This whole situation with the Patriots videotaping the Jets signals just makes me sick.  I’d like to ignore it and hope it goes away, but judging by the number of emails and hallway comments I’ve gotten in the last week, it isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.  Patriots fans are taking a beating and sadly, we deserve it.

 

Our franchise let us down.  They embarrassed us.  

 

As Sully emailed me: “the Pats are supposed to be better than that.”  That’s exactly how I feel.  Part of what has been so great about the Pats run these past six years is the way they did things.  They were an intelligent, well disciplined team.  No one got out of line.  They said and did the right things.  I loved the way they carried themselves and what they stood for as an NFL team, not just that they won.

 

Well, now their defensive captain has been suspended for HGH and our coach/team has been caught cheating.  It sucks.  I can’t defend them.  I don’t want to.  

 

Did this “edge” the Pats got play into any of their SuperBowl wins?  Does it matter?  Those who want to believe it did will always think so.  Those who want to get under your skin will always bring this up.  

 

I have nothing good to say here.  I hate this.  Part of me wants to get rid of Belichick before the entire franchise implodes around him.   I don’t have anything to back this up, just a feeling.  Before this year it looked like in order to prove he was good enough to coach less talented teams that he would let every above average player leave and try to win with a mix of hideous talent-less players, players with bad/selfish reputations and a few incredible character players that would keep people in line and play above their heads.  

 

At least Belichick seemed to figure out that he needed some real talent to back up his ego, and Patriots fans everywhere rejoiced when this team was put together.  But there is a bad undercurrent to the way the Pats are going these days.  The roster improvements may have just masked it.  I don’t feel good about it.  

 

At the very least, I think the Pats have greatly hurt their future with this.  Not their future as in this season or in their losing a draft pick as a penalty, but in their ability to attract and retain character players and top talent.  The NFL is always fluid and the tide has begun to shift away from the Patriots.

 

That said, I am still a huge Patriots fan.  A sad, disappointed fan, but still a fan.  My team screwed up.  Nobody’s perfect.  Nothing can be done to change the past.  Let’s be better going forward.  Let’s improve.  Let’s do things the right way.  

 

Well, at least this should give Belichick, Brady and the rest of the organization even more fire to prove themselves.  Best thing the Pats can do now is win the next two Superbowls and do it without any other issues.  Do it the right way.  

 

And yes, I will LOVE it when the Pats crush Merriman, LT and the Chargers.

 

Go Pats.