We’re five games into the New England Patriots’ 2015 season. Past the four contests that caused us all such consternation when we thought Tom Brady might be suspended, plus the Sunday night game against the overmatched opponent that was 99 44/100% responsible for the absurdity.
Can we move on now?
I know, I know. Asking the media to leave behind its beloved talking points is like asking them to stop venerating candidates from one political party while ridiculing their opponents. And imploring fans to stop cracking the whip on a deceased horse requires them to look at pro football and understand the nuances of the game.
None of those conditions are possible. I shall dare to dream.
Contrary to what the people with a vested interest in competitive balance and the congregation that has spent millions of dollars on league-approved apparel want, the Patriots simply take care of business. Week in, week out. Season in, season out.
TB12, Bill Belichick and supporting cast knocked down Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Dallas with minimal difficulty. Since I am putting this column to bed seven hours before kickoff at Indianapolis and don’t wish to tempt the gridiron gods, I shall leave it this: I believe that the Pats probably took care of business Sunday night against the Colts.
It surely wasn’t a 77-0 shellacking, as coveted by the bloodthirsty masses who believe the Patriots are on some sort of “revenge tour.” But New England is the substantially better team, and the substantially better team wins most of the time in the NFL.
That would make the Pats 5-0, with a vindicated Brady who wasn’t required to sit out even one series of a ridiculous, unwarranted banishment. Game over. They won.
Nothing that happens from here through the first Sunday of February has anything to do with imperceptibly deflated footballs or sore losers. It is about the Patriots’ ability to stay healthy, block out distractions, win their division, earn the AFC’s home field advantage and defend their title with the otherworldly focus we’ve come to expect.
Hatred of teams with loose connections to an overblown “scandal” fuels mindless chatter on pregame shows and at tailgate parties. It is of zero benefit to the team in question, and I can promise you it has nothing to do with the results on the field.
The Patriots are punishing people because they have a quarterback-and-coach combination that is at the peak of its hall of fame greatness. Six Super Bowl appearances and four championships into this party, Brady has never played better and Belichick has never evaluated and coached personnel better than they are right now.
Motivation? Vindication? That isn’t how the great ones operate. If the sheer motivation of winning for winning’s sake every Sunday escapes you, then the game has passed you by, and it’s time to retire and do something else. These guys don’t need artificial, incendiary devices to stoke that internal fire, any more than they require help from videotape or an air compressor to kick your butt.
We laugh at Rex Ryan, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh and Jim Irsay being obsessed with the Patriots, as if they’re getting ready to film a middle-aged men’s remake of “Mean Girls.” Heck, I wasted a few hundred words on those clowns a few weeks ago, in the process of saying so.
Giving defeated competition of their ilk credit for the Patriots’ ongoing, untouchable success is coming down to their level. The Patriots don’t function the way their fans, their haters or other professional sports franchises handle their business, because they’re better than that.
When Belichick and Brady give one-word answers to the insipid questions they’re asked week after week about this lunacy, they aren’t being coy. They aren’t being arrogant. They’re being themselves.
They don’t lose sleep about these people. The Patriots would want to beat the Bills, Ravens, Colts, Jets, Steelers, Broncos, Maine Black Bears or Montreal Alouettes mercilessly not out of ill will, but as the consequence of an indescribable quest for invincibility that you and I cannot possibly understand.
While the rest of the world is obsessed with the Patriots, New England only is concerned with them to the extent that they stand in the way of winning and must be moved forcefully. Simple as that.
It’s time to stop applying our human understanding, our office politics, and the dynamic with which we weigh our friends and enemies. None of it applies to the best pro football team on the planet. They don’t deal in such foolishness.
Regardless of Sunday night’s point spread and how much consternation it caused in Indy, the New England Patriots are already on to the New York Jets.
Kalle Oakes is a staff writer. His email is koakes@sunjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @oaksie72 or like his fan page at www.facebook.com/kalleoakes.sj.
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