The End of an Era: The New England Patriots Dynasty is Over

After watching the Ravens defeat the Patriots 33-14 on Sunday, it was easy to come to a conclusion the Patriots “Dynasty” is over.  Last season it was excusable because Brady was injured and the team still went 11–5.  Coming into this season you had to wonder how Brady would rebound and if they would be able to be the same team.

As the season wore on and the Patriots lost several games early and narrowly escaped in a few others, the feeling was that Tom Brady was adjusting to the game and would get back into form as the season wore on.

At times the Patriots showed signs of that old dominance they are known for, but it only appeared in spots and never became the norm.  They won the AFC but not without a fight from the Jets and Dolphins, whom they split season series with.

The Patriots for the first time in many seasons did not attract any big name free agents, they let Mike Vrabel and Matt Cassell go to Kansas City in a trade.  They also parted ways with Richard Seymour in a clever attempt to get something for his expiring contract.

Just before the season starts, Teddy Bruschi retires on top of Rodney Harrison retiring, and all of a sudden they go from a veteran defense to one that has a lot of inexperienced players starting at key positions.  With the defense not being near as good as past years and the offense being inconsistent, the team was not feared as in past years.

The demise of this dynasty is as much the Patriots' fault as anything else.  Sure, the rest of the NFL has worked hard to catch up with the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts, but New England’s trades and transactions were not as shrewd as in past years.

Trading Seymour to the Raiders because they did not want to pay him a huge long-term contract hurt their defense, and the fact that they have gone to the well and traded with the Raiders 12 times illustrates that fact.  Getting Derrick Burgess in yet another trade with the Raiders was not an earth-shattering deal to say the least.

The Patriots have generally made good moves in the past to complement the solid core group of players they already had there, but over the past few seasons, that group has been broken up.  Bringing in players from the Raiders, signing older over-the-hill players and letting go of proven guys because you don’t want to pay them have come back to hurt this franchise.

It is easy to make these decisions when you have Brady, Moss, Welker, and a solid offensive line.  They thought the defense may suffer a bit, but we will be able to outscore most teams to make up for it.  That has not been the case this season, after a close loss to the Colts because of an ill-fated fourth down attempt.

The team never seemed to recover from that decision and all the scrutiny that came with it, they only went 4–4 the rest of the season after that game.  The loss at New Orleans showed further proof that these were not the same Patriots, especially with Brady being pulled with six minutes left in the game.

In many games the team just looked average, and as each game passes, Randy Moss looks more and more like a shadow of his former self.  They have no running game to speak of, and although it showed up for a few weeks this season, they have not made any effort to establish it on a consistent basis.

With Randy Moss’s inconsistent play, Wes Welker’s status uncertain, an average defense, and inconsistent offensive line play, the Patriots look to be on the decline.  The ride was fun for New England fans, but it has become apparent their run is over.  The outlook can change, but they have not been anxious to bring in big money free agents, and some of their recent transactions have not worked out.

Maybe Bill Belichick and Bob Craft can work their magic once again, and with Tom Brady you will never be the worst.  But changes need to be made in Foxborough, otherwise, this team will continue to lose that once prominent championship luster.