FOXBORO – Did everyone enjoy the preview of the 2023 Patriots season at Gillette Stadium on Sunday?
Didn’t think so.
But it did help to recalibrate a bit, remind us all that this is how the other half (or more) of the NFL lives. An offense that couldn’t score if you kept it out there until Wednesday. A defense that got outschemed and – in the midst of failing to adjust adequately – lost track of guys in coverage, didn’t defend the sticks on third down and was left grabbing air as often as it was grabbing Bills. Penalties. Indecisiveness on special teams. And a home crowd that started filing out with six minutes left.
We all had a lot of laughs for three weeks.
BILLS 16, PATRIOTS 0: Perry: First impressions from the game | Curran: Best and worst | Bills: Patriots 'disrespect' sparked pregame scuffle | Brown: It was a 'complete debacle' | Notes: First time shut out at home in 23 years |
Hee, hee, ha, ha, ho, ho, the Patriots do so great without Tom Brady, take your time Tommy!
Yeah. . .
New England Patriots
If you happen to be one of the 53 players or a member of the coaching staff, this is a game best buried and forgotten once the wreckage is sifted through.
If you happen to be a fan or carry a media credential, hang on to it a while. Not just because it was a cautionary tale for what life after Brady and Bill Belichick may look like, but for the sheer weirdness of it.
While Brady was firing passes on a field in Brookline in the fading hours of his ludicrous suspension, his teammates were getting bum-rushed in the pregame for doing the same thing Brady’s done for years at Gillette Stadium – trotting down their sideline and back before warmups.
The day ended with the Ryan Brothers waddling off the field and waving to Patriots fans, Rex hollering that this was what he was (flipping) talking about and Rob chortling about goose eggs.
In between, there was Julian Edelman at quarterback, Belichick spiking technology, Chris Hogan getting called for an OPI/hold double-shot wiping out a 90-yard play, cornerback Logan Ryan making 17 tackles (that’s a bad number for a cornerback because it means his guy caught the ball a lot) and hangdog ref Pete Morelli leaving his mic on and noting that **** could still hit the fan at any moment.
For three weeks, the Patriots suspended reality and then, in three hours, the pixie dust blew away on a drizzly October afternoon.
And now? Now Jimmy Garoppolo can presumably heal in peace, his five quarters of brilliance maybe serving as enough of a tease to whet the appetite of some QB-starved franchise in April.
Because he and Jacoby Brissett – who can’t be held responsible for the limitations the Patriots put on him and the Bills were ready for – will fade into the background after a full month front-and-center.
It’s Brady’s team again and Rex Ryan actually mixed in enough self-effacing references to the fact Brady was out to make him seem actually dignified in victory.
“I mean it’s satisfying, but let’s face it, they had a player out,” said Ryan. “This just in, they had a player out and we had our team, so you know, we expected to win.”
He continued, saying, “I thought we had a great plan. I thought our guys went out and did a great job executing the plan, but you’re right, there have been several times that we got beat. I get the record. Everybody knows my record. I thought we had a chance at about half those things, but they did a great job, they always outcoached us. Today they had a player out guys, and we had our team here.”
Ryan seemed to suggest he wouldn’t have been quaking if Garoppolo’s shoulder allowed him to suit up either.
“I got news for you, Garoppolo is not Brady either, not even close. But he’s good player, but there is only one Tom Brady,” said Ryan.
Said LeSean McCoy, "Going into the game without one of the best players to ever play the game we kind of figured we should win this game. It wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game without having Tom.”
Tom’s back starting Monday. And the rematch with the Bills is just four weeks away.
The distant future can wait, thanks a lot. The immediate future will be fascinating.