Bob Lobel: Remember When the Patriots Were Going Undefeated?

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Remember when the unbeatable New England Patriots were just that? 

Talk of their fifth Super Bowl win, and the remaining shelf life of the coach and his sidekick quarterback have quieted to not even a whisper. I have no good reason to look forward to Belichick and his meet and greets with the media after a game like Sunday's, but I do.

I am fascinated with the fear generated by “his look.” A new hoodie is in production. 

“We have a whole lot of work to do,” will be on the front. Yes, this was classic Belichick. He lived up to every expectation of the media, and I'm sure the people watching got exactly what they were expecting… Nothing! 

Which is also pretty much what the Patriots delivered.  

Now the big postseason anxiety kicks in. To describe the 16 games the Patriots have played try, “the big short." There were healthy times when they were truly unbeatable, and were called that by media, fans, and more importantly, other teams. 

Now, two weeks to prepare for who knows what. We do know we were not prepared for this. We do know that DraftKings will be out to make a killing in the weeks ahead. My prediction is, of course, they will. 

The one saving grace that is revolving around the predicament the Pats are in: The fact that most of the other teams they need to conquer already suck and have for most of the year.  The injuries that have happened to the Patriots stand alone. There is no “Concussion” movie to bring the danger of the game out of the closet.

The movie was actually pretty good and worth seeing, but in the end, the NFL really didn’t take as huge a hit as expected. 

The NFL pretty much has things their way, if they can get out of their own way. So, what lies ahead is snow and cold and the Tom Brady appeal. Can't wait. Besides, Patriot fans have spent a fortune going to those Super Bowls… Other fan bases have no problems like that.

The Pats play, and because they are a dominant team every year, we pay.

It's expensive to follow this team. 

What will the cost be this year. When you have a shaky offensive line and key injuries to your big guns, prepare for stuff like this.