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The New England Patriots' reign is over


Larz

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at least according to this article :banana:

read it and weep chowds

The New England Patriots' reign is over

Santonio Holmes trade makes it official -- the Jets are the new kings of the AFC East

By Johnette Howard

ESPNNewYork.com

Good night, New England. It was a nice run while it lasted, right? Tom Brady likely got a Hall of Fame plaque and got Gisele Bundchen. Bill Belichick cemented his genius label and perfected the dead-fish handshake. The Patriots got a few championships. But it's over now. Done. Thanks for the memories. What the Giants started with their Super Bowl XLII upset of the Patriots' 18-0 team, another New York club -- the Jets -- is about to finish.

ny_a_ryanr_200.jpg

AP Photo/Gail BurtonRex Ryan must be smiling after his team's recent acquisitions.

Whatever pretentions the Patriots have about even hanging on to their AFC East title ahead of the Jets, let alone contending for the AFC's Super Bowl berth this season, faded to black around midnight Sunday because of yet another offseason move the Jets made. And because of what the Patriots haven't done.

Jets coach Rex Ryan wasn't kidding when he hit New York promising he wasn't about to kiss Belichick's rings. The Jets' acquisition of Steelers wideout and former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes in the wee hours of Monday morning made the already eventful makeover the Jets have undertaken since Ryan came to town look even more breathtaking and edgy.

Has Ryan really been here only one season? Has it really taken less than a year for the Jets to roll out a new stadium, a new franchise quarterback and a swaggering, smashmouth, extravagantly talented team that will be a trendy pick to win it all in 2010?

The Jets aren't just stronger Super Bowl contenders now than they were when they and the Patriots went to sleep Sunday night.

With Ryan around, it's fair to ask whether anything scares the Jets.

The Jets now have taken on three stars -- wideout Braylon Edwards, cornerback Antonio Cromartie and Holmes -- despite the personal baggage that followed all three into town. The Jets invited HBO's "Hard Knocks" series into training camp this summer, unworried about what else might be revealed (one lock: more bulletin-board material from Ryan).

A few weeks ago, Jets owner Woody Johnson got into a public hissing match with the Giants and then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell over who would get the first regular-season game at the new stadium. And Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has continued to chug along as one of the shrewdest, most aggressive dealmakers in the NFL.

All of which New England answered over the winter with, well, what? A few updates on slot receiver Wes Welker's rehab on his ACL. Word that Randy Moss played a lot of this past season with a separated shoulder and that he doesn't expect to be re-signed after this season. A lot of reminders that Belichick has some extra second-round picks to play with in the draffffffffffft.

Sorry.

Fell asleep with my finger stuck on the "F" key.

Belichick will need those extra picks. Loathe as he or any of the Patriots is to say this, New England is rebuilding now.

Brady should be better in his second season back from his knee surgery. But the Patriots now are five long seasons removed from their last Super Bowl title, and their struggles to win on the road and beat good competition this past season were glaring. Despite the unsentimental purge of Super Bowl-era veterans like Richard Seymour that Belichick undertook last year (to the consternation of some remaining stars in his locker room), New England still needs help at receiver, linebacker, offensive line and defensive line, especially at pass-rusher.

Blog

Welker, the Pats' best offensive player in 2009, won't be back until well into the season.

Even worse for the Patriots, they don't have the sort of shutdown corners to play with the other top teams in the NFL. But the Jets now do with Cromartie and Darrelle Revis. That's critically important because -- as the Jets clearly recognize -- the NFL's best teams all have superior passing attacks.

What this means for Belichick? Just to win the AFC East, New England suddenly has to defeat a Jets team that features the best defense in football from this past season and an offense that should be among the top three or four in the league if second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez doesn't muck it up.

Belichick is good. But not that good.

Night already had begun to fall on the Pats' dynasty last season. This season, the Jets will make it complete.

____

I know this article will make old timers squeamish, because when the jets get love from the media, the other shoe is about to drop, right ?

I dunno fellas, tanny is going all in, and this team is loaded with talent all over the roster

it's ok to be swaggerlicious !

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To be the best, you gotta beat the best. Keep in mind that we were only 9-7 entering the playoffs and we played extremely well in those playoff wins. New England was still 10-6 and lost to a very good Baltimore team who could've definitely beaten us in the playoffs. Once we win the division, then we can be considered the best in the AFC East.

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To be the best, you gotta beat the best. Keep in mind that we were only 9-7 entering the playoffs and we played extremely well in those playoff wins. New England was still 10-6 and lost to a very good Baltimore team who could've definitely beaten us in the playoffs. Once we win the division, then we can be considered the best in the AFC East.

To be the best, you need to win a championship, and the Jets were a hell of a lot closer to that then the Pats*. They won two huge games on the road while the Pats* got their a**es kicked at home. There's no doubt that the Jets are the team to beat in the AFC East.

Let me ask you this - did you think the Fish were the team to beat or were the best team in the AFCE last season since they won the division the previous season?

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All this trash talking is fine and good but we're ****ed the second Wes Welker comes back. Remember, Wes Welker is the greatest football player in the history of football. The modern passing game didn't exist before Wes Welker stepped foot on a football field.
Hell he racks up cathes even in games he's not playing in, so there really is no need to wait for him to get back. :rl:
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It was official long before we traded for Santonio Holmes.

Actually, about the second that Wes Welker's knee got sodomized.

Actually, it ended when Belichick was found out. Big sports leagues do not like to air their dirty laundry.

His deflowering was so public that you know the crime was proberly far worse than the fines would lead you to believe.

It is obvious he was taping practices to almost every game.

Remember when Greg Brady got the play book?

Its the same thing.

He would have been half the coach if he did not know about some of the plays and formations he taped before some of his biggest games.

I actually respected the Pats until the truth came out.

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Actually, it ended when Belichick was found out. Big sports leagues do not like to air their dirty laundry.

His deflowering was so public that you know the crime was proberly far worse than the fines would lead you to believe.

It is obvious he was taping practices to almost every game.

Remember when Greg Brady got the play book?

Its the same thing.

He would have been half the coach if he did not know about some of the plays and formations he taped before some of his biggest games.

I actually respected the Pats until the truth came out.

Really? Because right after that, I seem to recall them winning 17 straight games and us going 4-12.

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Alright Nummy. Have it your way.

All the Jets need know is a QB unless Santurdio can throw the ball and catch it.

"Have it your way" "All the Jets need know"

Wow, so you really do work at Burger King. How nice of them to hire the mentally challenged.

Or are you just in the 2nd grade still...

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