Such optimistic proclamations and predictions regarding this franchise as it stands on the precipice of another NFL season are nothing new over the last … well, almost two decades now.
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The difference this year is that it’s a little lonely over here on Optimism Island. There are plenty of open seats on the Patriots bandwagon this year. The bolder — and perhaps more wishful — among us, or in particular in other markets, are racing to declare the Patriots era over, the championship window closed, and the reigning champion Chiefs the next dynasty in the NFL, as if it’s fait accompli that they will achieve even half of what the Patriots have done.
I am mystified by this pessimism, even now that the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady, is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and for some odd reason exponentially more annoying than he ever was as a Patriot.
You see, I looked it up. Wikipedia and many more reliable outlets up to but not including Ask Jeeves confirmed. So go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief. Bill Belichick is indeed still coaching the Patriots.
That’s enough for me to believe this team is going to be very good, and perhaps so good that it will have the potential to greatly disappoint those that got sick of this team’s success 15 years ago and just want it to fade to a state of mediocrity so uninspiring that you’d think Jeff Fisher was the coach.
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He’s not. It’s still Belichick, the greatest there has ever been in the most complicated time to run a football team. Oh, sure, there are going to be very real challenges. Five starters from last year’s stellar defense are gone, including signal-caller Dont’a Hightower and reliable Patrick Chung, both of whom opted out of the season. For the first time since 1995, the Patriots will begin the season with a kicker other than Adam Vinatieri or Stephen Gostkowski. The Patriots are so thin at linebacker that coach Jerod Mayo should probably be listed on the depth chart. Julian Edelman is 34, and there’s no proven help alongside him at wide receiver.
And I think I mentioned this, but Brady, the on-field half of the greatest quarterback/coach pairing we will ever see, has moved on to the Land of Bucco Bruce, where he will do his 1993 Joe Montana routine for an appreciative, if not outright awestricken, fan base.
That’s a lot of turnover involving accomplished, high-end players, along with that one who is downright iconic. And some of the solutions aren’t obvious to us. I don’t know what happens if inside linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley gets hurt; Steve Nelson and Clayton Weishuhn aren’t walking through that door. Cam Newton, an MVP five years ago, exceeds Brady in personal charisma, but he has much to prove at age 31 after two years of injuries and frustration in Carolina. So much of the Patriots' institutional knowledge has been distributed elsewhere.
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I’ve seen skepticism from respected voices such as NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran, who picked them to go 8-8. And then there’s the irrational look-at-me stuff. One NFL.com writer — whose day job is as a sports radio host, naturally — suggested the Patriots will be in the top five of the draft next year.
Well, I’m not wavering, and not just because there’s never been another organization in the history of professional football that has been so worthy of prolonged faith.
Have you noticed? Tell me you noticed, because we’ve seen enough of him through the years to know it matters: Belichick has been in a great mood during training camp. A great mood. Engaging (OK, by his usual snort-grumble standards) on his Zoom calls with the media and quick with a joke.
Cheerful Bill is a clue that he is seeing something good that hasn’t yet been revealed to us. I remember seeing this mood from time to time in the postseason, and wondering what he knew, what was being left unsaid. He was like this in the days building up to their most recent Super Bowl victory, over the supposedly unstoppable 2019 Rams. The Patriots defense bewildered Sean McVay and Jared Goff that day, holding them to 3 points.
I am convinced that Belichick knows something good about his team that we don’t. Perhaps it’s that Newton has found the fountain of youth. Perhaps he’s identified top-end talent in a player who thus far has had a minor role, from someone like Damien Harris (who is currently hurt), Chase Winovich, or Joejuan Williams. Perhaps Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, the rookie tight ends with the diverse skill sets, are about to provide a significant upgrade at that position.
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Or perhaps he just knows that in this strangest of seasons, the continuity and institutional knowledge he provides is going to be a significant advantage.
Belichick seems to know it, and I’m going to be wise enough to believe it. The Patriots are going to be very good this year. The fun part is going to be discovering how.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.
The Link LonkSeptember 10, 2020 at 06:57AM
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/09/sports/forget-doomsayers-heres-one-pick-another-successful-patriots-season/
Forget the doomsayers: Here’s one pick for another successful Patriots season - The Boston Globe
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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