After 20 years of glory, Patriots fans may need to accept a new era of mediocrity

For New England Patriots fans of a certain age, Tom Brady’s two decades of on-field success at the helm of the team are something to savor, especially since the franchise’s pre-Brady history doesn’t offer much. Much help. The greatest victory.

However, when younger fans recall the mediocre Patriots teams from years ago, they may understand what their grandfathers and mothers were talking about – because now, this team wants to do just that.

New England lost at home to the Dolphins on Sunday night, falling to 0-2 for the first time since 2001. This weekend’s game against the Jets (1-1) without Aaron Rodgers may end in a win, but it will highlight the reality of what the Patriots have become: They’re good enough to beat the ball they “should” be beating team, but not good enough to beat better teams. They don’t look like a playoff team, but they also don’t look like a team destined to land a top-three pick.

Yes, Patriots fans, the 2001 team ended up winning the Super Bowl, but Drew Bledsoe suffered a horrific injury in Week 2 that forced Brady to service.This time, to paraphrase Tom Brady during Rick Pitino’s failed tenure as head coach of the Boston Celtics Didn’t walk through that door.

To be fair, no matter who follows Brady as Patriots quarterback, Mac Jones will always be compared to him. No one should be compared to Brady because no one is Brady, but when fans are as used to seeing great play at the position as New England fans are, the bar is set pretty high. Add to that the conventional wisdom in the 2021 draft that acquiring Jones at No. 15 would be a gift to the Patriots at a time when he was expected to go higher. Best of all, Jones is a product of Nick Saban’s Alabama team, and given the relationship between Saban and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, well, it seems the football gods still smile on Foxborough .

This writer will spend the rest of his days believing that Belichick’s decision to appoint Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as offensive coordinators last season hurt Jones immeasurably. Belichick has said dozens of times that the offseason between Years 1 and 2 is crucial to the development of NFL players. Did he let Jones take on both tasks?

Bringing back Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator gave hope that change was coming, but so far it hasn’t come. New England’s offense is soft and cautious — against the Miami Heat, Jones completed just 5 of 15 attempts of more than 10 yards and only two touchdown passes in 154 snaps this season. Over 20 yards. New England, which has few playmakers and is hampered by a subpar defense plagued by multiple injuries, already has eight starters.

None of this fully exonerates Jones. Great quarterbacks find a way to win, but through 33 games, Jones hasn’t shown he has that ability. He’s got one win so far, and that’s his rookie season.

He had a chance to lead the Patriots’ comeback in both games this season in New England and begin to build a legacy. In the first game against the Eagles, the Patriots trailed 16-0, largely due to two turnovers, a pick-6 and a fumble, but with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter At that time, the score gap was reduced to 25-20. The Patriots got the ball two more times and got all three timeouts but were unable to score the touchdown they needed.

It was a similar story last week against Miami: The Patriots got into a hole early, spent most of the game crawling out, but couldn’t get to the end zone on the final possession and on first down Point was sacked for 8 yards. Miami’s 39 points essentially killed off the final drive.

The defense is solid. It will always be with Team Belichick. The Dolphins’ offense racked up 536 yards against the Chargers in Week 1, including 466 passing yards from Tua Tagovailoa, and New England largely shut down the offense, allowing Miami to score 36 points against Los Angeles. 24 points.

But the defense can only do so much, and in recent seasons, if the defense isn’t at its best, the offense can’t make up for it. Including the loss to Philadelphia, the Patriots are 0-12 when Jones starts and opponents score 25 points or more. After the Brady era, they went 10-12 in games decided by seven points or less, and both losses this year came at Gillette Stadium, where New England was at home. Each game finished below .500 (25-27).

Maybe the Patriots can bounce back on Sunday against the Jets on the road. But then came the trip to Dallas. They can bring hope and then possibly feelings of despair. For other NFL fans, it’s a familiar feeling.

Unfortunately, Patriots fans may have to get used to this, too.