The New England Patriots are what no one wants to be: Super Bowl losers. But this organization has been unstoppable over the last decade. It seems unlikely that they will do anything but bounce back, hungrier than ever. Will it happen though? And will it be sustainable? Is it possible that the golden era for the Patriots is drawing to a close?
The offense is not a problem, that much is certain. Well, as certain as anything can be in the ever-changing NFL. Tom Brady is still a supreme quarterback. Bill Belichick is still a masterful coach. Wes Welker is phenomenal, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez shredded the league, and enough other parts (Deion Branch, BenJarvus Green-Ellis) are there to keep things churning along. Even though the running game lacks an elite star, Belichick's system keeps succeeding almost regardless of the players involved. I suppose the only question here is: how long can this keep up? Brady is still fantastic, but he's 34. He's not going to play forever; not even Favre pulled that off. He still wants to win more Super Bowls, to keep padding his Hall-of-Fame resume, to be unquestionably the best quarterback in the league, and possibly the best ever. But there's only going to be so many more chances, and who knows what can happen (think of the injury against Kansas City that ended his 2008 season before it even started).
The offense can still be dominant for the next few years. But there's a big problem facing this team: the defense, particularly, the secondary. The front line isn't bad, anchored by human wall Vince Wilfork. The linebackers are decent, led by Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo. But frankly, the Patriots can't expect to stop any functional passing offense with the likes of Kyle Arrington, Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, and James Ihedigbo (who? exactly) starting. That unit has to improve, or teams will just throw all over the Pats and beat them at their own game.
Of course, free agency hasn't started in earnest and the draft is still to come. The Patriots are masters of trading draft picks around to get as many as possible at the expense of the "prime" drafting spots. But this year, they have to hope they strike gold and get some real impact players, or they might actually backslide. Remember, one missed field goal sent them to the Super Bowl. If Billy Cundiff makes that kick, it's possible we'd all be talking about the Ravens' rise to success in recent years culminating in their championship appearance. And how would the Ravens have done it? Defense and their running game led by Ray Rice.
The well-oiled machine that is the Patriots is still standing, still running, still giving the rest of the league fits. But if they're not careful, it could all come crashing down.
Well written, as usual.
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