BRIAN T. SMITH GIVES PATS THEIR DUE.
Belichick, Brady and the Patriots are the franchise you love to hate, but there can be no denying their excellence
You can hate them. • They don’t care and will just pass you by. • You can ignore them. • They’re always there and almost always back, year after year. • You can accuse them of cheating or even believe the league is secretly plotting for them to win once again. • They overcome everything … and just win. • Welcome to the NFL’s machine. • Five world championships. Eight Super Bowl appearances in the new millennium. Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and sports’ greatest modern dynasty.
We saw it with our own eyes this time last year. Brady looked old, slow and outdated for almost three quarters. Belichick was being outgunned by new guy Dan Quinn. Then 28-3 Atlanta Falcons inside the Texans’ stadium somehow became 34-28 New England Patriots in the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history — an unbelievable thriller I’m still recovering from a year later.
The one word that always comes to mind every time I’ve been around the Patriots: respect.
That feeling only deepened during the 2017 season, as a 65-year-old coach and 40-year-old quarterback guided New England to a 13-3 record, then overcame a 20-10 deficit to Jacksonville midway through the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game, following up the Super Bowl LI trophy with an appearance in SB LII on Sunday in Minneapolis.
I get it. So many of you are so tired of Brady, Belichick and everything the Patriots represent. Philadelphia deserves a pro football championship. The Eagles have owned their underdog status and have the masks to prove it.
Devoted to the game
But if you watched ESPN’s “The Two Bills” documentary about New England’s longtime coach and his mentor, Bill Parcells, it was impossible to not be bowled over by how ahead of and devoted to the game Belichick has always been. From a young man trying to find a foothold in the NFL to a defensive genius and now the greatest coach in the history of the league. Respect. The same word perfectly applies to Brady, who has lasted so long he has now made the constant comparisons to Peyton Manning look silly and walked off the NRG Stadium field last February greater than Joe Montana.
The rest of the NFL copies, borrows and blatantly steals from the Patriots.
The AFC South will soon have three coaches (Bill O’Brien, Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels) with direct ties to Belichick and his five rings. But since 2001, no one has come close to approaching New England’s annual magic and a third Super Bowl victory in four years — for the second time — will create a new Mount Rushmore solely reserved for Brady and Belichick.
I’ve had friends for two decades who absolutely can’t stand the Patriots. For many, the easiest team to root for is always the one that’s playing New England. Sunday in front of the big, glossy screen will literally be painful for much of football America if SB LII ultimately ends up as just another Patriots ring.
But with each passing year I’m only filled with more appreciation and awe (as much as the 25-year-old version of me hates to admit it).
They wear you down. Overcome you. They attack from every side, refuse to die and can only be killed by miraculous plays in the final minutes. And even when Atlanta’s up 28-3 or Seattle’s at the 1-yard line, Belichick and Brady somehow find a way out and still end up on top.
Respect.
Decades of dominance
“(Belichick is) a great football coach and they have an excellent football team,” O’Brien said last season, capturing the Patriots’ twodecade dominance in one sentence.
Nick Foles and a proud city of underdogs are one heck of a story. But if New England does it again, the NFL will be forced to bow again to the Patriots’ glory.
You can hate them all you want. But you also have to respect them.