Just Sayin'

Okay, that was a pretty bad performance against the Dolphins, once again, last Sunday and it made a mess of the Patriots' hopes for a Super Bowl repeat. What is it about the Dolphins, who haven't been good in a very long time, that they manage to sneak up on the Pats at the end of the year so often?

I don't know and they don't know, but it does keep happening, and this time it happened in Foxboro!

Anyway, Tom Brady blamed himself for the loss, as did a lot of other people, and it adds fuel to the fire of debate about his performance this year. Certainly, this was a nondescript outing and that "pick six" was an awful pass that could be seen as the difference in the final score.

But I'm just sayin' ---as bad at Tom was, he did put the team in a position to win with a few minutes left in the game. All the defense had to do was hold the Miami offense, and they couldn't. It was eerily reminiscent of the 2008 Super Bowl, when a heavily favored, undefeated Pats got pushed around by a mediocre Giants crew for most of the game. Yet, Brady put his guys in a position to win with a few minutes left. All they had to do was, yes, hold the Giants on their final drive and they couldn't manage it. The 2012 Super Bowl with the Giants was less dramatic, but, again, similar.

This is a really good defense this year, even though they played poorly in this game. It makes me wonder if, on the three occasions mentioned, the fault lies with the coaching. Are they playing "Bend, don't break," which is fine, until you get in the Red Zone and you need to stop bending?

Bill Belichick could answer that question, but...well, you know, he wouldn't deign to stoop so low and actually talk to us fans about what he's doing. He would just mutter, "We're preparing for the Titans now."

I didn't think the Patriots had much chance of winning the Super Bowl when all of us assumed they would scorch the Dolphins and get a bye. Common sense would say they have no chance to win it now, or even to get there.

If I knew what is going to happen, I would be betting on it, not writing a blog.

But I have a hunch this defeat will light a fire under the team, which has been somewhat somnolent all season. Maybe they will let go and go all-out, try new things, indulge in some trickery, and maybe, just maybe, win the Super Bowl again.

Just sayin'...