Patriots fans might as well write this off as another AFC East title-winning, playoff disappointment season now according to most of the chatter across the internet today.
We’ve got resident parade poo pooer Bert Breer on Gresh and Zo saying he “just doesn’t see it with this defense” and CSNNE’s Mike Giardi playing the playmaker card again:
It’s about playmakers. Packers got em defensively. Pats lacking. Best defender a DT, Wilfork. Love Carter but can/has been neutralized.
I’m not going to try and make a case that the Patriots defense is the ‘85 Bears or even the ’86 Bears, but I think it’s all about match ups in the playoffs and with Tom Brady it’s foolish to write a team’s Super Bowl hopes off in early December. We’ve seen plenty of flashes from this defense in 2011 that gives me far more belief they are capable of winning a pressure-packed playoff game than either of the past two seasons.
If the Pats were in the NFC there’s no doubt the odds would be higher for them get to the Super Bowl, but in the AFC there is not a team the Pats can’t beat. No question the Steelers will provide the biggest challenge, but let’s not forget how that game has turned out every time those two teams have met in the playoffs.
Regardless of who represents the NFC we’ve been down this road once before. The 2001 Patriots defense was a similarly disrespected crew of cast offs and never-have-beens and they shut down what was at that point one of the most unstoppable offenses ever seen.
And to Giardi’s point of it being about playmakers, how about we line up the 2001 Patriots offense with the 2001 Rams offense, and tell me who had more playmakers on that side of the ball. What matters is execution. The Patriots might not be favored against the Packers or Saints in the Super Bowl, but I’d bet neither team would relish the chance to face a Belichick coached team regardless of who the personnel is.
In a single game with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick I’ll take on any team in history and think we have a fighting chance. So the naysayers can continue to say they “just don’t see it” but the naysayers just don’t see a lot of things. Championship teams don’t always fit into a perfect neat little box, where statistical dominance, playmakers and “peaking at the right time” coincide.
Football is the ultimate team sport, and I can guarantee that the 2011 Patriots will all be on the same page when January comes around. It will take a flawless game to beat them no matter how many passing yards you think you can rack up.
