NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 2009 PREVIEW
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Maybe Bill Belichick’s legions of critics were prophetic. Maybe his New England Patriots did wind up pissing off the football gods. During New England’s historic 2007 season, most of the non-Patriot fans who were not irate about Spygate were eventually turned off by what they perceived to be the head coach’s hubris. Belichick’s high-powered Patriots would stomp opponents into the ground and then keep stomping. The annihilation would be followed by chilly postgame handshakes, terse, evasive press conferences and the emitting of a subtle arrogance that people tend to easily notice when you own three Super Bowl rings.
Eventually, the hubris reshaped the reputation of one of the classiest, most well-managed organizations in sports. Americans outside of the ritzy Northeast started looking at the Patriots in the same way people look at a luxury car with a vanity plate. Those who weren’t saying it were often thinking it: Those smug Patriots will get what’s coming to them.
And they did––at least it seems. New England’s perfect ’07 season was spoiled in the final minutes by a white-hot wild card team on football’s grandest stage. An impossible catch by a career-long special teamer allowed it to happen. Then, less than eight minutes into their official rebound effort of 2008, the helmet of Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard smashed into the left knee of golden boy quarterback Tom Brady.
It was around this time that fans––mainly the classless ones––exhibited intense schadenfreude. But by winter, it looked like New England might somehow persevere. During the fall, untested quarterback Matt Cassel had grown up faster than bamboo. The offense seemed unstoppable again, and the Patriots won their final four games to finish 11-5. But a gross flaw in the NFL’s playoff format mandated that at least one team from the pathetic AFC West reach the postseason. The eight-win Chargers got the nod, making the ’08 Patriots the most accomplished non-playoff team in NFL history. What stung was that they may have been hot enough to pull off a few January upsets.
Was this the football gods putting the finishing touches on a Sisyphean punishment? Sure felt that way. But painful as it was, you now get the sense that it has passed (which, of course, would mean it’s not a Sisyphean punishment). The Patriots are sure acting like it’s passed. Despite Brady’s initial post-surgery complications, Belichick and the front office––which saw long-time VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli leave for Kansas City, and former Titans GM Floyd Reese essentially take his place––traded Cassel (along with veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel) for a mere second-round draft choice. Third-year quarterback Kevin O’Connell or Matt Gutierrez will compete for backup duties, meaning New England’s mended superstar is as uninsured as southern flood damage.
You can’t blame the Patriots for being unafraid of more misfortune. Like Steven Spielberg after The Terminal or McDonalds after the Arch Deluxe, the Patriots will bounce back because they’re too good not to. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better owner in sports than Robert Kraft. And, like him or not, there isn’t a better General in the game than Belichick, a man who maintains excellence year after year despite often loosing some of his best Lieutenants (this, by the way, is why no one is worried about whether New England will miss offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels).
With Brady healthy, receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker back, the front line intact and the arrival of veteran running back Fred Taylor, the ’09 Patriots offense has a chance to be as potent as the one that rewrote the record books in ’07. It’s an offense so prolific that the Patriot defense, which has a dire lack of pass-rushers and is very green in the secondary, should have no problem finishing in the NFL’s top 10 for a seventh time in eight seasons. After all, the defense will often be playing with a lead.
It’s been four years since the Patriots hoisted a Lombardi Trophy, yet no one is about to overlook them. Shrewd drafting and salary cap management have made the Patriots simply too deep to fail. Look, for example, at their 2009 rookie class. It consists of six players from Rounds Two and Three, none of whom is likely to see significant playing time this year. Six high draft picks learning the ropes from the comfort of a second-or third-string role? The Pats basically have football’s best farm system.
Of course, New England’s season is going to be decided by the players on the first string. It begins, and in a lot of ways, ends, with Mr. Brady.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/new-england-patriots-09-preview/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Maybe Bill Belichick’s legions of critics were prophetic. Maybe his New England Patriots did wind up pissing off the football gods. During New England’s historic 2007 season, most of the non-Patriot fans who were not irate about Spygate were eventually turned off by what they perceived to be the head coach’s hubris. Belichick’s high-powered Patriots would stomp opponents into the ground and then keep stomping. The annihilation would be followed by chilly postgame handshakes, terse, evasive press conferences and the emitting of a subtle arrogance that people tend to easily notice when you own three Super Bowl rings.
Eventually, the hubris reshaped the reputation of one of the classiest, most well-managed organizations in sports. Americans outside of the ritzy Northeast started looking at the Patriots in the same way people look at a luxury car with a vanity plate. Those who weren’t saying it were often thinking it: Those smug Patriots will get what’s coming to them.
And they did––at least it seems. New England’s perfect ’07 season was spoiled in the final minutes by a white-hot wild card team on football’s grandest stage. An impossible catch by a career-long special teamer allowed it to happen. Then, less than eight minutes into their official rebound effort of 2008, the helmet of Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard smashed into the left knee of golden boy quarterback Tom Brady.
It was around this time that fans––mainly the classless ones––exhibited intense schadenfreude. But by winter, it looked like New England might somehow persevere. During the fall, untested quarterback Matt Cassel had grown up faster than bamboo. The offense seemed unstoppable again, and the Patriots won their final four games to finish 11-5. But a gross flaw in the NFL’s playoff format mandated that at least one team from the pathetic AFC West reach the postseason. The eight-win Chargers got the nod, making the ’08 Patriots the most accomplished non-playoff team in NFL history. What stung was that they may have been hot enough to pull off a few January upsets.
Was this the football gods putting the finishing touches on a Sisyphean punishment? Sure felt that way. But painful as it was, you now get the sense that it has passed (which, of course, would mean it’s not a Sisyphean punishment). The Patriots are sure acting like it’s passed. Despite Brady’s initial post-surgery complications, Belichick and the front office––which saw long-time VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli leave for Kansas City, and former Titans GM Floyd Reese essentially take his place––traded Cassel (along with veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel) for a mere second-round draft choice. Third-year quarterback Kevin O’Connell or Matt Gutierrez will compete for backup duties, meaning New England’s mended superstar is as uninsured as southern flood damage.
You can’t blame the Patriots for being unafraid of more misfortune. Like Steven Spielberg after The Terminal or McDonalds after the Arch Deluxe, the Patriots will bounce back because they’re too good not to. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better owner in sports than Robert Kraft. And, like him or not, there isn’t a better General in the game than Belichick, a man who maintains excellence year after year despite often loosing some of his best Lieutenants (this, by the way, is why no one is worried about whether New England will miss offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels).
With Brady healthy, receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker back, the front line intact and the arrival of veteran running back Fred Taylor, the ’09 Patriots offense has a chance to be as potent as the one that rewrote the record books in ’07. It’s an offense so prolific that the Patriot defense, which has a dire lack of pass-rushers and is very green in the secondary, should have no problem finishing in the NFL’s top 10 for a seventh time in eight seasons. After all, the defense will often be playing with a lead.
It’s been four years since the Patriots hoisted a Lombardi Trophy, yet no one is about to overlook them. Shrewd drafting and salary cap management have made the Patriots simply too deep to fail. Look, for example, at their 2009 rookie class. It consists of six players from Rounds Two and Three, none of whom is likely to see significant playing time this year. Six high draft picks learning the ropes from the comfort of a second-or third-string role? The Pats basically have football’s best farm system.
Of course, New England’s season is going to be decided by the players on the first string. It begins, and in a lot of ways, ends, with Mr. Brady.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/new-england-patriots-09-preview/
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