Many Baltimore Orioles fans, who presumably are also Ravens fans, probably watched with glee last night as the New England Patriots lost to the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the NFL playoffs. I’m no different. Many say that this is the end of the Patriots’ reign as the creme de la creme of the NFL.
And it’s easy to see why. Quarterback Tom Brady’s old, and his contract’s up. Moving forward this is a franchise that could look vastly different.
But don’t be so sure that their dynasty is over. Look no further than the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. As the Orioles of the 2010’s we’re coming onto the national stage as a power, those two franchises appeared to have their stars dimming. But franchise like the Yankees, Red Sox, and yes the New England Patriots don’t necessarily go quietly into the night.
The New York Yankees quietly retooled. They had a few lackluster seasons, but nothing like what the Orioles have been in 2018 and 2019. The Boston Red Sox on the other hand did have some really poor seasons. However their success overall allowed them to in effect poke fun at themselves while going through that. My parents went to a game at Fenway in 2014, and they handed out “First to Worst” buttons. This while quietly getting their top prospects ready to come to the big leagues and retool the franchise.
Boston did it with their minor leagues. New York did it with trades. Either way my point is that these were two franchises who were used to being in the mix. And they took steps to ensure that they’d be back in the mix very quickly. Now the caveat to this is that this requires that they hit on every prospect and every trade, in order to be successful with their goal. And guess what? They did.
Point here is that regardless of what Tom Brady does moving forward, the New England Patriots are used to winning. I wouldn’t expect them to go quietly into the night. It’s possible that the “era” is over. But they created that era by making smart moves and building their football team. And very quietly, they could easily do so again.
Birdland Crush 