Angel
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Read and React: Protests from Patriots Nation
Charles Robinson
Last offseason, the emails swept in from New England Patriots fans and made some of their most beloved coaches and players sound like spare parts. Romeo Crennel was replaceable. So was Charlie Weis. Ty Law was broken down. Joe Andruzzi was just a guard.
And now Eric Mangini and Willie McGinest are getting the same treatment.
Scores of Patriots fans took umbrage to my statement last week that New England was going to be just a good AFC team next season, and that the defense didn't have the makings of a top-10 unit. And like many of the fans who made light of the losses of Crennel, Weis, Law and Andruzzi, many New England emailers are yawning over the losses of Mangini and McGinest. That's funny considering these are many of the same people that worshipped McGinest a year ago and proclaimed Mangini as the next great defensive coordinator for the Patriots.
It seems to be a typical email reaction from Patriot Nation, which insists the team never gets respect, the players never get their due and Bill Belichick should never, ever, ever, be questioned. Not winning a Super Bowl? Well, many New England emailers insist it's always the fault of injuries, schedule – or poor game management by some guy who just left (in other words, blame Mangini).
So many Patriots fans are once again showing up in the mailbag in a tour de force. Some are taking things rationally. Some aren't. And as usual, it only helps to kick off an interesting mailbag.
We have some other tidbits to round out this week, including the varying opinions of Reggie Bush and the New Orleans Saints, the NFL's move to Los Angeles (including one guy who rips everybody west of Las Vegas), and some miscellanea that includes a fan who thinks the rankings should only be based on wins and losses.
As usual, keep the mail coming. And be sure to include your first and last name as well as your city and state. Any comments that I have appear in italics.
To the mail …
PATRIOTS ("Read and React: Ranklings," May 17, 2006)
Losing Eric Mangini is hardly a loss. As a writer, you should have questioned why the New England Patriots were struggling the first half of the season. Granted, their schedule in the first half was the most difficult in NFL history. Also, they were decimated with injuries to vital players. But no key adjustments were made in their defense. Everything remained the same. Very unlike Bill Belichick.
Diane Rockwood
Boston
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How can you possibly say that the Patriots don't look to have a top-10 D this year? They locked up the best defensive end in the NFL (thank you, Coach B). They have a good crop of young DBs that are steadily improving. Tedy Bruschi running the 'backers (which, as much as I loved Big Willie McGinest, they did draft Jeremy Mincey and they still have Tully Banta-Cain). And Rodney Harrison will likely return early in the season. Oh, and Ty Law is still available and rumored to be looking to play for a champion for another year to ensure a Hall of Fame bid.
Matt
Hartford, Conn.
I'll give you Bruschi – having him for a full season will help. But here are the problems with the rest of your argument: Richard Seymour was on last year's middle-of-the-road defense, so he doesn't count as an addition; the young DBs can't stay healthy; nobody knows if Harrison will be the same player once he returns from what was a devastating injury; and last time I checked, you still hadn't signed Law. Oh, and I'll say it once more: Any fan that brushes off the loss of McGinest has no idea what he brought to that locker room and should be ashamed. And don't give me that stuff about Mincey and Banta-Cain. You can't replace McGinest's on-field or leadership contributions with a rookie sixth-round pick and a bit player.
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In regard to your statement in last week's mailbag that "Of course, there are the perpetually whiny New England Patriots fans:" You're basing an entire fan base on some keyboard warriors? Come on. Most New England fans are well aware of the key losses during the offseason and are more than reasonable in our expectations for the upcoming season. The Patriots will be a very good team. Super Bowl-quality? I'd say not, but they'll be in the thick of the race. I'd lean more toward the Pats being in a mini-rebuilding mode this year, re-tooling the roster and going younger where they're long in the tooth. Since you're lumping Pats fans into one group, I'll do the same: Stop acting like the rest of the jerk media out there and look at things with your eyes open.
Neal Giordano
Apex, N.C.
That's a fair response. I shouldn't indict an entire fan base. But I can say this: More than any other emailers out there, Patriots fans are almost NEVER happy unless you have something glowing to say about the team. Fans forget the absolute lovefest the media had with the Patriots and act like they have never gotten respect and blah, blah, blah. Guess what? Comparing Tom Brady to Joe Montana and calling Belichick a genius qualifies as overwhelming respect. And another thing – New England's keyboard jockeys sure are quick to dismiss guys as "not that important" when they leave the team. You know, the Patriots' braintrust IS capable of making mistakes. And yet, it sounds like many of the people who email are lapping Kool Aid out of Belichick's palm.
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For you to insult both myself and my beloved fellow Bostonians by saying that our three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots will be good but not great, shows your IGNORANCE! Coach Belichick knows what he's doing. And he drafted to replace what we've lost! We've got the No. 1 quarterback in the entire league, and the only way that I can even begin to rationalize your statement or understand the motive behind it is to tell you that your JEALOUSY is showing! I'm going to salute those people who called you both an idiot and a moron, and I'm going to do them one better! Get a life you loser!
Julie S.K. Deuel
Boston
You can't make this stuff up. You're right, Julie. I ranked the Patriots sixth in the AFC because I harbor an intense jealousy. And thanks for illustrating my previous point.
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I think the Patriots are going to gear up slowly for a Super Bowl in another three to four years. I saw them drafting awesome offensive talent this year because: A. Offensive talent takes longer on average to develop than defensive talent (for the Patriots). B. There was a rush on defensive players, and in another year in a more balanced draft the Pats would have a better shot at one to three defensive studs. C. The offensive talent available to them this year was such a steal that with the exception of maybe one more offensive lineman, and maybe one more wide receiver, they are set for at least five to six years. D. The Pats didn't spend a lot this year on free agency. If they wanted to win this year they would load up on good deals and a bunch of quality players, but trying to win every year is not as successful as trying to win in cycles.
John Limberakis
Dallas
Good, thoughtful email.
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Yeah, I was skeptical of the Patriots' draft, too. BUT an overabundance of quality tight ends might serve them well against the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos. Both teams (and 85 percent of the NFL) like little linebackers for the Cover 2. Three weakside linebackers on the field at the same time is exactly that – weak. The game is evolving. You get smaller, quicker defenses and the offense is going to get big. The two-tight end offense was a reaction to slow Lawrence Taylor down. Since no outside linebacker in the game comes even close to L.T., I think tight ends can start steamrolling these misplaced strong safeties.
Dan Wade
Fresno, Calif.
Continued next post..........