Boston Sports Then and Now

After the 2001 Super Bowl Victory, the Patriots were Tom Brady's team.

In 2002, the Patriots were coming off their first championship in team history.

They were about to open a state of the art stadium in Foxboro.

New England traded franchise quarterback, Drew Bledsoe to the division rival Buffalo.

The team was now Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady’s.

Everything was looking up for a franchise that was a laughing stock in the early 90’s.

In their history the Patriots have had difficulties in stringing together winning seasons.

Would 2002 break this trend?

New England came out like gangbusters with three straight wins over the Steelers, Jets, and Chiefs by a combined score of 115-51. Unlike Patriots teams in the past, New England started fast, really fast out of the gate.

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The Patriots victory over the Rams began their decade of dominance.

Well the last decade ended like it began, with a lot of unanswered questions for the New England Patriots.

But damn the middle was great!

Let’s take a look back at professional football’s most recent dynasty.

There isn’t much debate on what NFL franchise was the most dominate over the first decade of this millennium.

Sorry Colts fans, your lone Super Bowl Title doesn’t cut the mustard.

Pittsburgh, you had a shot. However, missing the playoffs after your ’05 and ’08 titles cost you in the end.

Philly, if there was an award for losing the most NFC championship games you would have it locked up.

That leaves us with the obvious choice, the New England Patriots.

The team everyone hates and roots against.

The Patriots are despised for their success.

They are now the NY Yankees of football.

Let me throw some staggering numbers and stats at you.

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Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots are left to wonder about life without Welker.

Not the way you want to end your regular season going into the playoffs.

This game was bizarre to say the least.

Bill Belichick plays Tom Brady who was being held together with band-aids and bubble gum.

He lets Faulk, Maroney (probably benched), Warren, Bodden, and Wilfork rest.

Welker, who has been throwing his body across the middle for 14 games, doesn’t get any R and R (military term for rest and relaxation) against Houston. Instead, he goes out there with reckless abandon and on a routine cut, blows out his knee.

The team’s offensive MVP is probably gone for the season. Welker’s tears on the bench pretty much ended all hopes of a miraculous comeback.

Greatest nightmare realized.

The Patriots lost one of their stars in a meaningless game.

It wasn’t a meaningless game for the Houston Texans, however.  They needed this game to keep their playoff hopes alive as well as assure themselves of their first winning season.

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Bill Belichick and Tom Brady began their success in 2001.

At the dawn of a new decade and millennium, the Patriots were looking for a new leader. They found that leader in Bill Belichick but getting him wouldn’t be that easy.

Bill Belichick was on Bill Parcells’ staff at the rival New York Jets. To make it even more complicated, when Parcells stepped down at the conclusion of the 1999 season, he promoted Belichick to be his predecessor.

Belichick partook in a press conference to announce his new position as the head coach of the New York Jets, but he shook the Big Apple to its core. He announced that he was resigning.

Bill Belichick shortly thereafter signed with the New England Patriots as their new head coach.

Bill Parcells and the Jets claimed Belichick was still under contract with the Jets. They felt they deserved compensation for Belichick jumping ship. NFL Commissioner Peter Tagliabue agreed and the Patriots had to surrender a first round pick in the 2000 draft.

The New York-New England rivalry had now reached epic proportions.

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It seems like the entire season for the Patriots has been "under further review."

How long does this go on? Seriously, what is the statute of limitations for bringing charges against a coach for the grievous felony of making all our dreams come true and then breaking our hearts?

All week, all season really, I have read article after article second-guessing Bill Belichick. He has been accused of everything a football coach can be charged with.

First, he was making stupid trades.

Seymour to Oakland was not a stupid trade, as we will see when Wilfork re-signs and Belichick cashes in that 2011 draft pick he got in the deal.

Yes, we could use Seymour now, desperately, but for all the talk of taking things one game at at a time, Belichick knows that part of his job is looking ahead.

Matt Cassel to Kansas City; that we understood, but throw in Mike Vrabel? Belichick was accused of everything from doing Scott Pioli a favor to refusing treatment for stage four senility.

As it turns out, Cassel has a 72.6 QB rating, has thrown for 1982 yards, and has been sacked 37 times. Blame his offensive line if you want, but we know Cassel has a hideous tendency to hold onto the ball too long.

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Bill Belichick doesn't care what you think.

The question jumps into your brain, “What was he thinking?” It’s what I’m thinking when Bill Belichick’s Patriots fail to get the needed yardage on fourth down.
Why is he always going for it on fourth down?
That is an easy question with a huge response that you would never get Bill to fully verbalize. And, why should he?
Bill has his allegiances squarely laid out and the media is not on his favored list. He answers to his franchise and the owner, Robert Kraft. He answers to the team and his coaching staff. He would probably answer to his family if they dared ask the same questions we do.
Robert Kraft trusts his head coach enough to have penned a contract that keeps him through at least 2013. If Bill says to Robert, “I’d go for it again on fourth in that situation.” The odds would be even money that Mr. Kraft would reply, “You go Bill!”
You’re talking about a coach who brought to New England, 6 AFC east titles and 3 Super Bowl wins; a coach who has garnered 2 “AP NFL Coach of the year” nods since he’s been with the Patriots organization.

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