It’s easy here in the New England media bubble to lose sight of the fact that among the various sportsbook sites on this list, the Patriots are still the favorite to win Super Bowl 53. The last 17 years have seen unprecedented success and it’s fascinating to see where we’re at now — a desperate search for why this is when the Patriots begin to finally decline.
The rest of the league’s fans and punditry must shake their heads. If this is what it’s like when Brady and Belichick are still here what will it look like when the next coach-quarterback combination arrives? How do the Jets’ media feel about their receiver group? Yikes.
There are no sports takes without drama and how much real drama is there with the Patriots now? The media have taken their grasping at straws to a new level, peddling narratives that are tired and contrived with the continued desperate hope that they’ll see the crack that sinks the ship first.
The Kraft-Belichick-Brady power struggle. Brady not living at the stadium anymore. Gronk’s contract. Brady’s contract. Belichick not making things fun. The media has seemingly grown more and more desperate, clinging to these stories while failing to see the real football narratives that are actually far more interesting, but require a little bit more of actual thought.
