winning 3 SB's in a 10 year period, and then dissapearing off of the face of the earth. As long as we have Brady/Belichick, the Patriots will be competitive, may even win a few more AFC East Titles, hopefully a few playoff games. But the game has passed Belichick by, the glory years are a distant memory. Unless Belichick can start drafting players that can help this team become a champion again, and can start getting back to smashmouth football, we are destined to fade away like the 49er's. Hopefully that's not the case, but that's what I'm seeing.
The team is now 6 years past the days of the Dynasty years, and several massive blunders have been made in drafting and coaching in those 6 years. Our defensive co-ordinator, who happens to be our head coach, has seen the NFL pass him by. He is no longer the mad scientist who took a mediocre defense and came up with a scheme to beat the 15-1 Rams in SB 36. He is no longer the "genius" who is able to make half time adjustments to beat "Good-Great" teams. The Pats score a lot of points in blow out wins, and can't score when they face good defenses (sound familiar ?, Colts of the early 2000's).
The destruction of the Dynasty started with horrendous drafting in the early 2000's which has continued to this day. The Bethel Johnson's over the Anquan Boldin's, The Chad Jackson's over the Greg Jenning's (though that looked good at the time). Picking up a quantity of draft picks instead of picking quality has hurt this team big time. Though every year, the pundits seem to praise Belichick for going off of the board by making the "interesting" pick instead of picking the good player available, proclaiming, this is the "Patriot Way", this is why the Patriots win championships, yet they are talking about Ghosts. Every year, I see the Pats highly graded post draft, yet every year, I wait to see these players perform, yet they almost always wind up as terrible players (Tate, Crable, Butler, etc), or they can't make it to the field (IR, street clothes, etc). It reminds me of the Emporer's new clothes, the way the pundits praise Belichick's drafting. Yet I don't see it. So many of us have justified not picking certain players, because "they wouldn't fit" in the Patriot's system, I think that is a load of BS.
Now please note, I'm not complaining, I'm a Patriot's fan since 1975. I've seen the 1-15 and 2-14 teams, and stuck by them through thick and thin, and will stick with them during the impending decline. It's unfortunate, but sports is very cyclical, for instance, look at the 49er's. 5 Championships in 14 years, and then at least 10 years of mediocricy until they are back on the upswing. Same for the Raiders and Redskins, both winning 3 SB's in a 10 year period, and then dissapearing off of the face of the earth. As long as we have Brady/Belichick, the Patriots will be competitive, may even win a few more AFC East Titles, hopefully a few playoff games. But the game has passed Belichick by, the glory years are a distant memory. Unless Belichick can start drafting players that can help this team become a champion again, and can start getting back to smashmouth football, we are destined to fade away like the 49er's. Hopefully that's not the case, but that's what I'm seeing.