Sometimes I watch the NFL Network and shake my head in disbelief. Last night one of the topics up for discussion was this: Are the Patriots rebuilding? Has the window closed? Is the Patriot way a thing of the past?
Eisen launched the discussion by mentioning that all the Patriot-Way guys are now on ESPN or in other locker-rooms around the league. Rich... I said the same thing last year! You can read my blog entry from September 12th, 2009 and see that I was way ahead of you. Naturally, the Patriots went 10-6, a fact I predicted on week 11, and they were a quick-out in the playoffs. The Ravens beat the shit out of them on their home field in the playoffs.
I do not think the Patriots are making the playoffs in 2010. I could be wrong about that. I still need to see every last 1st quarter of the pre-season before I can be sure. Right now, the Patriots don't look like a playoff team to me. I don't like Mel Kiper, but I totally agree with his comment about the Patriots: They looked like they had other plans for that afternoon during the playoff loss to the Ravens. They looked disinterested in the process that afternoon.
So why are the good folks at the NFL Network blind to the fact that the Patriot dynasty ended early in 2008 when the Commish handed the Lombardi to the New York Giants? There is a simple answer to this question: They aren't blind. They know. There are lies, damn lies, and then there is the promotional function of the NFL Network.
You have to understand that the NFL Network has but one purpose in life: To promote interest in the upcoming NFL season. To wit, they must cultivate interest in the New England region. It does not help their cause any if all of Boston tunes out in 2010 because the Patriots are over and done with. No, they need to promote interest in the New England region to keep those DirectTV subscribers watching those games.
Rich, I know you know. You know that I know. I know that you know that I know. You know that I know that you know. You are practicing outright intellectual dishonesty in your evaluation of the Patriots. You are doing so to fulfill mission objective #1 of the NFL Network: To promote interest in the upcoming NFL season, even in the New England area, where the Patriots are dwindling down.
Just to make sure the Patriot fans don't try to call me a homer, understand that I understand the NFL Network is soft-peddling the horror in St. Louis also. These guys have not been open and forthright in their questions and assessments of management direction in St. Louis. I think they do understand how bad things are, and they are deliberately understating the facts.
They are doing this for one reason: The NFL Network's prime directive is to promote interest in the upcoming NFL season, even in St. Louis, where my Rams are still dwindling down. They are interested in promoting the upcoming NFL season, even in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers are likely in for one gruesome year.
