Personnel leave, but mighty Patriots stay same
January 16
Boston Herald columnist Gerry Callahan
"Bill Belichick did everything but tuck $20 and a roll of stamps in Josh McDaniels’ pocket and tell him to write when he got to Denver. Two days later, when Scott Pioli followed McDaniels out the door and on to the AFC West, Belichick released a statement so glowing that if put to music, fathers and daughters could dance to it at weddings.
Any day now, we expect Belichick to say that until he met Tim Tebow, departing Patriots special teams coach Brad Seely was the finest man he ever had known.
It was a gracious and classy way for the Patriots head coach to bid adieu to his former underlings, and we have to admit: Either Belichick is a better BS artist than Bernie Madoff, or he genuinely, honestly meant every word of it. It seems you don’t get the Fredo treatment from the Pats’ godfather just for leaving the family. No, that only happens when you take sides against the family and join the Jets.
McDaniels and Pioli did it the right way, and so did Belichick, who knows this is the way it’s supposed to work in the NFL. When the team wins, everyone moves up, and eventually, some guys move out. That means they did their jobs and did them well. Belichick probably would love nothing more than to someday be Bill Walsh, sitting back and proudly watching his proteges do battle each Sunday.
But that will be then, and this is now, and maybe Belichick is smiling through the mass defections. Maybe he realizes that the three pillars that made this franchise the envy of the NFL - owner, coach, quarterback - still are in place. And maybe he knows that no other team in the division can make such a claim.
As usual, we magnify the problems of the home team and forget that most others would love to have such trivial offseason issues.
Hell, the Jets don’t have a coach OR a quarterback. The Bills retained Dick Jauron just so they’ll have someone to blame next season when they continue to circle the drain. The Colts lost Tony Dungy, the Broncos lost Mike Shanahan, and the Chargers KEPT Norv Turner. And we wonder why Belichick seems so at ease?
You know where the Patriots are right now if Jabar Gaffney makes the catch against Indianapolis or if they stop Favre or third-and-15? With one more win, a division title, and a likely spot in Pittsburgh this weekend for the AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots were a flawed and wounded team, to be sure, but did you see San Diego? Or Tennessee? There are no great teams. It is a battle of attrition and luck and turnovers and timing, and all those little things that defined Patriots teams in Januarys past.
The Pats won 11 games this past season, and all they will do in ’09 is bring back the best player in the game. Now you can dwell and despair over the latest rumors of setbacks and complications, but the fact is, Tom Brady will have a full year between starts. He won’t be running or cutting hard on the repaired left knee, and he won’t be the first quarterback to return from a torn ACL."
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