Patriots: Lame Duck Dynasty

Patriots: Lame Duck Dynasty – when the Tennessee Titans walked into Foxborough and pounded the New England Patriots 20-to-13, it left the once great franchise with only questions moving forward. Will Tom Brady re-sign with the Pats, go elsewhere or could he retire? Will HC Bill Belichick draft a replacement for Brady, trade for one or give Brady another shot?

“In the meantime”… is now the theme for the Patriots for this offseason and this is the first time that’s happened in 20 seasons. Most NFL fans in American are likely thinking, “Now you know how the rest of us live.”

The realities for the New England roster is that they’ve lost a number of weapons on offense in recent years and have not been able to find excellent replacements, including for TE Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski was a major target and a solution for Brady for many troubling 3rd down situations. That just means that even if the Pats move on from Brady, the dynasty is done. Over, Kaput.

Who knows, maybe Bill Belichick wants to go a new direction with his offense or “keep up with the times” but installing a more mobile QB. Whatever the case may be, the old “Patriots Way” has gone by the wayside.

Consequently, the title of this piece is inaccurate… because N.E. is no longer a dynasty at all. Three teams have marched into Foxborough and beat them in the past month including a team like Miami, which lost eleven regular season games in 2019 (and will have the 5th pick in this year’s NFL Draft).

There will be a new Super Bowl Champion this year and the Patriots will no longer be a part of the playoff process. The Chiefs, Ravens, Texans, and Titans will determine the AFC Champion and the Pats will be nowhere around when the Lamar Hunt trophy is handed out. In fact, it may be years until we see the Patriots return to the playoffs or title game. If you recall the song, “Now You’re Just Somebody That I Used To Know” the same principle exists here… the Patriots are just a champion that we used to know. While their defense has been top notch this year, their offensive woes have been so abysmal that even if Tom terrific does sign with them for another year, there’s just not much there to work with. Brady was 23rd among all QBs in 2019 in QBR.

Tom Brady says he’d like to continue to play but no one knows where that will be. It’s been speculated that he could follow his offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, to whichever team he signs with… if he takes a Head Coaching job this offseason… but for now… no one knows. As announcer Tony Romo said during the game, “I’m sure that Tom doesn’t even know what he’s going to do.”

What is a bit shocking is, that the New England Patriots are just like any other of 22 teams in the league this offseason (who are out of the playoffs), filled with questions. No answers. Just a long list of unknowns. Brady says, that retiring is, “Unlikely”… his words, so anyone’s guess is as good as anyone else’s as to where he might play. The Pats haven’t wanted to give him a multi-year deal and so, it should surprise no one when he signs a deal with another team.

Many Kansas City Chiefs fans wanted K.C. to be the team which would oust the Pats from the playoffs once and for all and extinguish this “dynasty” thingy but the victory they had in Foxborough a month ago (December 8) was probably the real beginning of the Pats’ demise. The Miami Dolphins beat them there a few weeks later and then the Titans took them out for good. Third time’s the charm when it comes to breaking dynasty spells.

There’s a bit of the changing of the guard going on in the league right now. We just don’t know yet which team will step up and take over the mantle of, the league’s unquestioned leader. We’d love to see the Chiefs make their move but we’ll have to let these playoffs play out first.

However, there are a number of quality young QBs in the league leading their teams including: Patrick Mahomes, DeShaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Carson Wentz, and even Jimmy Garoppolo is only 28 years old… and any of them could lead their team to a victory in this year’s Super Bowl. Certainly, an experienced vet could do the same. Someone like Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers, but the future of the league is in the hands of the new young guns QBs. The question is, will one distinguish himself and claim this year’s big prize… because… the traditional owner of that prize is now vanished…or been vanquished (take your pick). Time for a new Sheriff in town.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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