After the New England Patriots lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, the rumor mill began to swirl about their downfall. The internet was buzzing with reports of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looking to be traded while he was growing tired of the team’s head coach Bill Belichick. But that is why you don’t pay a ton of attention to what happens in the National Football League during the month of September. After their loss to the Chiefs, the Patriots were 2-2 and some people were saying that they were done. But autumn has brought new life to the Patriots and with it Super Bowl aspirations.
The Patriots have reeled off six consecutive victories as they are looking like a well-oiled machine and possibly the best team in NFL as they’ve done it in very dominating fashion. Off all of the Patriots victories during their current winning streak, only one game was decided by single digits. The Patriots got the ball rolling in Week 5 when they hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were 3-0 and coming off of a bye, but it was the Patriots that were the fresher and more precise team as they destroyed Cincinnati 43-17. With first place in the AFC East on the line in Week 6, the Patriots traveled to Orchard Park, New York for a showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills were hopeful that this would be their year to get back to the playoffs, but it was New England that emerged victorious 37-22. After a tightly contested 27-25 victory over the New York Jets in Week 7, the Patriots would cream the Chicago Bears in Week 8 by the score of 51-23. In a battle for AFC supremacy in Week 9, the Patriots would host the Denver Broncos in a game that would have a huge bearing on the playoff picture. These two teams met in last season’s AFC Championship Game with the Broncos advancing to the Super Bowl and it was also another chapter in Brady’s rivalry with Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning that dates back to Manning’s time with the Indianapolis Colts. This day and the game would belong to Brady and the Patriots as they dominated the Broncos 51-23. The Patriots bye week in Week 10 did not cool them off as they ran roughshod over the Colts in Indy this past Sunday night 42-20. The Patriots are 8-2 as they have the best record in the AFC. In the process the Patriots have defeated every current division leader in the AFC and they are serving notice that they will be a team to be reckoned with come January in the playoffs.
Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft
The Patriots have not won a Super Bowl Championship since 2004, but they are the model team for consistency in the NFL. Since 2001, the Patriots have won 11 AFC Eastern Division Titles and they appear ready add another one to the mantle in 2014. In recent years Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft have received criticism as it has been perceived that they have simply placed too much in the lap of Brady to do. But this year’s team in New England could be the best team that Brady has been a part of since the Patriots finished the 2007 regular season with a record of 16-0.
The Patriots have tremendous balance this season which puts less pressure on Brady. This past off-season, Belichick set out to upgrade the Patriots secondary. The Patriots lost cornerback Aqib Talib in free agency to the Broncos, but as soon as the deal was made, cornerback Darrelle Revis was headed to Foxboro to replace him. Revis is a five-time Pro Bowl selection that spent the first six years of his National Football League career tormenting Belichick and the Patriots as a member of the Jets and he is one of the best shutdown corners in pro football. Revis only has two interceptions this season, but he can blanket one side of the football field all by himself. Opposite of Revis at the other cornerback position stands 6’4″, Brandon Browner who was brought to New England this past off-season to team with the likes of free safety Devin McCourty in the Patriots secondary. These moves were made by the Patriots solely to compete with the Broncos who could be their biggest contender in the AFC as they have a slew of wide receivers led by Demaryius Thomas that put a ton of pressure on a defense.
The Patriots suffered a blow when middle linebacker Jerod Mayo was lost for the season to injury, but with Donta Hightower switching from outside to inside in the starting linebacking corp, the Pats have not skipped a beat while their pass rush by committee led by defensive end Rob Nikovich along with defensive tackle Vince Wilfork plugging the interior defensive line, the Patriots have a bend but don’t break philosophy which resembles what they were able to accomplish when they won three Super Bowl Titles from 2001-2004.
Like any good team the Patriots have a next man up philosophy. During their victory over the Bills, the Patriots lost starting running back Stevan Ridley to a torn ACL. But in Ridley’s asbence, running back Jonas Gray is making the most of his opportunity in the Patriots backfield. In 2012, Gray went undrafted by the NFL as he bounced around on the practice squads of the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens, but now he appears to have found a home with the Patriots. Gray is the Patriots second leading rusher this season and he stepped up huge in the victory over the Colts with 201 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. Gray did this behind an offensive line that was called the worst in football by some people after the loss to the Chiefs. But the law firm of offensive tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, guards Dan Connolly and Ryan Wendell along with center Bryan Stork are opening up holes for Gray and the running game while giving Brady a clean pocket to decipher things in the passing game.
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski
The running game and passing game have fed off of each other as Brady is completing 64 percent of his passes to go along with 24 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions. It is really helping Brady this season that he has his ace in the hole back in a healthy Rob Gronkowski at tight end. Gronkowski has not been fully healthy since 2011 which was the Patriots last trip to the Super Bowl. But Gronk is on pace for another season like 2011 when he had 90 receptions to go with 1,327 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns which was a single-season NFL record for tight ends. Gronkowski’s presence brings that different element to the Patriots offense that Brady has been sorely missing. This season Gronkowski has 53 receptions for 734 yards and 9 touchdowns as he is one of the best red zone options in the National Football League in spite of the fact that he consistently faces double and triple team coverage.
This Patriots team has the feel of the team that won the Super Bowl in 2003. And Like 2003, the Patriots were 2-2 after four games before they won 15 straight en route to capturing the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Like these Patriots, those Patriots were left for dead and they simply found a way to win every Sunday. Belichick was the head coach of that team while Brady was his quarterback and they are rolling just like they were 11 years ago.
You could make the case that the Patriots have an important stretch coming up, but they have simply answered the bell against good teams over this current winning streak. The next two weeks will see the Patriots deal with NFC North teams as they host the Detroit Lions before traveling to take on the Green Bay Packers in what could be a Super Bowl preview. The Patriots will have a road affair with the San Diego Chargers before they finish up the final three weeks of the regular season with their AFC East foes in the Miami Dolphins, Jets, and Bills respectively. Each week brings a different game plan which the Patriots have been executing to a tee. This is the Patriots time of year to get their sea legs and as long as Brady and Belichick are around you cannot write this team off.
Source: Pro-footall-reference.com
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