Hard to believe it’s been less than two years.
Now the Patriots are back in the tournament, and today I am going to engage in an activity that Bill Belichick hates.
I am going to look past this weekend’s meaningless game against the Houston Texans.
Worse, I am going to vault straight into the second round of the playoffs.
No one is allowed to say it, but we all know the Patriots are going to win Game 1 at home on Wild Card Weekend. The larger question is: Would you rather go to Indianapolis or San Diego for Round 2?
Buoyed by a nifty turnaround against NFL punching bags (a lot of bad teams in the league this year, no?) some Patriots fans dare to dream about a return to the Super Bowl, and we all know that means winning back-to-back games at San Diego and Indy.
Week 1’s game is already in the bag - even if the Ravens come to town with David Tyree and his Velcro helmet. Winning cold playoff games is Gillette’s January jones. The Patriots have won 11 consecutive playoff games at home, seven at Gillette. The one and only time New England lost a playoff game at home was on New Year’s Eve 1978, when Bum Phillips and the Houston Oilers crushed the Patriots, 31-14. That was the year Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks was booted from the sideline by owner Billy Sullivan after it was learned Fairbanks had taken a job at the University of Colorado.
As a playoff tandem, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are 14-3 overall, 8-0 at Foxborough, 7-0 at Gillette. This season, the Patriots went 8-0 at the Razor, winning by an average of 18.4 points. Does anyone really think the New York Jets can come here and beat Belichick and Brady in January?
Not a chance.
So we look ahead and we wonder whether the Patriots are capable of winning at Indy or San Diego.
This is a strange Patriots team. They’ve been unable to close out games on the road. They’ve struggled to find an identity. They’ve only recently established a running game. They’ve endured uncharacteristic locker room grumbling (remember Adalius Thomas?) and they’ve worked overtime showering love and attention on Randy Moss.
