Uh oh Patriots...

[acumen]

One of the most vocal Pats fans sounds a little apprehensive.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/col...atriots/090925

This makes me smile. Ear to Ear.

[4xSBChamps]

the great Cleveland Brown teams of the 1950's grew old, Paul Brown was run out-of-town, and they sank to mediocrity

Lombardi's Packers struggled after he left for almost 25 years & fell to obscurity, until Chumly & Favre returned that franchise to short-lived greatness

Noll's Steelers were 'average' the last 6-8 years of his tenure, and while Cowher improved the teams immediately, it was years until the Steelers returned to Championship form

Frisco stagnated in the mid-'90s, and has only recently shown signs of life under Singletary.

if the Chuwdah-Heads thought they would remain invincible forever, they're more arrogant & obnoxious than I gave them credit-for.....

[SteelC7]

hey 4x superbowl champs, love the quote, lamberts HoF speech was great...and ya teams that think theyre gonna be great forever are trippin out, no team stays great, remember the GrEaTnEsS of the raiders in the 70s? hahahahahaha ya thats wat i thought

[BlastFurnace]

Originally Posted by 4xSBChamps

the great Cleveland Brown teams of the 1950's grew old, Paul Brown was run out-of-town, and they sank to mediocrity

Lombardi's Packers struggled after he left for almost 25 years & fell to obscurity, until Chumly & Favre returned that franchise to short-lived greatness

Noll's Steelers were 'average' the last 6-8 years of his tenure, and while Cowher improved the teams immediately, it was years until the Steelers returned to Championship form

Frisco stagnated in the mid-'90s, and has only recently shown signs of life under Singletary.

if the Chuwdah-Heads thought they would remain invincible forever, they're more arrogant & obnoxious than I gave them credit-for.....

I think Noll's Steelers were average from 1980 on.

As long as the Patriots have Brady, they still have a window of opportunity. Clearly though, they went for it all in 2007 with an older team and barely missed. They will have to rebuild now.

[stlrtruck]

Undeniable Truth No. 4: In retrospect, it sure seems like the Football Karma Gods weren't a huge fan of Spygate.

I will now gargle with hydrochloric acid. Let's move on.

This should have been the first undeniable truth!

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by stlrtruck

This should have been the first undeniable truth!

I love that.

[revefsreleets]

Mediocre drafting, average coaching (level playing field exposes that), and an increasingly difficult schedule all play a role. More's the pity...

[silver & black]

Originally Posted by SteelC7

hey 4x superbowl champs, love the quote, lamberts HoF speech was great...and ya teams that think theyre gonna be great forever are trippin out, no team stays great, remember the GrEaTnEsS of the raiders in the 70s? hahahahahaha ya thats wat i thought

Yes, I do remember the greatness of the Raiders... in the 60's, 70's and 80's.

You're right... no team can or will stay on top forever. No team can or will stay down forever, either.

[The Patriot]

Originally Posted by revefsreleets

Mediocre drafting, average coaching (level playing field exposes that), and an increasingly difficult schedule all play a role. More's the pity...

[Crow-Magnon]

Originally Posted by revefsreleets

Mediocre drafting, average coaching (level playing field exposes that), and an increasingly difficult schedule all play a role. More's the pity...

Belichick went from taking the best player available at that time to attempting to draft what the Patriots needed to fill a void. That has made a difference.