The Fall of Ego

The ground is still shaking beneath the feet of the sports world from the impact of it's mightiest star falling to Earth in Tiger Woods. The man who seemingly had everything personified the "harder they fall" cliche for the whole world to witness. Luckily for the New England Patriots, the whole world is still witnessing the Woods debacle and most have not noticed that the NFL's best franchise of the decade is also crumbling. The turmoil in Boston is enough to make any Patriots hater smile as all the infallible, super-human, geniuses that work in Foxborough are scrutinized like never before.

It all started on fourth and two...sort of. It probably started when the Patriots turned over a generation of defensive dynasty staples, losing names like: Bruschi, Vrabel, Hobbs and Harrison. Then, in an attempt to be more youthful, the Pats traded their best defensive player, Richard Seymour, who was a dominating force in all three Super Bowl wins of the Belichick era.

The Patriot nation was full of hopeful expectations to start the season, "In Belichick and Brady we trust." But fans were humbled early when the Jets, led by a rookie quarterback fresh off a GQ spread (see Brady) beat the Pats, holding their unstoppable offense to nine points. The loss was shrugged off as rust collected last year when Tom Brady was injured.

Then there was the loss to Belichick protege, Josh McDaniels and the Denver Broncos. Just when you thought the hubris of Belichick couldn't possibly escalate, he had the audacity to act happy for McDaniels. Belichick is known for his cold post game hand shakes and his complete disregard for opposing coaches, especially those that once considered him a mentor (see Mangini). His sudden change of heart for McDaniels was nothing more than his ego crediting himself for the Broncos success.

Then there was fourth and two. The Belichick Ego swallowed what was once a human being and became a pulsating mass of self serving brain matter with a headset. After having a lead against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts on the road, the "smartest man in football" made a coaching call that defied a century of football logic (see Landry). The Pats went for a fourth and two on their own 28 yard line with two minutes left in a game they had a six point lead. Four weeks later the Colts are still undefeated and the Patriots are 7-5, fighting to keep the playoff spot that used to be handed to them.

The Pats have not won a true road game this season, winning only in London against Tampa Bay. Good for a 1-5 road record. The Pats are still undefeated at home but have lost the perception of invincibility in December (see Brees). They have also lost three of their last four games, making a deep playoff run look very bleak.

Unaccustomed to struggles, the strain on the Pats is beginning to show. After losing to Miami last week, Brady made comments in the media calling out the work ethic of his teammates. Immediately these comments were deciphered as being directed towards all world receiver Randy Moss. The marriage which seemed to be a perfect match two years ago is apparently on the rocks (see Mcnabb and Owens).

Brady should not be beyond reproach at this point in the season either. He has taken to calling out teammates, but he has a QB rating of 60 in the second half of road games. But Brady is one illegitimate child away from sainthood (see Lebron), so Belichick naturally had his back.

Directly after the uncharacteristic public criticism, Belichick put the hammer down and suspended four players who showed up late for the morning meeting, Wednesday. Among the four players were (surprise, surprise) Moss and former all pro Adalius Thomas. New England was hit with an ice storm the night before and each player was less than 10 minutes late, but the line in the sand was drawn.

Thomas and Belichick have not seen eye to eye since his arrival in New England and Moss is not known to be open to criticism (see Culpepper). He is a model citizen when things are going great, but when challenged Moss has a past of responding negatively and acting out in a way that alienates him from organizations (see Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders). His talent has never been questioned, but his maturity has been questioned since high school (see Notre Dame, Florida State).

Belichick's actions look like those of a desperate coach who is struggling to control a team in transition. His past success granted him immunity in his behavior, demeanor, and coaching strategies (see Spygate), but those days seem to be over. Should the Pats somehow miss out on the playoffs, we will all be witnesses to the falling of a dynasty. Coaches can act in whatever manner they wish while their team is winning, but once the losses start mounting, and successes become fleeting, the personality of a coach will be put under the microscope (see Mangino). The only person less equipped to deal with that type of scrutiny is the aforementioned Tiger Woods.

So what will the fallout be? In the last four weeks the Pats play three teams with losing records. They still have two road games to contend with, but their toughest opponent is Jacksonville at home. If the Pats cannot win all four of these games they are in danger of getting knocked out of first in the AFC East.

A playoff win will probably keep their legacy in tact with the expectation they will improve next year, but if Belichick's motivational tactics don't hit their desired mark the Pats could implode.

That's what I'll be rooting for. I have already seen Tebow cry this year. It would be a cherry on top to watch Belichick and the Pats face the same scenario. Like watching the inevitable fall of Brittney Spears, it would help me restore some faith that everyone eventually gets what they deserve (see Woods).