No, the New England Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl in the last few years, but not many would dispute that the Pats remain a force to be reckoned with, year after year -- including this one. How they continue to do it seems to defy logic.
Sure, they've still got Tom Brady -- arguably amongst the top 3 QBs of all time -- and the mad genius of head coach Bill Belichick should never be underestimated -- but take a current look at them.
Last year they likely had the best tight end tandem in the NFL. Now, one of them (Rob Gronkowski) can't seem to get healthy enough to play, and the other, since cut (Aaron Gonzalez) still sits in jail awaiting a murder trial. Their small-statured, but always pesky, reliable, speedy and dangerous wide receiver Wes Welker bailed to Denver as a free agent.
They don't have a "feature" running back.
If you can name more than one player on their entire defense, you're light years ahead of yours truly. I just watched them play the Atlanta Falcons and I've already forgotten the name of their place-kicker. Some guy I never heard of. Same with their punter.
Brady aside, the Patriots look like they're mostly made up of mid to latter round draft picks, and a few guys that weren't drafted at all -- by anybody. Do the math. With 32 teams in the NFL and the draft consisting of 7 rounds, anybody that went undrafted wasn't even considered amongst the top 200+ college players, let alone having serious pro potential. Yet the Patriots have a bunch of them of their roster, not to mention rookies galore.
It seems like after every year the Patriots lose quality players for whatever reasons and replace them with no-names. Most any sort of logic would seem to dictate that, after a few years of this, the Pats would be a rag-tag bunch that couldn't beat anybody.
But guess what? The Brady Bunch just knocked off the Falcons in Atlanta to go 4-0. Whether it's smoke and mirrors, voodoo, somebody in the front offices in Foxborough sold their soul to the Devil a while back, or yet something else we mere mortal football fans can't comprend -- is unknown.
Yet somehow yours truly suspects it's not dumb luck. How else to explain their continued success year after year after year? It shouldn't be happening -- but it is. Somehow, some way -- these guys know what they're doing.
Will they win the Super Bowl this year?
Probably not. Once again, even more so than during his Indy years, Peyton Manning fell into a rose garden in Denver and finds himself surrounded by a boatload of talent. I think this is Peyton's time to go out on top, much like John Elway did a generation ago in the very same Denver.
But never underestimate the Patriots. As they continue to come together during the season, they will likely get even better.
Except for their owner, Robert Kraft. He seems to be regressing. Seen in a suite as his team closed out the Falcons, Kraft was wearing a sky blue shirt with white cuffs, bright red tie, replete with a high white starched collar. This is an outfit we have come to expect from maybe Don Cherry, not a highly dignified billionaire like Mr. Kraft.
Then again, the football team aside, Kraft DID make his fortune in cheese -- right?
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