All is not well in Patriot-land.
I honestly thought the Patriots were invincible. Now I'm not a Patriots fan, but from the time I've spent here in Boston, I've gathered that Bill Belichick teaches courses at MIT in the offseason because he's bored, and that Tom Brady is capable of walking on water.
The last two weeks, however, have me and the rest of New England wondering if Brady is a false prophet and if Belichick is just another member of MENSA. Something has gone wrong.
By now, almost every sports fan has heard the statistic that the Patriots lost back-to-back games for the first time in 57 games. For a team that bowed out early in the playoffs last season, the question is whether this is just another pothole on the road to a championship or a wrong turn (I love sports metaphors).
Most people foresaw that the Patriots might drop last Sunday's game to the Colts since it was not a meaningful game, other than to pad Peyton Manning's reputation before his certain playoff meltdown. But this past Sunday's 17-14 loss to the Jets has to be a little more disheartening. Couple those two losses with the 17-7 spanking that the Pats received at the hands of the Broncos in Week 3, and suddenly things aren't looking so good in New England.
Are we to dare question the plan of the great Bill Belichick? Could it be possible that he is not, in fact, capable of curing cancer?
Maybe he should have had better game plans than "We can't beat the Broncos" and "We're going to stop running the ball against Indy even though it's working."
Perhaps the Wise One should not have let Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri and Willie McGinest walk so easily, staying content at $10 million under the salary cap. The three were all integral parts of the Pats' past championship teams, and while Vinatieri did all he could to give the Patriots a win against Indy, the Pats are hurting without those three.
And how about Tommy? He isn't really struggling, but the team isn't winning. Where's the great player that should be manhandling opposing teams with his poise and impressive good looks? Well, maybe the last one doesn't contribute to his playoff skill, but it's one of his best qualities.
The star quarterback isn't getting the kind of protection he needs to make plays, as demonstrated by the Jets' four sacks on Sunday. Additionally, when your wide receivers are Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel, it's tough to find a good target.
The Patriots, though, have not looked like their dominating selves. They barely escaped a Jets comeback in Week 2 before getting destroyed again by Jake Plummer and the Broncos in an embarrassing 17-7 home loss. Does anybody else cringe seeing the name of Plummer next to the word "destroyed?" As a non-Patriots fan, I laugh out loud, but Patriots fans shouldn't take it so lightly.
Sure, maybe the Pats lost to the Jets because of bad weather and sloppy field conditions. And Kevin Faulk's botched catch on the final drive probably cost them at least overtime with the Colts. But good teams, especially Super Bowl teams, win those games. The Patriots of the past, much to my own personal dismay, would have won those games.
This is not your normal Patriots team.
The big wins this season for the Patriots have come over the Bengals, Bills and Vikings in Weeks 4, 7 and 8, respectively. Those three teams, though, are not exactly the best of the best. The Bengals have been an incredible disappointment this season, while the Vikings have now lost three in a row including Sunday's loss to the Packers. And the Bills, despite their effort against Indy on Sunday, clearly are not, or at least shouldn't be, in the same class as the Patriots.
If the Pats are having trouble in winnable games against good teams, the upcoming games against the Bears, Packers, Lions, Dolphins and Jaguars could be surprisingly tough.
The next two weeks (in Green Bay and at home against Chicago) will be telling for this team. Brady, Belichick, Bruschi and Rodney Harrison must carry the team to a strong regular season finish, or they could end up missing the playoffs. As for the Super Bowl, I will never criticize Belichick or New England again if he can get this group out of the AFC, because as of today, they hardly look like the class of the league.
Sunday's game was only one loss, but if it is a sign of things to come, it could be a long winter in New England.
