Patriots?Finished? You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.....

Patriots are done. End of a dynasty. Too many defections. Belichick is losing it. Sound familiar? Type in Patriots into Google. Tell me how many of these articles pop up. Type it into this very site, same answer. The story is being eaten up. Everyone wants to take a cheap shot at the carcass known as the New England Patriots. Well, guess what naysayers, I have some very bad news for you.

This team is so far from done. If anything, what we saw this season was as impressive as the 2008 surprise with Cassell. The Patriots ARE rebuilding. On the fly. And winning the division still in the process. It is so obvious, yet nobody wants to acknowledge it. Did Pioli leave? Yup. Was the loss of McDaniels tough? Absolutely. The trade of Richard Seymour hurt. A lot. The list goes on- Harrison, Bruschi, Vrabel. The Patriots defensive core was gutted in one season. It was painful to witness, but the only way to remain on top. Let me explain.

The Pats defense all got old at the same time. Vrabel was actually out for the good part of this year. Harrison retired. Bruschi should have retired after 2007. Seymour wasn't going to be the same guy anymore. Not here. It is human nature. He already proved himself in New England. He is 30. Belichick got an offer he couldn't refuse. All you have to do us look at the list of free agents(Wilfork,Mankins,Gostkowski, Neal) and the list of 2010 free agents(Brady, Moss) to realize why the Patriots unloaded Seymour. They had no choice. He was gone. They went with Wilfork and Mankins over Seymour, and that was the end of Seymour in a Patriots uniform.

Now dont get me wrong, the Patriots defense is horrible right now. The linebackers don't get off blocks(yeah, you Mayo, my eyes don't lie). The defensive backs have the instincts of a rock. Jonathan Wilhite, are you kidding me? He looked lost after he came back from his "incident" before an early season game. Overall, they just werent that good. They have 4 players too build around. Wilfork, Ty Warren, Leigh Bodden, and the aforementioned Mayo(benefit of the doubt for playing with a busted up mcl). "Pro Bowler" Meriweather, well, he needs another great player with him to be good. He just doesnt have the awareness to be the main guy in the secondary. But there is a bright side to this defensive story.

The 2009 Draft was conducted with an all new regime. No more Pioli. He was busy trying to make the Chiefs look as much like the Patriots as possible. I actually find this whole thing to be pathetic, but that is another story for another day. In steps Floyd Reese and Nick Caserio to help Belichick with the draft. Funny thing happened. The Patriots had their best draft in years. Many years. About 7 years to be exact. Floyd Reese knows how to draft. He proved it with the Oilers/Totans for many years. Lets take a look. Patrick Chung- gamer. Not a pro bowler, but a future starter. Sebastian Vollmer- well, the best pick in the draft. By far. Top 5 pick that slipped to the second round. How did people miss this?? Left Tackle for the next 10 years. Ron Brace- well, jury is out. He seems to have a conditioning issue(I call it fat, like me). Darius Butler- this kid can play. Starter next year opposite Bodden. Tyrone McKenzie,OLB, blew out his knee. He will be back this year, The Pats loved him when they drafted him. The funny part is they thought HE was the steal. If he is as good as Vollmer, look out. Julian Edelman was a steal also. Even Myron Pryor showed flashes of being a good NFL player. They had a great draft. Like I said, the eyes dont lie. Floyd Reese will be here again for the 2010 Draft. The Patriots have 4 picks out of the first 60 players. Again. If they have the same track record as last year, you can add one more starter, one fringe starter as a rookie, one future starter, and a bunch of possible steals in the lower rounds. I think any team in the NFL would love to have that draft.

The Patriots offense just needs a little tweak. Add some more talent at the wide receiver position, and take a flyer on a running back. Maroney stinks. I am sorry. I was a fan. He isn't good. Can't hold the ball, can't play. He scores in that Indy game, Pats win. Here is a name- Stafon Johnson. USC. Dropped a straight bar on his neck this year and almost died. Great kid. Great talent. He reminds me of a young Ahman Green. Also, keep in mind that it takes two years to return to form after a knee injury like Brady had. He will be better. Right it down. Randy Moss hid an injury all year. He is still great. He still changes the game, even injured at half speed.

So the Patriots are going into an uncapped year with 4 high draft picks and the ability to steal unrestricted free agents from other teams who are still playing right now due to the rules of the old agreemment. No cap. Lock up Brady. Front load his deal for the uncapped year. Might as well. Front load his contract. Due the same with Wilfork and Mankins. Open the wallets Krafts, this is the time to sign guys and keep them before there is a cap in place. It is almost like everything has lined up the way the Patriots needed it to. Uncapped year when they can load up. A change in the rookie payscale when the Pats have the Raiders high 2011 draft pick. The pieces and picks are in place for the Pats to string together another strong decade.

So, like I said to the naysayers, the Pats are far from done. They are "rebuilding" on the run, and still winning most of their games. This team will be better next year. I will leave you with this: 4 games. 4 -4th qtrs- 4 leads blown. Broncos, Colts, Dolphins, Texans. Every game in the Patriots hands. They lost due to a few bad plays. Period. That is the difference between 14-2 and homefield, or 10-6, wildcard round. We can bet that Bill and the Pats will fix this.