Much to the chagrin of those for whom hating the Patriots has become fashionable, 2 of the major award have gone to Patriots. Despite a record fine for a coach for actions in Week One, Bill Belichick has received the Coach of the Year award. Oh, that smirk shines bright these days.
Now that Tom Brady finally has more than one great receiver to throw to, he has broken the single season passing TD mark and won the MVP Award.
This is admittedly strange- individual awards for guys who preach team. But, they didn’t campaign for these awards, and this shouldn’t be seen as hypocritical- just ironic. These men only win these awards precisely because of team success (as have most of those who have won before them).
For the life of me, I can’t yet understand this “Yankees of football” thing used to justify hatred of the Patriots. Both teams are successful, yes. But the Patriots cannot out-spend anyone. Football has a hard-cap. The Patriots win because they find guys who put team first, and play well within their system. The Yankees of old were just plain richer (though they spent that money wisely, which they have NOT done recently). The Patriots play on a level playing field with their competition. Lousy teams in the NFL exist because of poor management decisions, not a lack of money to spend on quality players.
To the playoffs. I am worried! My fears were realized in that the Patriots have to play Jacksonville. This is precisely the type of team they have the most trouble with. Jacksonville is not intimidated by the Patriots- they actually have a chip on their shoulder. But, this chip can be used to the Patriots’ advantage. They are criticizing and complaining already, which will surely light the competitive fire under the Patriots’ players. It should be a great game, and Jacksonville will push them, and has a legitimate chance to emerge victorious.
Another note of irony- the Colts may have to face both teams that defeated them to get to the SuperBowl. They face the Chargers this week. I’d rather we not face either of them because they are really good teams. But, becoming SuperBowl champions entails beating the best- and whomever comes out of the AFC will have done that.
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