I keep reading how great these two guys are...its only day Four of TC when they play like this against some competition then i'll start to buy into them. I've been around to long and seen to many TC wonders that didn't pan out when it for real to get carried away. Same thing goes for Buchanan the D lineman, theres a reason he lasted till the seventh rnd.
Meh, hype is fun. Having "binkies" is fun. Isn't that the point of sports? you know, entertainment? Maybe it's become I come from baseball, but watching the farm system gets you through bad years. This is kind of like that - and you know what, it could be a bad year. Brady could have twice the picks this year as normal. The Pats offense could go to mediocre. Their defense might be one DT injury away from "uh-oh." Maybe Dennard goes to jail; maybe Dowling gets hurt or simply can't play well; maybe Arrington was a bad signing...
If the only time I can be happy about a team/franchise is when they win it all, my 54 years of life would have had a lot more misery than elation (particularly given the Sox through 52 of those 54 years!).
In football, if my team is playing meaningful football games in January, I count it as a win (for most of my life, I counted it as a miracle) - by that measure, I've enjoyed the Brady era.
Regarding the receivers, there's a HUGE difference here from recent years past: Brady didn't NEED TO give a guy like Chad Jackson or Bethel Johnson or Taylor Price, or even Ocho or Galloway or other vets, a second look or a second chance. He had Welker, or Moss, or two tight ends as the focus, or Branch or Brown (his forever binkies, for good reason). Not this year. This year, he has to be more than a great quarterback - he has to be a mature teacher. I have faith in that.
And here's the kicker: You can't have a promising guy step up and grow into stardom unless you give him the chance. Ridley isn't Ridley if BJGE was the number 1 last year.
Watch Manny Sanders this year - he could have a great year, something he would not likely have if Wallace was still in Pittsburgh.
These new guys look good, are known to be smart, have great measurables, AND will most definitely get repeated chances to take big steps.
I don't care if the Pats go 9-7 with growing pains, as long as they get into the playoffs and are ready to play good football in those playoff games. I think the second part of that proposition is MORE LIKELY this year than last, because the last few years, the Patriot's offense became a purely hash-mark offense from the line to +20, and in the playoffs, where mugging receivers is allowed, that box of opportunity came to look awful small. Also, with such an obvious binky out there, a big hit to a Welker early on was worth the 15-yard penalty. The stall was often predictable.
