Who are the New England Patriots?
Are they the team that was the only squad this year that the Las Vegas Raiders earned a victory against? Or, is Mike Vrabel’s team the one that handed the Buffalo Bills their only loss of the season last Sunday night?
They are both … and for good reason.
The first-year Patriots head coach has begun the process of rebuilding the Patriots team that dominated the NFL for two decades while Bill Belichick held his job on the sideline and Tom Brady directed the action on the field. The cast around Belichick and Brady shifted like the revolving door at the entrance of a hotel allowing people checking in and out to pass through.
But, while it was this player then, and that player later, the excellence directed by the coach and quarterback had the Patriots win their division every year and collect six Super Bowl victories beginning in the 2001 season. The excellence continued until Brady’s departure after the 2019 season. As expected, once Brady was gone, just like when John Elway retired from the Denver Broncos, the team took a dive from Super Bowl aspirations to second tier status.
Once Elway was gone, Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan never led his Mile High team back to the playoffs. Once Brady was gone, Belichick never won another playoff game. He did guide the Patriots into the playoffs via a Wild Card berth in 2021 but were blown out in their only postseason game by the Buffalo Bills, 47-17.