Corrado's Corner
Dan Corrado
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Sports
Snow falls. Wind gusts. Cars slide. Noses run. It's the life of every New Englander when the calendar turns to the months of winter. It is easy to overlook these inconveniences when we have the New England Patriots to distract us for three or four hours each Sunday. And for the past decade, we have had just that. Are we spoiled? Yeah, probably. Since we are on the eve of Super Bowl XLIV and the members of the Patriots are in Miami dressing for golf, not football, it seems fitting to partake in a longtime tradition that belongs uniquely to spoiled individuals: Complain.
How did the Patriots lose? How could Brady and Co. dare to let a team beat them up and down the field like the Ravens did in the opening round of the playoffs? I mean, come on. These are the Patriots. The answer, unfortunately, is simple. They just aren't that good. People may disagree, and I don't blame them. New England won a somewhat difficult AFC East Division. At times, the Pats looked great. Brady looked like a magician as he torched the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense back on December 27. So, with the help of several assertions I have heard over the last few weeks concerning the Patriots, I am going to prove why the same team that won three championships in four years simply is not that good anymore.
"The Patriots have Moss, Welker, and Brady. How could their offense not be effective?"
Let's not get things confused. The Patriots were not offensively anemic by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, they were not even close to the prolific offense of 2007 that routinely buried opponents until that dreaded night on February 3, 2008. This year, New England found the end zone 50 times in the regular season, 25 less trips than the record-breaking '07 squad tallied. In comparison, the highflying New Orleans Saint's offense notched 64 touchdowns in '09. Conversely, the lowly Buffalo Bills made only 25 appearances in the end zone this year. On the surface, it seems as though the Pats were a relatively productive offensive team. Don't be fooled, however. Great Patriot teams of yesteryear prided themselves on their success during the two-minute drill. Timely offenses, not record-setting ones, win games and championships. Looking back to week 10 against the Colts, the Patriots failed to convert on fourth-and-two. That loss ripped momentum away from a young Pats team that had just reeled off three wins in a row. Their offense blew some teams out (Bucs, Jags, Titans), but stalled against beatable opponents (Dophins, Broncos). Touchdowns matter much less when you are winning by double digits than they do when there are three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Their lack of timely offense is reflective of the inexperience and lack of leadership that plagued the 2009 Patriot team.
How did the Patriots lose? How could Brady and Co. dare to let a team beat them up and down the field like the Ravens did in the opening round of the playoffs? I mean, come on. These are the Patriots. The answer, unfortunately, is simple. They just aren't that good. People may disagree, and I don't blame them. New England won a somewhat difficult AFC East Division. At times, the Pats looked great. Brady looked like a magician as he torched the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense back on December 27. So, with the help of several assertions I have heard over the last few weeks concerning the Patriots, I am going to prove why the same team that won three championships in four years simply is not that good anymore.
"The Patriots have Moss, Welker, and Brady. How could their offense not be effective?"
Let's not get things confused. The Patriots were not offensively anemic by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, they were not even close to the prolific offense of 2007 that routinely buried opponents until that dreaded night on February 3, 2008. This year, New England found the end zone 50 times in the regular season, 25 less trips than the record-breaking '07 squad tallied. In comparison, the highflying New Orleans Saint's offense notched 64 touchdowns in '09. Conversely, the lowly Buffalo Bills made only 25 appearances in the end zone this year. On the surface, it seems as though the Pats were a relatively productive offensive team. Don't be fooled, however. Great Patriot teams of yesteryear prided themselves on their success during the two-minute drill. Timely offenses, not record-setting ones, win games and championships. Looking back to week 10 against the Colts, the Patriots failed to convert on fourth-and-two. That loss ripped momentum away from a young Pats team that had just reeled off three wins in a row. Their offense blew some teams out (Bucs, Jags, Titans), but stalled against beatable opponents (Dophins, Broncos). Touchdowns matter much less when you are winning by double digits than they do when there are three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Their lack of timely offense is reflective of the inexperience and lack of leadership that plagued the 2009 Patriot team.
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