Watch out, Pats! They’re comin’
Expect Darnold & Gase to finally take down New England dynasty
The Evil Empire is resilient, ticked off and doling out giant middle fingers to the NFL universe during its latest run to the AFC Championship Game, but rest assured the team it despises the most will end its rule. The Jets will kill the Patriots dynasty. Yes, those Jets. So, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady should revel in this oddly surprising run to the conference title game in Kansas City this weekend, soak up the moment whether or not they advance to the Super Bowl, and know this: Sam Darnold and Adam Gase are coming.
“Obviously, they’ve had unbelievable success,” Gase said. “There’s good reason why. Going against those guys the last three years, it’s a challenge. But it’s a challenge that if you’re in coaching, you want that. If you’re a player, you want that. For us, it’s about getting our crew ready to go, the coaching staff, players and preparing the right way. So, when our opportunity comes and we play them or anyone else, we give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Oh, sure, perpetually confident Patriot Nation will undoubtedly enjoy a chuckle or two over this latest claim that its two-decade run is over. Pats fans will continue to believe their irritatingly handsome quarterback will play until Haley’s Comet returns (in 2061, in case you were wondering) and ignore all the signs that this historic run is just about kaput.
No one can take away all the mind-boggling awesomeness in Foxborough since Belichick and Brady became the best tagteam since The Hart Foundation. The Patriots will play in their eighth consecutive AFC Championship Game Sunday against the top-seeded Chiefs. They’ve owned the AFC East with 16 division titles in 18 years, including 10 in a row.
New England is freakin’ 87-23 against the AFC East in the Brady Era.
So, how can the Patriots be stopped? And why the Jets?
Well, for starters, Gase will have the best quarterback in the division for the next decade.
Sorry, Patriots fans. Brady’s clean living doesn’t mean that he’ll play forever. Sure, he looked, well, incredible, in New England’s laugher over the Chargers in the divisional round last week, but let’s interject some common sense into the discussion: HE IS 41 YEARS OLD.
Brady is still very productive, but dig up Wonder Woman and lasso the truth out of TB12’s most ardent supporters: They know the cliff pops up out of nowhere when you’re that old. Just ask Peyton Manning, who plummeted from a 4,727yard, 39-touchdown season in 2014 to a 9-touchdown, 17-interception 2015 campaign.
The falloff happens fast and sometimes without warning.
There’s also the issue of Brady’s supporting cast, which isn’t exactly flush with young dynamic playmakers. First-round rookie running back Sony Michel looks to be a keeper if his trick knee cooperates, but the rest of Brady’s buddies are old or banged up.
Look no further than Rob Gronkowski, who has been a shell of his former dominant self. The perennial Pro Bowl tight end is 29 going on 92, his body ravaged by injuries throughout his nine-year career. Gronk finished with his lowest receptions per game and yards per game since his rookie season. His three touchdowns tied a career low. There are rumblings that he’ll call it quits after this season.
Brady’s top wide receiver, Julian Edelman, is 32 years old.
For all the rightful criticism heaped on the Jets for their missteps in the draft, Beliacquitted chick hasn’t exactly himself well on draft day, either. Consider the past two years that yielded sparse returns.
Michel and seventh-round special teamer Keion Crossen are the only ones in New England’s nine-man 2018 draft class to make any meaningful contribution. Five players were on injured reserve all season, including a first- and second-rounder. A sixth player spent half the season on I.R. In all, those nine players played in a grand total of 27 games this season.
The Patriots’ 2017 four-man draft produced one notable player: Fourth-round defensive end Deatrich Wise, who has 9½ sacks in two seasons.
Belichick doesn’t have a wealth of loot to help Brady through free agency this offseason, either. The Patriots have around $23 million in available salary-cap space, according to overthecap.com. The league average is $37.7 million.
The Jets are better positioned given their $99 million of cap space and No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming draft. They could also weaken New England by signing productive defensive end Trey Flowers in free agency.
And Gase obviously is no stranger to the Patriots, who went 4-2 against his Dolphins in three seasons. The Miami Miracle, however, did ultimately prevent Belichick from hosting this weekend’s conference title game.
Gase, who worked two seasons under Josh McDaniels in Denver, employs a game-plan specific philosophy similar to New England. The blueprint for success will change each week.
The Jets finally have the right head coach and quarterback combo to topple the Evil Empire. Opportunity is right there in front of them to wrestle control away from Lord Vader and the GOAT.
It’s up to Gase and Darnold to lead the way and make it happen.