Debate: Is the Window Closing for the New England Patriots?

The New England Patriots have been the top dog in the AFC East for over a decade, and are always a contender for the Super Bowl, but how much longer can it last?

To debate the topic, we bring in Carl Desberg, a Patriots blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now who can also be found on Twitter.

As you are the guest, I'll let you lead us off.

Carl: Is the Patriots window closing? Before we even dive into that question, one must look at the volatility of the NFL. The same question could have been asked of the aging Indianapolis Colts heading into the 2011 season and boom—it hit them like a ton of bricks.

Each and every team is nearly one injury away from a lost season. Despite the Patriots' 11-5 record in 2008 without Tom Brady, the team failed to make the playoffs. If that happens this season, is the window closed? Maybe, if it goes as poorly as Indy's season was.

Things change. Fast. 

Pertaining the question at hand and not assuming the worst, the Patriots window is not closing.

This is simply because of the philosophy Bill Belichick and his goal of putting the best players on the field. Young or old, small or large, Belichick continues to fit the right pieces.

The revamping of the defense post 2007 with the loss of veterans Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour and Asante Samuel has been much slower than anticipated, but the window that could have been perceived as closed after that loss was opened again with the deep playoff run this past season.

Again, the NFL is ever-changing, but the Patriots have been able to adapt to adhere to varying factors that stand against them.

Erik: The landscape in the NFL can change at the drop of a hat, but as long as Brady and Belichick are in the fold, the landscape of the AFC East is permanently shifted in their favor.

That being said, the question within the question is whether the window is closing for Brady. He won't play forever. He's 34 years old and seems to carry a fair share of injuries through every season, although it certainly hasn't slowed his production at all.

The Patriots have excelled at developing talent at quarterback, or at least finding solid backups that are coach-able. With Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett at the ready, the Patriots at least have options when and if Brady goes down or hangs them up for good.

The defense is worthy of criticism no matter how you look at it, but the standard was set high by a group of highly talented veterans who all just happened to leave the fold at the same time. Any head coach would struggle to rebuild that quickly, but there are some pieces in place.

Certainly, the Patriots need to find more than a few more pieces on that side of the ball before the issues will be corrected, and the Patriots haven't done themselves any favors recently in terms of talent evaluation and stocking the cupboards.

The comparison to the Colts seems faulty, but may have some merit. Would Hoyer or Mallett have been able to carry the Patriots to another 11-win season considering their struggles on defense? I'm not confident in that. That doesn't mean the window is closing, but it does mean the Patriots have a lot of work to do to make sure the window doesn't slam shut on their fingers as it did on Bill Polian's.

Carl: Is the Patriots' window dependent on Brady and Belichick. It very well may be.

Perhaps a backup could step in and lead this team. Yes. Is that backup on the roster?

While the backups to Brady appear to be coach-able there is no telling whether they have the talent to take over the reigns of this team. Until put in the situation there is just no way to evaluate that. Would the Colts have had success if Manning's longtime backup Jim Sorgi was in the fold? Who knows? 

The dynasty of the San Francisco 49ers could have been perceived to be near over at one point until a backup named Steve Young entered the fold. Again, who knows where the next Steve Young is though.

If anything, the Patriots' window is tied to Bill Belichick. Another crucial question to bring up is whether or not his tenure as coach is correlated with Brady's time at quarterback. Belichick has admitted he will not coach forever.

Do the Patriots have a backup to Belichick? Perhaps in Josh McDaniels, the returned offensive coordinator after a failed stint as a head coach. Belichick too failed as a head coach, then gained more tutelage under Bill Parcells before getting another crack at a head coaching gig. Maybe the Patriots do have a contingency plan for Belichick.

Is it fair to assume the window is solely tied to these two though?

Erik: It's impossible to say for 100 percent certain, but without a doubt, a large part of their stranglehold on the AFC East for the past 11 years has been tied to those two. And as we learned in 2008, you can have a great regular season but if you don't win your division, you can still miss the playoffs, and ultimately, that's all that really matters at the end of the season.

Put it this way: if you take away Brady and Belichick, the landscape in the division is immediately leveled, at least much more so than it is with those two in the fold. 

I totally agree, though, that Belichick is more directly responsible for the opening or closing of the window than Brady is, but even with McDaniels' failed tenure in Denver, I'm not entirely convinced the Patriots will go in the tank if and when he takes over. A return to New England may have been exactly what McDaniels needed to be a success story in his second go-round, much like his very own mentor.

Belichick may be responsible for much of the talent evaluation, but the Patriots have a program in place with a lot of hard-working scouts, some of the hardest-working in the business in fact, and don't forget that Robert Kraft is still the owner and will likely remain so until he is 100 percent incapable of doing so.

And with that, we wrap up another great debate. I'd like to thank Carl once again for joining me in this spirited discussion, and I hope to link up again with you soon. For the readers, check back at the AFC East blog often for more debates across a wide range of AFC East topics.

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