FOXBOROUGH — Sometimes I forget about how manic this fanbase can be.
After getting blown out by a damn good Jaguars team to fall to 1-2, there were various storylines about how Drake Maye was broken/should be benched, Josh McDaniels needed to be fired, (Insert Receiver Name) needed to be cut, and every personnel decision in the offseason was terrible, so the people responsible should be looking for new jobs.
Then the Patriots go to Buffalo and upset the Bills. Then they come home and blow out the Raiders on Sunday, 45-17.
Now Maye is elite again, McDaniels is awesome, the Patriots might have too many receiving options when A.J. Brown comes back, and the Patriots might never lose again.
What a short, strange trip it's been from the doghouse to the penthouse. Anybody else have whiplash?
And there are 12 games and 92 days left in the regular season.
Exhale.
What's the old saying? You're never as bad as your worst loss, and you're never as good as your best win? Yeah, something like that.
I think it might be time for everyone to take a page from Mike Vrabel's playbook, because the head coach definitely took to the podium in a dour mood despite winning the last six quarters against teams with winning records (ish, in the case of the Raiders) 70-26.
"Last week doesn't matter. Today's not gonna matter here in about 10 minutes," Vrabel said. "We're gonna have to focus on the Jets in the division here at home. We still have a lot to improve and to clean up."
Translation: Let's not start sniffing our own farts quite yet. Yes, the wins were good and needed, but let's be honest: we just went against two teams with new head coaches who call offensive plays, and first-time defensive playcallers. Josh McDaniels, Zak Kuhr, and I should run circles around those guys, and we did. And the players did their job. Don't start blowing smoke up our shorts for doing what we should be doing. We've got bigger aspirations for this team than an AFC East win — remember, we own this division now — and a Raiders team that beat no one before this.
Well, then, Mike, tell us about the jobs those coaches did, because it looked pretty damn impressive.
"You know what I mean?" Vrabel said. "Again, I think all the credit goes to the players. Josh [McDaniels] and, and, and Zak [Kuhr] and Jeremy [Springer], they do a fantastic job. I think our coaches are great, and they understand the game plan, and they try to get their players ready. But ultimately, that's what they expect. That's what they expect of themselves."
Translation: This ain't our first rodeo. We just took a team from four wins to 17 and a Super Bowl appearance. We have a lot of experience on this staff. We should be outcoaching these teams with new staffs. It'd be embarrassing if we didn't.
Come on, Mike, throw us a bone. The fans have their mojo back, it's a BLEH-nami online, especially for people who doubted Drake The Great. These two wins have been really good, right? You guys aren't losing again, are you?
"Mm, I mean, there's a