Un-Patriotic Talk

If you've followed the election (read: news) at all, its not news that many of Barack Obama's critics have called him unpatriotic. Recently, I have felt like Barack Obama. Not because I'm a big deal or that I'm black, but more that I too, have been called unpatriotic. Unlike Barry O, I've been slandered more by my friends, who think my lack of faith in the New England Patriots is sacrilege and heresy. I don't get flack for not wearing Patriots logos on my lapels but I do lose points for my declared lack of faith in my nation.

It all started when my friends and I began a NFL confidence pick 'em pool. Last year we all had the Patriots maxed out almost every week, that was a given for a 16-0 team. However this year, there was the incident-that-shall-not-be-spoken-of in week one and with a Brady-less team, I think the Patriots are Lindsay Lohan types of exposed (in the NSFW link kinda way).

Yadda, yadda, yadda, now the Patriots have drifted up and down my confidence board and in a couple weeks have even no-showed. Against the Chargers and Colts in weeks six and nine, I predicted (correctly) that the Patriots would lose. Everyone accepts that Matt Cassel is the 2008 recession-era version of Tom Brady, but I would go even farther. I posit our defensive backs are inexperienced and soft without Rodney Harrison, our linebackers old and stale, and offensive studs cannot be taken advantage of without Brady. This year's Moss and Welker are like toys on Christmas that don't come with AA batteries; they exist, but not to their fullest.

All season I've watched the Patriots squeak by cellar dwellers like the Chiefs and Rams. Even in wins against the Jets and the Broncos (41-7 on MNF!!!) I have been underwhelmed. Probably I am jaded by the ghost of Patriots' past and the other Boston sport successes, but I feel like I am the only who can see through the homer filter and understand that the only thing keeping these Pats above .500 is a horrendously weak schedule (even I can agree 9+ wins and the playoffs are a possibility).

But last night something changed. The Patriots showed up against the Colts, and for the first time all year, really impressed me. Final score notwithstanding, the Patriots hung with a fully rostered, albeit rusty Colts team. They handled Peyton, Wayne, and Addai more than I ever expected them too and even moved the ball on offense with a second-string QB and a third-string RB. The offensive line shined, Kevin Faulk drank from the fountain of youth, and Cassel wasn't a potential mole. All night I sat there with my re-found pride of the Patriots, like Michelle Obama with the US.

Then something else changed. Bill Belichick took the Patriots out of a game. I know there was a dropped touchdown and a drive-ending penalty, but to me General Hoodie kept the Pats out of the win column. First it was challenging a non-penalty that would net us five lame yards (unsuccessfully). And then it was a premature two point conversion. And then a second guessing timeout, which was our last one, early in the fourth. And then, and then, and then.

Coach didn't let up first downs, didn't drop six points, and didn't take a shot at a Colt after a play. But when we had a 4th and 15 with four minutes left, we had to go for it because stopping the clock wasn't an option. When we needed timeouts to mount a final drive, we didn't have them. And for the first time, our coach wasn't the best general on the field. It's two jarring changes in confidence but I think there's a better chance that the Pats keep impressing me than that Belichick keeps depressing me from here out.