BRIAN T. SMITH
Granted, the Pats are the Evil Empire, but their reign is undeniable.
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We have all been there at some point. We have all been fools. Sworn it was over. Absolutely believed the end had arrived. Proclaimed — privately to ourselves, publicly to a close friend, madly foaming at the mouth on national television — this really was it and, clearly, there was no coming back. So wrong. So foolish. Tom Brady survives. Bill Belichick endures. And the (bleeping) New England Patriots just keep revamping, retooling and somehow improving — even though almost every critical piece keeps changing — while we just keep getting older, slower and more outdated.
They are a living, breathing dynasty. We are the simple observers. You hate them. You are so darned tired of them. You would have accepted anyone — Kansas City, Indianapolis, the other Los Angeles team — instead of them again.
They’re cocky. Arrogant. Smug. Boston- and Northeast-ish.
They’ve also won five Super Bowls in the new millennium, have been to nine during the last 18 seasons — including three consecutive and four of the last five — and possess the same amount of silver trophies as the Texans have AFC South titles.
Let’s be honest: They’re also smarter than us and know more about football than we do.
We try to compare our NFL team to them and it’s a lame joke. It’s also unfair, because no one in Football America compares to Brady and Belichick.
Jimmy Garoppolo is entering his sixth season and will turn 28 this year. Time flies when you keep watching B&B back in the big game.
Peyton Manning is an afterthought.
Remember when that was a big thing? Manning versus Brady: Who’s better?
It’s not even a question anymore. Manning is doing the cool dad thing and wearing jeans on the sideline. Brady, 41, just beat Patrick Mahomes, the new-andcool kid, in overtime on the road … and then spent the build-up toward Super Bowl LIII on Sunday in Atlanta insisting he’s not walking away anytime soon.
I’ll be honest, right here, right now: I’m in pure awe.
This is the salary-cap, freeagency era. This stage should have belonged to Mahomes (and Drew Brees). The Texans have hired away New England’s former coaches and players (Bill O’Brien, Romeo Crennel, Mike Vrabel) and intentionally acquired Brady’s backups (Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer), desperately hoping to steal a front-door key to the hallowed halls of Patriot Way.
Nothing makes a lasting dent. Nothing touches the dynasty.
The NFL threw Spygate, Deflategate and internal investigations at them. Big whoop.
Last season, reporters wrote thousands of words blatantly hinting Brady and Belichick would never work together again. The season after a temporary heartbreak via the Philly Special, the Pats turned 3-2 into 11-5, did just enough to earn a first-round playoff bye, then escaped Kansas City with a 37-31 OT thriller that felt like “Star Wars Episode IX.” Speaking of the Evil Empire … The Patriots don’t even have to beat the Rams and win this one. That’s how untouchable their dynasty has become.
Sure, that sixth ring would be nice. Of course, Brady would love nothing more than to have all his teammates proudly screaming “You’re old!!!” in his face, while the winner who won’t go away lifts another Lombardi Trophy toward another nighttime sky.
But this has been going on since 2001, which is basically a century in NFL years. When it started, the Rams were in St. Louis, Larry Dierker was managing the Astros and Rudy Tomjanovich was trying to get more out of the 28-54 Rockets.
My personal breaking point arrived midway through the third quarter on Feb. 5, 2017 inside NRG Stadium. I had written a deadline column centered upon the (stupid, embarrassing, utterly regrettable) idea that Brady had finally met his maker and Belichick’s rusty system had been cut down by the fast, modern Falcons.
Then 28-3 Atlanta somehow became 34-28 Patriots in OT, my computer burst into flames and New England captured its second world title in Houston.
The Texans haven’t come close to the Super Bowl in 17 seasons. Brady and Belichick have added two trophies to their dynasty case inside the Texans’ stadium. Good grief. Hate them all you want. Complain, whine and bemoan another year when the Pats takes over your TV screen.
They’ve heard it all before for a long time. They also obviously don’t care.
Another Super Bowl. Another season of Brady, Belichick and the Evil Empire that lords over all of us.
You know the old, famous saying. There are three things you can count on in life: Death, taxes and the Patriots’ dynasty.
During the era of the NFL’s Evil Empire, we all bend the knee.
It’s good to be king.