The 15

Negativity without context does not equal objectivity. Objectivity with context may be negative.

We all get it. You hate success. It has never been clearer than now. For you, every Patriots’ failure is another meaningless participation trophy for you to run around and show off weekdays from 2-6 like proud eight year-olds.

Instead, you should be asking yourselves; what will the Patriots learn from this failure? Bill Belichick has been giving a master class in how to run an NFL team for the past twenty years and you’ve missed the opportunity to document it. Instead of seeking to understand and learn, you’ve been hunting relentlessly for your participation trophies. Congratulations! Your bookcase is now adorned with useless trinkets. Instead of improving yourselves, you’ve patted you colleagues on the back whenever the receive the “Best Stupid Question” trophy at a press conference.

I have been a Patriots fan since the mid 1970’s. I have seen the team succeed and fail. Never, after the Bears Super Bowl, could I have imagined what has happened here over the past 20 years.

I have seen your colleagues damn a Belichick draft pick, and then have to present that same draft pick’s case to the Hall of Fame committee. I have heard the whispering and criticism of every move made by the Patriots over the past 20 years.

And now, finally, I’ve had enough. I haven’t listened to sports radio in a year and I feel 1000 times more free to bask in the greatness of what we are seeing. When you gather your trophies on Belichick’s failures, he realizes his mistakes, considers why it was a mistake and improves for next time.

4th and 2? Sucked. But they took their shot. Sometimes it fails. So while you made a special place for that little trophy, Belichick went back to the drawing board to come up with a new set of options for that scenario. Who knows, maybe they still do the same thing.

Success isn’t linear, and the fact we’ve been able to enjoy nearly linear success for 20 years is unique. Your bookshelf of trophies should be a reminder that Belichick has made that many mistakes and has gained that much experience and knowledge. Unfortunately, all you do is tell everyone about the trophies you have. It’s an empty achievement.

The media in this town have not grown in 20 years. It’s really quite amazing to not grow in this rich experience of football. Belichick, with Brady’s cooperation has rebuilt this team multiple times, through both the draft and free agency, Does Belichick hit on more draft picks than other teams? Probably not. But by accumulating more picks, he has a better chance of adding more players to his roster. If he has a 50% success rate and adds more draft picks than other teams, then it’s likely he gets one more good player out of the draft. Belichick needs 53 football players, and he probably doesn’t care how he does it.

So again; objectivity with context can be negative. Negativity without context is not objectivity.

How do the Patriots compare to other teams (besides 6 Super Bowl wins in 20 years) with respect to draft and free agency? Do they add more players than other teams? Are they more successful or less successful at certain positions? Show a comparison to other teams. Analyzing one team’s results in the draft is not objective unless it is compared to others,

No one is impressed with your collection of participation trophies. Go get some scars and show them to us. Scars show you did something, took a risk, learned a lesson and came back stronger. Belichick is covered in scars. You should be too.

(Originally written March 25, 2021)