Hello again to my former readers. How I’ve missed you. Greg occasionally lets me chime in from a fan's perspective, giving you a break from the X’s and O’s he and Mike are so amazing at. Hope you enjoy.
The popular saying amongst Patriots fans these days is, “We are so back.”
You know what else is back? The league-wide terror.
Bills fans came into the season puffing their chests, shouting, “It’s our time!” Now, the nightmare of a 23-year-old star quarterback and former Coach of the Year locking the AFC East into a cell for another 20 years haunts their sleep. Chiefs fans sailing on calm seas toward Patrick “Showtime” Mahomes eventually passing Tom Brady as the G.O.A.T., now look up to find a Patriots tsunami on the horizon. Rex Ryan pounding the desk on ESPN’s Get Up yelling, “God dog, I hate it! I want to see the Patriots down!”
Then there are the rest of the fans on social media weeping about the Patriots only going a lousy few years with subpar QB play and losing records, while others have gone decades. Their salty tears runneth my cup over, and God how I love the delectable thirst-quenching savoriness. These Pouty Pissy Pants people are justified. The Patriots went from back-to-back four-win seasons of dumpster diving, to eating filet mignon at the Bostonia Public House with the double-clap of Mike Vrabel’s hands.
But now is no time to gloat. The ship has been righted, thanks to the additions of a high-level coaching staff and front office, the rise of franchise quarterback Drake Maye, an upgraded roster, and Robert Kraft deciding to make it rain blank checks last offseason. Yes, we are back … to being good. But in these here parts, “Good” is as pleasant as a soft-serve ice cream without Jimmy’s. Get that aunt-kissing blandness outta here and give me tongue wrestling with Jenna from Southie every time. Only greatness is accepted in the true Title Town here in Boston. Championships, baby!
Even Felger, Mazz, and Jim Murray are all aboard the Patriots-are-Contenders bandwagon. What's next, Greg Bedard getting a tattoo of Pat Patriot standing atop of a Unicorn and Showpony? We certainly are back, but we need to be back in the Super Bowl. Coming this winter to a theater near you, 2001 Part 2 … the sequel!
Too much to ask? You mean like asking a team that was 5-11 the prior year and was off to an 0-2 start that just lost its $100-million quarterback to brush it off and go win it all? That’s what the 2001 Patriots needed to overcome to hoist their first Championship. Here’s the important, rhetorical question to ask:
Who is a better quarterback? 2001 Tom Brady, or 2025 Drake Maye?
No need to answer. It’s not a subjective question. 2025 Maye is a better QB. Period. Debate over. Nothing else to discuss. And trust me, there is nooooooo bigger Brady homer than this old man. But facts are facts.
Let’s compare the 2001 team with the 2025 Patriots.
Offensive weapons? 2025 is slightly better. Defense? 2001 absolutely gets the nod. But if the 2025 defense could fix its opening drive woes, and players like Robert Spillane and K’Lavon Chaisson continue to wreak havoc and get comfy in a system they’re still learning, the talent is there for this defense to at least sniff that historic one lead by Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest. But most importantly, the quarterback. Edge to 2025 Drake Maye. He’ll never pass Tom, but the current Drake is better than that version of the G.O.A.T. who happened to build the greatest Dynasty Empire of all-time. Sorry.
And there it is. The “D” word. Dynasty.
Too early? Yup. But the seeds are planted. Top five coach/quarterback combo, who are both young? Check. Josh McDaniels, an elite offensive coordinator who is likely to be around for many years due to unique circumstances? Check. A defense with some amazing building blocks who are under 28 years old? Check. Speed on offense? Check.
Also, could all of this spark future free agents taking discounts to come play for us like the good old days? To assist with this, we now have a coach who might be just as good as the Hoodie, and is loved by today’s current NFL players. (I’m comfortable comparing these coaches after seeing Bill Belichick’s decision-making post-Brady.) Trey Hendrickson signing a three-year, below-market-value contract this offseason? Get ready. Stuff like this is a comin’, buckaroo!
Of course, there are other factors. Health being the biggest, (Knocking on wood.) But the point is … why not us? Have you not heard of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team? Do you not believe in miracles? Were the 2004 Red Sox and 2001 Patriots not miracle teams? Would it even be a miracle if an emerging Mastermind Vrabel and a dynamic Drake Maye lead us straight to Boylston Street to hop on a Duck Boat this February as we mock the other fans who, “hate us because they ain’t us!”?
Call me Captain Obvious, but it’s time to adjust expectations. The sequel is almost never as good as the original. And no, Maye and Vrabel will not match the volume of championships that Brady and Belichick provided New England. But, occasionally, a masterpiece is topped by a second masterpiece. Could Maye, Vrabel, and Company not write their own The Godfather II? Aliens? The Empire Strikes Back? Would seeing old friend Roger Goodell with his fake smile hand Kraft a seventh Lombardi not feel as good, if not better than a few of the original Dynasty’s Super Bowls?
Maybe add some fan service? Perhaps Drake Maye pumping his fist, screaming at the top of his lungs, “Let’s f****** go!”
Vrabel, Maye, McDaniels, high-ceiling defense, explosive weapons starting to emerge—Patriots Thanos has collected all of the Infinity Stones. Time for them to snap the rest of the league away. They are back, they are inevitable, and the NFL is a better world for it. The tears. The terror. The return to glory.
