Why it’s so tough to slay the Patriots’ ‘dragon’ on Super Sunday
The more the Super Bowl inexplicably contorted, jostling nappers and interrupting debates about Lady Gaga’s stadium leap and larynx, the more the brilliant machinery of the Patriots revealed itself.
Is the combination of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick the greatest of all time? Sure. Why not? Defendable arguments abound.
That, though, is the breathlessly discussed front porch of the Patriots – the shimmering grill on the Bentley. It’s the packaging and precision all the way to the back bumper, from the shocks to every clamp and lug nut, that makes the organization unequaled.
Exile Brady for four games? Fine. Lose Gronk? Next man in. The Patriots shed excuses like open-field tacklers.
They out-draft you in April. They out-scout you, time and again. They out-think you in back rooms and at halftime. They spend their money more wisely when free agency arrives. They peek at the journeyman you waived and see a thirddown route runner.
They may try too hard, as strange as that sounds, given SpyGate, DeflateGate and the like.
But we’ve never seen a franchise so adept at turning unscrubbed potential into points and molding rough edges into February gold. The Super Bowl – or the fourth quarter and overtime, to be exact – was about system as much as stars.
Just aim the magnifying glass at New England’s pass-catchers.
There’s Julian Edelman, a 7th-rounder (No. 232 overall) whose pinball-machine grab in the fourth quarter bounced off everyone other than Troy Aikman in the booth. There’s Danny Amendola, a free-agent pickup waived at one point or another by Philly and Dallas. There’s Malcolm Mitchell, a rookie making the NFL minimum, and running back James White – a player drafted 130th overall.
There’s the ultimate example: Chris Hogan, a former lacrosse player, who became the star of the AFC title game.
Is there anyone on that list who’s considered among the game’s elite? No matter. All they did was combine for 37 catches and 402 yards, including Edelman’s game-saver.
Look at the rest of the teams that wandered deep into the playoffs. The narrative continues to embrace the tall, athletic, decorated receivers as the No. 2 essential in a franchise’s tool box after quarterback.
The Falcons lean on Julio Jones, a No. 6 pick overall. Go back a round: The Steelers claim Antonio Brown, while the Packers boast a pair of second-rounders in Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Go back another round, where the Cowboys line up Dez Bryant and the Texans counter with first-rounder DeAndre Hopkins.
Jones is 6-3, Nelson 6-3, Bryant 6-2, Hopkins 6-1. Of Brady’s five top targets Sunday, only Hogan (6-1) cracks 5-11. In the end, the Patriots “Wes Welker” you to death. Then they go find a few more Wes Welkers.
It’s the scouting and system development away from the spotlight that overwhelms opponents scurrying to defend all the options. It’s just more of the same, from a franchise that mined for Brady 199 picks into the 2000 draft.
Credit and discredit the Falcons for horribly timed penalties and play-calling that caused a potential game-clinching field goal to evaporate. The Patriots, however, are the dragon in the fairy tale that refuses to die – opponents felled by dozens of pass-catching cuts.
At one point of the fourth quarter, ESPN’s win probability mashup indicated New England clung to a 0.4 percent chance of hoisting the trophy. And the defense, without a single Associated Press first team All Pro, surrendered one third-down conversion to Atlanta – the top scoring offense in football – in the game that mattered most.
Where injuries cause teams like the Chargers to run thin, the Patriots run deeper and the contributors run wider. That plug-and-play nature can only exist with a polished plan, a savvy eye for talent and interchangeable pieces galore. Ultimately, it speaks at length about the front office and the sweat in the shadows.
No one can deny Brady’s five Super Bowl rings or his unmatched quartet of Super Bowl MVP awards. The quarterback looked mortal, or worse, for nearly three quarters before setting game records for completions (43) and yards (466). The guts and refusal to quit is beyond debate.
Overlooked too often, though, is the group of hands without relative pedigree securing catches, gobbling up yards and charting outcomes.
The Patriots’ pass-catchers aren’t Jerry Rice or Lynn Swann or James Lofton. They aren’t even Jones or Brown or Nelson. In total, though, they’re something more – a collective that causes defensive coordinators to worry hairs gray.
That’s what makes slaying the dragon so ridiculously frustrating. This isn’t a team built on first-rounders. This is a team built on first impressions – and a teamfirst approach that values effort more than ego.
Yes, they have Tom Brady. Yes, they have Bill Belichick.
But the machine hums because of the overachievers and a team that identifies what others routinely miss and maximizes what others routinely mishandle. Like the Patriots? Never. Respect them? Always.