After Patriots Upset At Home, It's Time To Stop Disrespecting Opponents
BOSTON (CBS) -- There are no more gimmes with the New England Patriots this season. Injuries have caught up to them big-time in recent weeks, while Tom Brady and Bill Belichick showed that they are not only human, but still actually capable of having an off day and losing.
For the first time since the Kansas City Massacre Of 2014, the Patriots looked not just vulnerable, but inferior, to their opponent. And considering how much opponents like the Eagles had become an afterthought in the lead-up to the game, a back-burner topic, last Sunday's loss at Gillette Stadium came as a shock to Patriots Nation and the New England media as a whole.
So now, it's time to start analyzing the actual games, because the Patriots are no longer guaranteed to beat anyone.
If the Patriots played better and beat the Eagles like everyone expected, it would have justified the utter lack of pre-game analysis and prognostications. Considering how much Brady and Belichick have beaten up on inferior opponents that they are supposed to beat, even in just the past year, talk of how the game itself was going to play out became a waste of time.
There was no need to break down how the Patriots were going to score against Jacksonville or Washington. It was pointless to discuss how the Patriots could beat the Dallas Cowboys without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, or overcome the mighty Miami Dolphins at home. And it was a waste of time to debate who would come out on top between the Patriots and Eagles, because obviously it was the Patriots ... except it wasn't.
So now, we need to not only treat every remaining Patriots game as a must-win situation, but discuss how the Patriots offensive line can contain J.J. Watt. We need to wonder how Malcolm Butler will cover the un-coverable with breakout stud receiver DeAndre Hopkins. We need to wonder which team will have more fire in their belly, considering the Patriots are going to Houston's house and Bill O'Brien's crew is going to be plenty motivated to beat his former team, a la Josh McDaniels with the Broncos in 2009.
On the 98.5 The Sports Hub airwaves - especially from 2-6 - most discussions about Patriots opponents are met with snorts & snickers. In an era when the rest of the AFC East has mostly amounted to little more than mice nipping at the Patriots' heels, scoffing at the assembly line of trash bags that drag themselves into Foxboro every week has become the norm. And it's not exactly unfair, because the Patriots rarely have days like they did against the Eagles. I was in that group myself; even with the Patriots down three touchdowns I felt they would find a way to come back and win - and they came within a few drops of potentially pulling it off.
One of the hallmarks of the success of Belichick & Brady (at least I thought) has been that they treat every opponent with the utmost respect. They don't look past teams, they prepare for clearly less talented teams as much as they do for real contenders. And it mostly shows up on Sundays when they dominate the Jacksonvilles of the world.
The Eagles game was the first in a long time that felt like the Patriots didn't respect their opponent, or at least thought they could screw around with drop kicks and funky special teams formations and ultimately get away with a win. If that's wrong and the Patriots took last Sunday's game as seriously as they do most others, then the talent drop-off from injuries is steeper than once believed.
So now that it's clear that there are no more gimmes for the Patriots this season, it's time for us, fans and media, to show opponents the same kind of respect that the Patriots usually show them. It's time to talk about the games.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
