It's long been said that Boston fans aren't truly happy unless they're miserable. They bitch,
moan, whine, and complain---and that's when their teams are winning. Now that the Patriots
appear to be in decline, the fan base is frothing at the mouth and taking delight in ripping
everything about the team. Yep, they are taking shots at Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as
if they are Rex Ryan and Geno Smith.
Classic.
One miserable game on a Monday night is making the fan base feel like they've been
living in Jacksonsville and rooting for the Jaguars over the last 10 years. An embarrassing
performance by the Patriots and everybody's jumping off a ship that's hauled in a
treasure chest of victories, Super Bowl wins, and more unforgettable moments than
they can count.
These are the same fans who cry about loyalty and commitment when Jacoby Elsbury,
Johnny Damon, and Wade Boggs bolt Boston for greener pastures in New York. Anyone
who leaves town to play somewhere else is a fraud, sell-out, and greedy. Yet, when
the Patriots win just two of their first four games, they get greedy and want more and
want it now. When Brady has a bad game, they forget about how truly great he's been
and start writing his football obituary. Belichick? Yep, he's miserable, rude, and now as
incompetent of a coach as Rich Kotite.
One humiliating loss has turned every columnist and sports radio hack into experts who
think they can coach better than Vince Lombardi, construct a team more efficiently than
Bill Polian, and evaluate talent with the eye of Ernie Accorsi. What was the Patriots
record in September? 2-2? Holy cow, why hasn't Belichick been fired yet?
In the famous words of Bill Parcells, "you are what your record says you are." The
Patriots record is pretty damn good with Belichick steering the ship, right? He's 165-63
with the team. 51-13 over the last four years. He does have a little bit of a clue what
he's doing.
Sure, he's made some big mistakes in his draft and failing to comfort Brady with great
talent like the Colts and Broncos did for Peyton Manning. But how many Super Bowls
have they won with all of it? Oh, just one, really? Wow. Polian and Elway should be
considered failures, too.
We should all know by now that drafting and evaluating talent is an inexact science.
Nobody has figured out a fool-proof way to select or sign the right players. Heck, Boston
fans should know all about this. Theo Epstein signed guys like Carl Crawford, Julio
Lugo, Matt Clement, Edgar Renteria, J.D. Drew, and Dice-K. He didn't exactly hit
home runs with those, did he?
Belichick has missed on a lot of players, too. He's drafted poorly and failed to give
Brady great players around him. It happens.
Blow-outs happen, too. Even to the Patriots. This team doesn't have a wealth of talent
like they did during their dynasty. Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinnest, Law, Seymour, Brown,
and Brady were part of an incredible era of great talent. The Patriots hit it big with
those guys. That's how the draft and free-agency goes. Sometimes you strike oil,
other times you just whiff.
The humiliating game in Kansas City counts as just one loss. Nothing more. It's over
and as Belichick says, the Patriots are "on to Cincinnati." Grade the Patriots on their
full body of work, not just one horrific game.
And for crying out loud, show some loyalty and appreciation for what this team
has given you. You'll never see another quarterback like Brady and a coach like Belichick.
There's also a good chance you won't win three Super Bowls in a four year period.
Fans in New England are smart enough to realize the team doesn't have great talent,
but they should also know and be thankful, they don't live in Jacksonville, Cleveland,
or St. Louis, then they would have something to really complain about.
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