The
following essay was produced as part of my 2013 effort for the
November National Novel Writing Month effort. As such, please
understand that while I did give it a quick review, it has not
gone through the same proofreading and editing I normally try
to give all of the material posted on this site.
I
always make some mistakes. There are errors to be found throughout
this web site, and many exist despite dozens of attempts to correct
problems. That said, ask that you approach this material in the
spirit intended – a basic thought, slightly worked out and very
informally researched, delivered in the hopes of writing more
than 50,000 words by the end of November.
Thank
you.
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In
a few hours… ok, tomorrow afternoon actually… the New England
Patriots will play the Pittsburgh Steelers. At the risk of jinxing
the results, the Pats will win and move to 7-2 on the year.
And
that’s pretty impressive.
Seriously.
Take
a look around the league. In fact, you don’t need to go much further
than Pittsburgh to see that traditional powers are having difficult
seasons.
(But
you could. The New York Giants are having a terrible year… in
a terrible division. People are wondering what happened to those
young quarterback sensations in places like San Francisco and
Washington. And so on… and on… and then there’s New England. 7-2.
On top of the division. Heck… name recent Super Bowl winners…
Baltimore, New York (Giants), Pittsburgh… go back to the year
2001, and I believe you’ll find only New England, New Orleans
and Green Bay have won the Super Bowl since then and have winning
records in 2013.)
Now,
here’s the thing… I’m not writing this to be in depth and researched
to all sorts of amazing points. For example…
I’m
not going to ask you if you, by chance, happen to know how the
Patriots have done over the past two, three or four seasons in
the final eight games of each year. (Or… what they looked like
in December.)
I
won’t take that information and then attempt to explain why a
lead of multiple games in the division looks very good at this
point.
I
don’t have plans to point out how I heard that Tim Brady is now
more than 100-games over .500 for his career. (And the only quarterback
to ever accomplish that feat.)
No.
That
isn’t the point of this essay.
Instead,
I’m simply trying to point out how unpredictably amazing things
are in the football land of New England… and how amazing they’ve
been since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick became a duo.
We
are seriously saying that for more than 10 years, not making the
Super Bowl is a disappointment. I mean… honestly… the biggest
critiques…
Brady
is being left out to get injured and struggle with an offense
that is well below average due to injuries, youth, and other circumstances.
Still…
7-2.
The
team isn’t looking like it can run with Denver and Kansas City
in January.
Still…
7-2, and actually looking at a potential second seed that could
mean a week off and that they only need to defeat Denver or Kansas
City, and not both.
I
mean… come on… the most problems for New England fans in two handfuls
of years is wondering whether or not the playoff bye week hurts
them.
Really.
How’d you like that as something that ranks as your team’s biggest
concern?
And
is it really that good? Yup.
2008
season.
When
Tom Brady was injured and lost for the year, the Pats missed the
playoffs. No stunner there. Most NFL teams would miss the playoffs
if their starter… a Hall of Fame, multiple Super Bowl winning
starter… was lost for the year.
That
season, the Pats went 11-5 and barely missed the playoffs though.
Lost
Tom Brady… and still, New England fans were not treated to an
Indianapolis-drafts-Andrew-Luck horrendous run.
Nope.
They
hit December and there were actual, justifiable conversations
being held about how they could be playing for another title.
Heck… they missed the playoffs while an 8-8 San Diego squad made
it.
So…
yeah… it’s 2013, and New England is 7-2. People are talking about
how awesome Peyton Manning looks… and how Brady is struggling…
and how fantastic Kansas City has been… and across the country
the storyline is simple… the Patriots will be in the playoffs
-- so what’s the new angle?
Simplistic?
Sure. There isn’t much research being done here.
But
the reality remains… things in the NFL land of the Patriots are
not just pretty good, they’re super, with super aspirations on
the mind.