TaborJet Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Three-peat won't be easy feat for Patriots Without top coordinators, Belichick might have too much on his plate from MSNBC Ron Borges Change is in the wind, but will that change anything for the New England Patriots and the 31 teams chasing them? If you haven't learned not to bet against the Patriots, you're a slow learner. New England opens training camp Sunday in hopes of becoming the first team in NFL history to three-peat as Super Bowl champions and the first to win four world titles in five seasons. The odds are against them because it never has been done before, but neither had 25 straight wins, losing your starting quarterback and coming on to win your first Super Bowl title four months later or having a 27-year-old quarterback win three Lombardi trophies and two Super Bowl MVPs as quickly as young Tom Brady has. Still, new challenges abound for the defending champions despite coming off a 14-2 season with a roster that returns at least 19 starters from a year ago and seems to have improved in its areas of greatest weakness: the secondary and the offensive line. But everything is not perfect in New England these days because coach Bill Belichick must solve a unique problem, the loss of both his coordinators to better jobs. The defection of one coordinator is expected from teams as successful as the Patriots have been in recent years, but losing both in the same off-season is all but unprecedented. It will create logistical and strategical difficulties that could prove more daunting than the loss of four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law for salary-cap reasons; Pro Bowl linebacker and the defense's spiritual leader, Tedy Bruschi, to an off-season stroke; or any other player not named Brady. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel left after 25 years as an NFL assistant to become the Cleveland Browns head coach. He was a long time co-worker with and coordinator under Belichick, and they seldom had to waste time discussing what one or the other wanted to do or how they planned to do it. Crennel was the architect of many of the schemes that baffled opposing offenses the past few seasons and he called the bulk of the defensive game, so he will be greatly missed. Crennel also was a calming agent to Belichick's sometimes cryptic and clipped style with unhappy players. No one doubts Belichick can handle that role again if necessary, because he once was considered the best defensive coordinator in the game. But he's hoping he won't have to get too involved after convincing 34-year-old Eric Mangini to stay by his side rather than leave to run Crennel's defense in Cleveland. The problems for Mangini are threefold, though. First, after three superlative Super Bowl seasons in four years, he's got nowhere to go but down in his first season being responsible for the entire defense and will be harshly judged by the standard Crennel set, both by the public and, more importantly, by players not much younger than he is. Second, Mangini never has been responsible for calling a game, a skill that is as much a gift as it is a product of hard work. Lastly, he might not have the full attention and aid of Belichick because for the first time, the coach will be calling the bulk of the offensive plays after his longtime associate Charlie Weis accepted the job as Notre Dame's head coach. Weis was an innovative playcaller whose style could be abrasive at times but was clearly successful. He might call plays early in a game he knew were likely to fail simply to set up something later that didn't. He was a tireless worker, studying film late into the night, and he had much to do with the development of Brady. Weis, like Crennel, seemed a master of putting his athletes in the best position to succeed while avoiding putting them in positions that failed to maximize their talents. Now Belichick has decided to go with a committee approach, designating none of his assistants as the new offensive coordinator, although line coach Dante Scarnecchia has long been listed as his assistant head coach and is expected to have a lot of input on how things run. Together the offensive staff and Belichick will draw up the game plan, and Belichick is expected to call much of the game himself. He did the same in Cleveland when he was the head coach there and he failed miserably, but he didn't have Brady executing those plays. Now he does and Brady's calmness under pressure and his ability to make plays at the most crucial moments were a major part of what made Weis' plans works. So why shouldn't the same be true with Belichick's? The X factor is what kind of game Belichick, a conservative, defensive-minded man by nature and inclination, will call. Will he be as innovative and attacking as Weis? Although Belichick certainly signed off on whatever approach Weis took the past five years, he ultimately wasn't making the calls. That is a significant change and one that will have to be dealt with during the season. In terms of personnel, there are no real weaknesses. New England has a strong running game with Corey Dillon as the lead back, a sound passing attack that had success going deep more often a year ago and a leader in Brady who is 7-0 in overtime, 9-0 in the playoffs and 57-14 as a starter, the best record of any quarterback with 40 or more starts since the dawning of the Super Bowl age in 1966. Defensively they have a line anchored by three ex-No. 1 draft choices and a secondary with a host of options, although they don't have a player as dominating as Law was at his best unless free agent Duane Starks can return to his form of 2000 when he was starring for the then-Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Starks is coming off three down and injury-plagued seasons with the Cardinals, but he and Belichick believe the change of scenery and the opportunity to play in meaningful games will rejuvenate him. The one on-field area with some questions is at linebacker, where Bruschi will not be back this season as he recuperates from his stroke. Young Monty Beisel, a converted defensive end who was signed as a free agent after one year starting for the Chiefs, and old Chad Brown, a 13-year veteran well past his Pro Bowl prime, are being counted on to combine their skills to replace some of the playmaking that was so much a part of Bruschi's game. If they don't, there could be some problems, but the foundation of their linebacking corps remains intact with Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson and Rosevelt Colvin back. Colvin, once a big-time playmaker himself, is two years removed from a dreadful hip injury and might be ready for a breakout season. If that happens, he could easily cushion the impact of Bruschi's absence. On the field, the defending champions seem well capable of matching up with any team in football again, including the Steelers, who they undressed in the AFC championship game on the road after Pittsburgh went 15-1 in the regular season, and the Colts, who haven't been able to beat them, it seems, since Johnny Unitas was the quarterback. The only major question then are ones that cannot be answered until the season unfolds and decisions have to be made: Can the Patriots system survive the loss of two of the men who designed it? Not even Belichick truly knows the answer to that. 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TomShane Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Ron Borges My homey Ron! Borges has been predicting the Pats demise since 1935, but he has a point here. We'll learn alot in week one versus the Raiders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanTX Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 My homey Ron! Borges has been predicting the Pats demise since 1935, but he has a point here. We'll learn alot in week one versus the Raiders. Borges has had an ax to grind with Belichick since day one. The guy always goes out of his way to rip BB and the Pats any chance he gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One4EachFinger Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Any article by Borges regarding the Pats needs to be taken with a grain of salt. If you throw enough sh*t at the wall, eventually some of it will stick. This guy has been a huge Belichik detractor since the guy got here. Apparently he REALLY wanted those draft picks we gave up for BB. So far, he has been wrong every time. If the Pats don't win the SuperBowl this year he will be saying "see, see, i told you!" Yea Ron, but what about the other 7,000 times you were wrong? btw, the 3-peat was going to be extremely difficult even had everybody from last year returned.....Borges isn't exactly going out on a limb. He's basically stating the obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garb Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I didn't even read it. Ron Borges = dogsh*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gg Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 i am going to be cheering for LaMont to tear up foxboro for over 100 yds in his first game with the radiers... patriots 17 raiders 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mawaeman Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 i am going to be cheering for LaMont to tear up foxboro for over 100 yds in his first game with the radiers... patriots 17 raiders 27 Ill be cheering for Brady to get Knocked out of his helmet by those behemoth lineman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mawaeman Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 i am going to be cheering for LaMont to tear up foxboro for over 100 yds in his first game with the radiers... patriots 17 raiders 27 Ill be cheering for Brady to get Knocked out of his helmet by those behemoth lineman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaborJet Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Borges has had an ax to grind with Belichick since day one. The guy always goes out of his way to rip BB and the Pats any chance he gets. I guess Peter King is the only reputable writer when it comes to the Patsies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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