Is the Patriots era done?

All the cheating...the rub n tugs...murders...Brady/Edelman suckfest...is Tom done? Is this the last we see of them being a contender for years? Please let it be so!

They won the Super Bowl.just last year

Coffin is being sized though. I'd expect them to draft Brasys,replacement in April.

You're just jealous.

or so I've been told

If Gronk announces he’s returning to Patriots before Brady retires, then Brady comes back.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/284 ... -violation

Better lose some draft picks for this....

I will say that their dominance is over. Doesn't mean they cant put it together for a run next year, but they won't be favorites.

I'm not saying the Patriots dynasty is done until Belichick is gone. He's the real GOAT of that franchise.

RolandDeschain":thfemdc2 said:

I'm not saying the Patriots dynasty is done until Belichick is gone. He's the real GOAT of that franchise.

Click to expand...

I'll agree with this, i actually think Brady is slowing them down now.

If the Patriots could trade for Kittle they would be right back in it, they don't have that tough TE that can catch. They will find one in the off season.

I am not a Patriots or Brady fan by any stretch, but Brady needed a ton of help he wasn't getting from the receiving corps. If they still had Gordon and Brown (healthy, and not held out by the league indefinitely), then I feel they win this game by a few scores.

Brady's not good enough anymore to make up for the injuries and personnel issues they had on offense.

I'm glad to see these guys go down hard at home in the wild card round. Remember when they were 8-0 and there was all this talk of an undefeated season? Thanks, Baltimore.

Bill is gonna sign and draft probably 3 TE's through F.A. and the draft, not sure about the QB situation but until they have Brady's replacement proven there? Rivers maybe if Brady hangs them up unless Stidham has shown him something we have yet to see. Below are two guys I could see him going after that could be bargains and starters for them if their present teams don't lock them up.

Ricky Seals-Jones, Cleveland Browns

Jacob Hollister, Seattle Seahawks

Nothinbutm":lt09r3bd said:

I am not a Patriots or Brady fan by any stretch, but Brady needed a ton of help he wasn't getting from the receiving corps. If they still had Gordon and Brown (healthy, and not held out by the league indefinitely), then I feel they win this game by a few scores.

Click to expand...

Player health always plays a huge role in the playoffs. Nothing new there.....

I would never be dumb enough to declare the era dead, but it is certainly possible. They are an older team and appear to be declining

With the Patriots? I dream of it but I doubt it. So long as Brady and or Belichick are in New England (Belichick being the more important of the two in my opinion) then New England always has a chance and at least an 11+ win record.

Yeah, it is. The signs are unmistakable:

1) There's no succession plan for Brady.

Earlier in the season, they thought their QB2 Stidham might have to play, but he flashed so many mistakes they had to bring in Cody Kessler as the No. 3. With Stidham as the starter, they're looking at Giants-like season results that may be inevitable, but I see them paying TB12 to stave that off while they attend to other needs. With Brady, they'll probably continue to be contenders for a playoff spot, but just that isn't enough to sustain a "dynasty."

Brady also knows that his time with the team is short, but for this year they really need him. He and Rivers make about the same, 23M. Expect Brady to demand more and more guaranteed money, and for Brady not to care how it impacts their cap going forward.

2) McDaniels could be leaving.

McDaniels' attempt to inject "the Patriots Way" to the Broncos was an abject failure, with him seen widely as just an unnecessarily authoritarian, and failed, a-hole. And then McDaniels was going to go to the Colts last year, but stood them up at the last minute.

Despite all this, McDaniels has more job offers than ever. The belief now is that the Pats have been more than grooming him as BB's replacement--they've basically promised him the job. BB used to say he'd be retiring about 70, but has now started telling media he sees himself coaching well into his 70s. McD is now seen as having fixed his HR issues from Denver, and he might not want to hang around for another 5 or 10.

3) BB's "merciless" trait of getting rid of players is no longer consistent, and it is no longer as reliable.

BB alone can't get rid of Brady. And Brady will want Edelman. BB let 39 yo Ben Watson hang around at TE, and Watson's now hanging it up. On the WR side, he sent D Thomas to the Jets after getting AB, and the decision to get rid of AB was Kraft's, not his. Even after that disaster, he released Gordon rather than even attempting to trade him or use him as long as he was available.

Nowhere was the failure of BB's quick-fire/musical chairs approach as apparent as with the K position. Once SG went down, Bill went through 4-5 kickers, some of whom he put on PS. They missed one extra point, one FG or did something in practice BB didn't like, and they were gone. What he accomplished with this frenzy was gifting two starter Ks for Atlanta and Dallas who are as good or better than the one he ended up with.

4) Kraft is seen probably more unfavorably than at any point in the dynasty years.

Seth Wickersham said Brady went to Kraft to force the Garropolo trade, which certainly wouldn't have happened without his permission. Kraft's prostitution arrest (and his getting out of it) left everyone with the impression of a billionaire with the audacity to coast in with his Rolls and driver to pay someone a whole $79 to suck him off twice before taking off in his private jet for AFCCG. That's what Robert Kraft will now be remembered for. There's no indication any more than with Jerrah that Robert will officially turn over the reins to his heir. Not this year.

So tl;dr: Not only do the Pats not have the pieces to prolong the dynasty, they no longer have the success they once did with their process. Players, especially those with options, are less likely to put up with how BB acts now that he himself has compromised his pedigree, let alone how Kraft has contaminated his. They are likely to go with the trend, which has been players complaining increasingly publicly, as seen with Ramsey.

Smellyman":1sf6k98l said:

You're just jealous.

or so I've been told

Click to expand...

You are. Its obvious. Lol

God we can only hope. Let it be so please. Is there anybody not in the New England area or from the New England area that wants this to continue? They have been great for about 20 years give or take. It seems like they are in the Super Bowl every other year about on average over time. Win some and lose some. But they are really in there a lot. Way too much. Enough is enough. It's time for it to end now and time for some new teams.