The New England Patriots are Super Bowl contenders, and have been for the past decade, plus. And as long as Tom Brady is running the show on the field and Bill Belichick is calling the shots from the sideline, they will continue to be in the upper echilon of the NFL. They are built to win now and for the foreseeable future.
But what happens when Brady decides to hang up his cleats and Belichick hangs up his whistle?
History has shown us that Dynasties eventually fade, and the franchises become downtrodden as they attempt to restock, retool and reload - and there are no exceptions. The Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers all fell on hard times once their core of elite players and genius coaches leave the team. Is the same thing destined to happen to the latest of NFL Dynasties?
Not if Bob Kraft and Belichick have anything to say about it - which is plenty.
During their amazing run, the Patriots have 10 AFC Eastern Division Titles, 5 Conference Championships and 3 Super Bowl wins in 11 years, and again appear to be loaded and ready to defend their titles and championships, gaining a return to the biggest stage in professional sports to avenge last season's disappointing loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl.
The question is, are they doing enough forward thinking to ensure that the Patriots don't hit the skids when their reign of terror is done? One only has to look at the roster to determine the answer to that.
Undoubtedly, New England is a young team, on both sides of the ball. Their core has transformed from an aged, veteren laden group to a youthful kennel of stud players. On Defense, Belichick has mehtodically scraped the unit of role players who have passed their prime and replaced them with a diverse collection of cast-offs, top draft picks and vesatile bit players that comprise one of the youngest collections of talent in the league. It doesn't matter to Belichick if most of these players didn't pan out in previous stops, nor does it concern him that a majority of his draft picks have been questioned as "Reaches".
There is but one team that is built to accomodate a certain type of player - Unselfish, coachable and intelligent players who buy into the system and trust that the coaches will put them in the right position to succeed, and that is New England. How else do you explain last season's Super Bowl run? Sure the offense was nearly unstoppable at times, and scored many points - but the defense was comprised of the afore mentioned cast-offs whom Belichick and his staff molded into a cohesive unit that bent plenty, but rarely broke. This year's draft suggests that the Brain trust for the Patriots have tired of the Bend-but-don't-break philosophy and picked up several players who will solidify the defense into a fortress.
The defensive backs are almost all in their early to mid 20's, as are the linebackers. The line has a grizzled veteran or two, but they are players still in their prime and have just as much value as mentors as they have on the field of play.
On offense, there is Tom Brady, who still has several good years left in him, the best collection of Tight Ends in the NFL, a running back core that has yet to reach their mid 20's and an offensive line that is a nice mix of veterans and promising young stalwarts, The only question mark for the future is the aging reciever's corps, with almost all players in their 30's.
The future of the Quarterback position lies with 2nd year backup Ryan Mallet, whom is being groomed to take over for Brady in 3 or 4 years (Unless he tires of being a backup in the interim), and thier core of young players makes it possible for the Patriots to concentrate on the reciver's positions in the next few offseasons...
So, it appears that the Patriots are built to win now, and are building to continue winning in the future. New England fans can take to heart that Bob Kraft and Bill Belichick are forward thinking and aggressive in their long-range outlook, and the Patriots reign in the AFC can continue for many years to come.
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