FOXBORO, MA — New England dropped their fourth straight on Sunday, and now doom and gloom is beginning to set in on Patriot Nation.
It took less than an hour after the game for people to start screaming for second-year quarterback Michael Bishop, not to mention the people that are calling Bill Belichick a “bum” and how much the Patriots could’ve used that number one draft choice they gave to the Jets in order to get him. They also talked about how Drew Bledsoe is not the quarterback this team needs and that they should entertain a trade to try and draft Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick. Needless to say panic and mayhem has set in with people frantically searching for answers.
After enjoying all the success the Patriots have had over the past few years both the coaches, players, and fans are having to deal with adversity for the first time in years. Granted last year’s second half skid seemed like a nightmare to many, but now their 0-4 start looks apocalyptic compared to what they endured last year. With the potential to be 0-5 against a Denver team that they haven’t beaten in Colorado since 1968, the calls will only get worse should the Patriots drop their 5th straight game.
Now calm down, take a deep breath, and start thinking.
Is a 9-7 finish completely unrealistic? For the way things may look right now most would rule it out entirely. Is it impossible? Not totally, especially considering the fact that despite how tough the AFC Eastern division has been over the years, the Patriots have always done well against their division opponents. Before the season began New England held a 13-11 edge over their AFC East rivals during the past three years, including a 5-1 record over the Indianapolis Colts who always for whatever reason have struggled against the Patriots. In each of their 11 losses during that span they’ve lost by an average of 6.8 points.
As a matter of fact, six of those games could have been won with a touchdown at the end, with three of them being decided by three points or less.
Now where have we seen this before?
In order for the Patriots to reach what may be unreachable it’s time for them to turn the corner offensively. We’ve seen improvement during each of their first four games on offense, but either bad luck or a missed opportunity has halted what could have been potential points for New England. Case in point, during Sunday’s loss to Miami had runningback Kevin Faulk not fumbled down on the Dolphins’ 2 yard line on his way to the endzone, and had Adam Vinatieri been able to boom a very tough kick from 53 yards out, the Patriots head back to Foxboro with their first win.
If, if, if. Not a word that anyone wants to hear anymore. It’s time to start saying ‘when’.
The remaining games are tough, but not impossible for the Patriots to go on a 9-3 run. The key is they’ll need to win the rest of their division games, which includes six of those nine. The other three wins could possibly include their games at Cleveland, home against Cincinnati, home against Kansas City, and at Chicago. Should they head into Denver and steal one there, there’s no telling what kind of impact that could have on both their confidence and the rest of their season. Finishing 10-6 would be amazing.
Patriots owner Bob Kraft hired Belichick hoping to prevent the previous collapse this team endured under former head coach Pete Carroll. While the collapse generally came during the second half of the season, Belichick now has to try and keep his team focused on the task at hand and that’s getting over the top during games in which they’re in dire need of making one or two plays in order for his team to turn that corner. For now his players may realize that they’re close to reaching that next level, now he’ll need to get them there.
But in the meantime Patriot Nation as well as the rest of the media need to remember that the NFL season consists of 16 games, and despite the 0-4 start it’s not quite time to cash in the season. Bledsoe is beginning to get more protection, and as the season progresses they’ll begin hitting those passes that are just out of reach. They’ll start getting away from those defensive backs, they’ll hold onto the ball down on the goal line, and they’ll start winning.
A play here, or a play there, and they’ll be right back in it.
The first four games have been gut-wrenching, they’ve been frustrating, but they’ve been close. Sooner or later they’ll start winning them, and hopefully it will begin this week.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
