The Decline
by Bryan
The Patriots are on the decline. There’s no question about that now. I pooh-poohed people Bill Simmons earlier this year for calling them DOA after the Indy loss, but I stand by that. Simmons and his ilk fed us the Patriots as “winners when it matters” for the last decade, but called the dynasty kaput over a matter of a couple inches in Indianapolis. To suggest that 4th-and-2 had anything to do with what happened today was ludicrous. Maybe the plays preceding 4th-and-2, but not the event itself.
Randy Moss probably has to go. I’m drawing some parallel with Gisele here. Tom Brady finds a tall, lanky, good-looking friend. Tom Brady is enamored to the point of supplicance. Moss certainly appears to dog it from time to time out there, and Brady doesn’t seem to raise word one with him. Every time they talk, it’s a pep talk or they’re trying to speak some superstar language. That ain’t going to win you ballgames when a team’s got as many holes as this one. Put another way: that, in itself, probably has no bearing on much. But take away the time from Brady trying to fix the little problems with the offense, and that’s time wasted. As is becoming clear, there’s not much time left.
It seems like Brady and Moss are on one island, and the rest of the offense is somewhere else, particularly the offensive line. The defense played like crap today, and that’ll happen. It just hasn’t happened to us in such a big game in awhile. The defense was pretty good in the Super Bowl two years ago, but not anymore.
The Patriots now remind me of those late nineties 49ers teams that raged against the dying of the light with increasingly futile playoff campaigns. The magic could show up for any single game, but never stuck around to get them what they really wanted, which was another title. There were too many teams that were just younger and hungrier, despite their best efforts.
I got a Facebook message after the game consoling me. I don’t know what I have to be sad about. If this is the end, I can’t say I didn’t get everything I ever wanted, and more.
Bryan Joiner 
Also. you don’t think it’s worse than the fact I didn’t care that the Pats lost the Super Bowl?
You see, we have different opinions. The difference is that I think yours are valid. If I was overbearing in the past, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make it right for you now.
Thanks for the oversight. I really appreciate you making sure my views conform to your own, otherwise they’re not valid. After looking at the stats, I’m not sure Moss is the problem, but there are far better ways of bringing it to my attention that attempting to shame me into it. I’m not Shaughnessy — he has editors. I just write shit. If you don’t like it, stop reading.
I don’t intend it to be hyperbole. That’s some knee-jerk Shaughnessy-type bullshit you did. Whole team plays horrible and, “Oh, let’s blame Moss.” Who by the way was a playing hurt, was the only capable receiver on the field, was playing with a quarterback who had an awful day and only had the most receiving TDs in football this year. Yup, he’s the problem!
Easily your worst moment as a sports fan.
Let’s knock off the hyperbole if you want to have a real discussion.
This team has been ragged all year. Aside from Brady playing perhaps his worst game as a professional, I didn’t see much I haven’t seen all season. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed’s teams have been tearing shit up on since before the Pats’ run began, and so they continue.
“Randy Moss probably has to go.” Easily your worst moment as a sports fan.
Recall that in the preseason I was concerned about a lack of leadership with the departures of Harrison and Bruschi and Seymour and Vrabel. You poo-pooed it. I would submit that a season long inability to finish-out games, win on the road, and play with any kind of emotion after you get down early are all signs that they were playing with a lot of new pieces that did not have experience winning games. Changes will be made. Provided Wilfork returns they still have a strong D-line, a strong O-line and Tom Brady, which is a pretty good recipe for success.
I think they’ll have another run or two in them before Brady retires. It was never going to be like it was. The decline began with the Giants loss. I think most of us knew it. How could it not go down from there? The D was getting older, too many things went right (before Tyree). That their window was as long as it was is the real story.