An Independent Patriots Blog
I’m still in shock that last night many of the Patriots and Rams players and coaches were put into what could only be described as Belichick Fashion Hoodies for opening night.
There’s just no other explanation and it feels like one weird troll job by the NFL where they’re tipping the hat to Belichick. The short sleeves. The gray. The floppy hood up top. Who else has ever worn anything close to this style of
It’s already Wednesday and I’m still finding myself torn between glowing reviews of the near-perfect game against the Chargers and overwhelmed gameplanning for the Chiefs. So let’s start off easy and get a Bill Belichick Hoodie prediction in.
By all accounts the temperatures will be near zero for the game, meaning Belichick will likely be bundled up in a winter jacket like he was last week. But what should he wear underneath? What should you wear if you want to make your own hoodie to wear for good luck? Well let’s take a dive in.
Another regular season of tracking Bill Belichick’s attire is behind us and with Sunday’s AFC Divisional game on the horizon it’s a good time to regroup on what Belichick wore this season and what he should wear this weekend.
His all-time games and wins leader, the Hot Jacket, went just 3-2 this season as Belichick shifted to a cut 2016 Gray Hoodie for seven games, going 4-3. Yes, all five of the losses came in those two pieces. Randoms like a new Bomber Jacket popped up and won two games.
Updating the all-time standings, the Hot Jacket just extended it’s overall lead over the infamous original gray cut hoodie.
The Patriots finished off their 2018 with perhaps their most complete game of the season. Most importantly, the Pats survived the 2018 campaign with the key pieces intact.
Against the Jets, the offense spread the ball around and had success both on the ground and through the air. Despite reports of his decline, Tom Brady looked every bit like his same old self.
The defense once again put together a strong home performance. The continued playmaking of Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy, along with shutdown corner Stephon Gilmore, have rounded this into one of the more underrated of Belichick’s defenses.
They’ve earned the right to get a bye and a home game. After that, we’ll just have to see. A lot can happen over the next two weekends. Maybe they will have to prove themselves on the road, or maybe not.
Let’s dive in with a bunch of travel-delayed Posits!
[Read more…] about Pats Posits: Here We Go AgainUsually, I’d be jumping into a film review in today’s piece, but given the fervor and excitement about the Patriots’ potential demise I just needed to vent a bit.
Yes, the sky is falling and the hot takers are more than happy to line up and start celebrating but after taking a day of reflection, I’ve returned to my state of enjoying the ride with Brady and Belichick.
Yesterday, the Boston Globe jumped on the old Trent Dilfer quote, sticking the “they’re not good anymore” on a headline that caught my eye. Isn’t a 9-5 team good even if they did just lose two close road games? Especially in today’s topsy-turvy NFL?
[Read more…] about The Return of the Underdog Patriots?
It’s no surprise that the punditry and non-Patriot fans gleefully awaiting the inevitable decline of Tom Brady were out in force this week. While most professional sports legends are attributed a kind of reverence as their careers wrap up, Brady has just been too good for too long and transcended from the days of old media (newspapers!) to today’s overabundance of constant breaking news and hot takes.
Not only does it seem like the great majority want to see Brady finally stink, they’re actively rooting it on, eager to take the heroic stand that at some point he will break down and they were the first-ish to call it. Do you ever remember people on ESPN or wherever else getting excited about Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, or even old pal Peyton Manning finally hanging them up? Imagine how Manning was treated after Super Bowl 50, despite being a passenger on their championship ride. Would Brady ever get that kind of glowing adoration if he willed this 2018 Patriots team a Super Bowl title?
I’m still reading hot takes that coming back from 28-3 wasn’t all that impressive.
For whatever the reasons, and there are plenty of them, the Brady hate at the end is very real, leaving us all wondering why they can’t just leave him alone to get old and stinky in peace and not cue the victory parade after any sub-300 yard game.
[Read more…] about Looking for a Friend at the End of Tom Brady
We’re getting spoiled with Bill Belichick books this year! After Mike Lombardi’s fascinating look from inside the Patriots machine, it was hard to top. The last remaining place to go? Hearing it from Belichick himself.
No, this isn’t the nostalgic, reminiscent end-of-it-all Belichick autobiography that we would all kill for, but it’s the words right out of the coach’s mouth on everything football.
There’s been no secret that Belichick’s Friday press conferences are often fascinating, with long ruminations on football minutiae. John Powers has collected and sorted all those wonderful tidbits and the result is a pretty great mosaic of Bill Belichick the football coach and historian. The instant I heard about this book it was clear to me how great it would be and it delivered in every way to someone who is fascinated by Belichick the coach.
It’s short digestible bits on everything from gameday butterflies to missing practice and everywhere else in between. It’s pure football Belichick at his most willing to tackle any question that actually is about the game.
No spin. No hot takes. Just Belichick and football. My favorites.