Patriots’ drama won’t matter come Saturday
The New England Patriots have been under siege throughout the last week, ever since a detailed piece by ESPN surfaced on Friday discussing the tension between owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
There has been talk that this might be the swan song for the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen. As well as talk about whether Brady or Belichick is the bad guy. There is also debate over whether the Jimmy Garoppolo trade was done out of necessity or a demand from Brady.
Of course, the Patriots aren’t exactly strangers to controversy. Before their 2007 season, New England was docked a first-round pick and fined heavily by commissioner Roger Goodell for SpyGate, an investigation that found New England to illegally be using cameras on opponents. The Patriots promptly reeled off the first 16-0 regular season in league history. This was before losing Super Bowl XLII in a shocking 17-14 decision to the New York Giants.
Then we had DeflateGate, which is still fresh enough that most of you should well remember the details. If not, the controversy centered around Brady allegedly deflating footballs in a way that would have skirted NFL rules. The Patriots won the Super Bowl following a 45-7 win in the 2014 AFC Championship Game over the Indianapolis Colts.
All of this is proof that New England will steamroll Tennessee on Saturday night in the AFC Divisional round. For starters, the Patriots are both at home and the considerably better team. They typically doesn’t lose when either of those situations are in place.
As for Brady and Belichick, they are both big boys. Don’t expect this supposed tiff to get in the way of what could be another Super Bowl run, one that would be the eighth during this era. Whether or not Garoppolo was a lightning rod between the two remains up for debate, although according to a piece on NFL.com, Brady has no ill will toward his former teammate.
“I think that is such a poor characterization,” Brady said. “In 18 years, I have never celebrated when someone has been traded, been cut. I would say that is disappointing to hear that someone would express that, or a writer would express that because it is so far from what my beliefs are about my teammates and I think I am very empathetic about other people’s experiences. I know those situations aren’t easy.”
When the Titans roll into Foxborough, all of the noise goes away. The Patriots will be ready to go, they will win, and they will be favorites in the AFC title game, just as they always are.
