The shift in the force is strong young Skywalker! Those wacky "looks good on paper guys" are at it again.
I feel that people put too much into New England's past success. Take away everything from the '07 season and prior, what have they shown in the past two years? That they can lose the division one year and win it by one game the next? Even when they made the playoffs this year the Patriots just did not lose, they got embarrassed at home and that's not a fluke, it simply doesn't happen to "elite" teams. The Patriots of '09 were nothing like the Patriots of '07 that you could legitimately peg as the having "the power" before the season even started. Why do we think they'll regroup for '10? This a second tier team in the NFL, they are not, and have not been an "elite" since 2007. I don't get why the media and even some Jets fans drink the kool-aid on this team. In two years they won 3 games more then us. That's not domination, that's barely better, and heads up we are 2-2 in that same time period. We have as many playoff appearances as they do in the past two years and two more playoff wins. Tom Brady has not been able to step into the pocket and deal with any pressure since his injury. Randy Moss mailed it in on plays last year, something that did not happen in those Pats glory years. They completely struck out with "veteran" free agents Joey Galloway and Fred Taylor, something they used to be so good at finding. Bill Belichek's made coaching decisions that were largely questioned days after, not praised like in years past. I do not think these are coincidences guys. Do not get me wrong, the Jets have a lot of questions as well, and the Dolphins are probably going to improve so I am not blindly claiming the Jets are the team to beat in the AFC East, but to claim that the Patriots have any sort of inherent power left over from when they were a dominant team is not really accurate.
Wow wall of text, Let me fix that for you. After separating it and reading it through without my head exploding from the giant angry wall of text, I agree with you. The Pats just simply are not the big bad Pats of 2001-2007 anymore.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but at the end it says that the Jets and Dolphins aren't substantially better than they were a few days ago, and it's tough to say the same thing about the Pats. How are the Pats substantially better than they were a few days ago?
And I think I'll wait till we at least have our backfield situated. Sanchez still might not be ready to shoulder the load, and our two guys have some question marks.
In 2008 we swept Buffalo and split with Miami and NE. I'd take 2009 over than season any day. Each to their own, I guess.
I think the "dynasty" years for the Pats are clearly over. If you ask me, the last time they were sniffing the dynasty label was in 2007 (where they came close but were ultimately stopped in what, IMHO, is the greatest Super Bowl ever) and since then they have been an average to above-average team. They don't have the same feel they used; now they rely on superstars to beat you when in the past they simply used a great core of players and found ways to win. Despite the fact that they are hardly world-beaters right now, I still wouldn't count them out. They have accumulated a ridiculous number of draft picks and can use those to trade for good players or to simply draft well. Last year's picks of Brace, Butler, Chung, and Vollmer all look pretty good and will only get better. The Jets do have a chance to take the division, but they have some work of their own to get to. They need to rebuild that backfield and might want to consider a youth infusion at certain positions on the OL. The DL isn't exactly young either and the secondary has been more or less gutted. The Jets can put themselves in a position to be strong, but it's going to be hard with the few draft picks they have. I think UDFAs and small FA signings can do it, but I would feel better about their future if they had more draft picks.
Beep me after Jets convincingly claimed the division for like 4-5 years in a row then we will talk. Before then, Pats are still the team to beat in AFC East. The power hasn't shifted at all till dethroned, which did NOT happen.
The Patriots aren't what they used to be, but until the Jets or Dolphins step up to claim the Division CONSISTENTLY, they still have the AFCE on lockdown. The Dolphins are gonna be a thorn on the Jets' side, just like we've been a thorn on the Patriots side for years and that really bothers me.
well said. and im tired of hearing about the patriots plethora of draft picks. theyve had a ton of picks for the last 3-4 years and how many impact players do they have to show for it?
Don't discount the picks that they have, especially in this uberdeep draft class. They could clean up in the 2nd round. I know you WANT the Pats run of dominance to be over, but that doesn't mean it is.
THe Pats have the Ammo to retool on the fly right now. Next year they will probly be sitting on another top half of the first round pick from the Raiders. They are not the team of the mid 2000's, but they are still a very good and very dangerous team.
Miami has Karlos Dansby in the fold, and it looks like Ryan Clark could soon join him in aqua That just sounds way too gay for football.
Yes, you're reading it wrong. It's saying the Jets and Phins ARE substantially better, but the Pats aren't.
This. Their first four picks alone could be first- and second-string quality. The more I look at this draft's mid-round talent, the more I want to see us trade out of the 1st for some picks.