It was the summer of 1987. The badly injured and beat up Boston Celtics had just lost in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, but fans weren’t too upset. Surely the Green would be back to reclaim their title the following season, wouldn’t they?
After all, they still had a healthy Larry Bird and his three consecutive MVP awards to count on. Kevin McHale would no doubt return from a foot injury to reclaim his inside dominance. Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge would provide veteran leadership.
And when all else failed, they’d still have Red Auerbach and that famed Celtics “system,� wouldn’t they? You know, the “system� that allowed them to hoist 16 Championship banners in 27-years. The “system� that put team above all else. The “system� that was the envy of every other franchise. The “system� we thought could teach Brad Lohaus, Michael Smith and Acie Earl to play Celtics basketball.
Funny how you never realize the good old days are gone until it’s too late.
I bring up the Celtics example not to show my age (I know I’m old!), but to call attention to the unthinkable possibility that the Patriots dynasty may be a thing of the past and that the Patriots “system� may be in need of a tune-up.
This isn’t to say the sky is falling in Foxboro. I’m not stupid enough (stupid, just not stupid enough) to think Bill Belichick and the boys won’t be back in the playoffs next year. But if Patriots fans think the Super Bowl is their annual right because of some system, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Allow me for a minute to use some Belichick/Pioli reasoning to make my point. We constantly hear that what sets these two apart is their ability to make decisions based not on history or sentimentality, but on what’s best for the team. Decisions on players are made not by what they’ve done in the past, but on what they can do in the future. What players contributed to the 2002, 2004 and 2005 Super Bowl winners has no bearing on the next title chase.
So why then do we just assume the Patriots “system� will continue to perform as it has in the past? Isn’t it possible the “system� is perfect for building a Super Bowl winner but flawed when it comes to maintaining one?
Let me use an innocent enough example; Joe Andruzzi. Is it strictly coincidence the Pats running game fell off the face of the earth? Perhaps Andruzzi alone didn’t account for the drop off, but coupled with the loss of Damien Woody the year before, the offensive line just didn’t have enough depth to withstand the injuries which strike every team.
And that’s the point. There’s something to be said for a cumulative effect. You can’t just lose quality player after quality player and continue to enjoy the same success. Rodney Harrison and Mike Vrabel don’t come along every free agency period. For every one of them, there’s a Tyrone Poole and a Duane Starks.
After beginning the 2003 season with a 2-2 record, the Pats went on to win 32 of their next 34 games counting post-season. After winning two of their first three games in 2005, they went 9-6, including the playoff loss in Denver. Is that just an off year or the start of a trend? Before you answer, I strongly urge you to remember the 1987 Boston Celtics.
In Bill I still trust. It’s the Monte Beisels and Reche Caldwells I have no faith in.
That's my take...what's yours? Is it time for the Patriots to re-evaluate their system? Was last year just a speed bump on the road to the Super Bowl? Will the Pats go the way of all other sports dynasties or will the way they do business keep them competitive for as long as Bill Belichick runs the team?
Here's how I look at it. Would I be questioning Belichick's system if he were just walking in as the new head of operations? Parcells can walk in and out of any franchise and is expected to be succesful wherever he goes. Yet we worry Belichick is losing his touch because he's letting all of his stars go? The NFL's free agency system has made it impossible to maintain the same team, especially one that has hoisted 3 of the last 5 Lombardi trophies. When it's all said and done, if they had signed all of these free agents, that might have provided a year or two of playoff football, while mortgaging the years thereafter away. Rather than the short sighted vision some fans have going into next year, we should appreciate the long term vision of maintaining this succesful franchise's winning ways.
Allow me to add that although the running game may have dropped a notch last year, it was still good enough to win, and much better than what we had for the 1st 2 superbowl victories. Regardless of any weaknesses, the team is there in the end.
What can I say besides don't go Chicken Little on him yet.
I'm still puzzled by some of the moves or better yet, the lack of moves the PATS have made this offseason. However, they still have a lot of young talent on the Roster and they will add some more in the upcoming draft. They will be fine this year.