Halloween came and went.
So did the NFL trade deadline.
Patriots fans got nothing but a bag of rocks.
The Great Pumpkin never materialized.
There was no all-in fire sale.
No deals. No nothing.
Same old, same old.
Rats! Bill held pat.
Robert remained MIA.
Or perhaps he stayed in MIA with his new wife, the esteemed Dr. Dana Blumberg. She is an actual doctor, having received a medical degree from St. Louis University.
Dr. Blumberg, 49, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and once taught ophthalmology at New York’s Columbia University. Presumably before it became a clearing house for Hamas sympathizers.
It might be time for Dr. Blumberg to give her husband a complete vision exam.
We’re not sure if Kraft can see that the Hoodie has no clothes.
Or that his team has done nothing but circle the rotary on Route 140 in Foxboro since Brady left in March 2020.
Or that losing is winning in 2023.
Or that Bill Belichick & Company’s time has passed.
We’ve covered some of this previously, but it must be noted again and again until the circumstances change just how far behind the Patriots have fallen in comparison to the competition.
The Dolphins might want to bronze Tua Tagovailoa. And not just because he’s one snap away from another season-curtailing injury.
You know by now Tua is 6-0 against Belichick.
More-so than any player not named Tom Brady, Tua has done more to keep Don Shula’s all-time wins record of 347 perennially out of reach for Belichick.
Brady giveth. And Brady curseth away.
It’s not just the six games.
Coach Mike McDaniel and Tua have demonstrated better than any other team that faces the Patriots on a regular basis just how much time has passed since Belichick Ball was a winnable proposition.
Belichick coached on a Giants team that won Super Bowl XXI with Phil Simms at QB. They won Super Bowl XXV with Jeff Hostetler taking snaps. Against Jim Kelly.
With that on the resume, it’s not hard to understand why Belichick continues to undervalue talented QBs.
Sunday at 9:30 a.m., you can watch a potential AFC championship preview from Germany as the Dolphins play the Chiefs in Germany. You will have an extra hour of sleep to prepare, as the clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday.
The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls since the Patriots won their last playoff game. This is where we remind you that Patrick Mahomes’ dad once played for the Red Sox. And Mahomes was taken with the 10th pick in the 2017 draft. The Patriots could win their next three games and still land the 10th pick in this QB-laden draft.
The Patriots wouldn’t give Brady two years guaranteed for $50 million after he won his sixth Super Bowl. The Chiefs gave Mahomes the biggest contract in NFL history. Andy Reid is no Gen Xer. He’s 65. But he hasn’t been afraid to adapt his game-plan to suit the NFL’s desire for action and push for skilled talent to replace skilled talent.
The Dolphins haven’t won a Super Bowl since Nixon was in the White House. They have the roster and talent now more than ever to succeed in the NFL.
The Dolphins could well snag home field in the AFC. Patriots fans know just how brutal games in January can be when you leave the snow and cold of New England for the bright sun, 88-degree temperatures and 91% humidity of Miami Gardens. Fans in Kansas City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, or Buffalo may learn that lesson soon.
We’re not sure if Kraft could see Stephen Ross (Stephen Freaking Ross!) celebrating in his owner’s box Sunday. We understand if Kraft couldn’t bear to watch. Ross was suspended by the NFL for 76 days last year after it was found his team tampered with Sean Payton and Brady.
If Kraft cannot visualize what’s happening, he may finally feel it in his wallet later this season when the stands in Foxboro are 40% empty – cutting in on concession sales – and next spring with the season ticket renewals fail to materialize.
It’s hard not to fault Belichick and Kraft for running the same playbook with a tight checkbook. Combined, they are 153 years old – 153 years ago, college football was in its second season. We didn’t have telephones, electric lights, or organized professional baseball.
Belichick is in his 49th season coaching in the NFL. Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994. That’s 78 years of collective experience coaching and owning in the NFL.
How dare you question them?
Patriots Twitter (X) tells us three of 191 NFL teams who started 2-6 made the playoffs, which means 188 have not.
The Patriots are 25-1 to make the playoffs, 120-1 to win the AFC East, 200-1 to win the AFC and, you might want to sit down for this one, 300-1 to win the Super Bowl. All those numbers come from DraftKings and have been translated from betting lingo to make it easier on the uninitiated.
The Patriots are 16th in a 16-team conference.
If they go any lower, they’ll be in the NFC.
The Patriots are no different than any great dynasty in its waning days.
Nothing works like it used to. The enemy is at the gates. (Or in the case of the Dolphins, swimming circles around you.)
The masses are restless. Past glories mask present misery.
The Kraft Family has replaced bread and circuses with free parking and a towering multi-million-dollar priapic lighthouse that can be interpreted in several ways.
Including as a giant middle-finger to the fan base.
Pretty soon, Kraft may see that same finger flashed a few thousand times in the stands at Gillette.
With or without an eye exam.
Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @Bill Speros on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com
