We Believe

Easy there, Chicken Little.

The sky isn't falling, just the sale of pink Patriots jerseys. The Patriots chances of winning haven't plummeted, only the NFL's viewership among women. As much as I would love to tell you that Tom Brady's season ending knee surgery effectively ended the Patriots season, it's simply not true. They're too deep, too talented, too driven and too professional to let an injury to one player, no matter how important, derail their season. They're no longer the favorite, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. In fact, I'm here to tell you that, without a doubt, the Patriots will make the playoffs for the following three reasons...

1. Bill Belichick

My feelings on Bill Belichick are well documented. I think he's a liar, a cheater and a jerk. That said, I'd still want him coaching my football team every Sunday. He'll have to scale back his offense to account for the loss of his Hall-of-Fame signal caller, but the loss of Brady has no effect on his defensive game planning. Belichick will reach deep within his playbook, continue to utilize the talent at hand better then anyone in the league and the Patriots will most likely revert to a more conservative, ball control offense and rely on their defense to to win games 21-10 instead of 52-0. This leads me to my next point...

2. They have the best supporting cast in the league

No team has more talent and depth then the Patriots. They have one of the top 5 defenses in the league, the best offensive line in the league, the best receiving corps in the league and a solid cadre (yes, that was just an excuse to say cadre) of running backs to pick up the slack in Brady's absence. That's not to say Matt Cassell will pick up where Brady left off, just that no quarterback in the league will have to do less in order to lead his team to victory week in and week out then Matt Cassell. Hell, the Patriots supporting cast is so good, they could score 10 points with me playing quarterback. (They'd undoubtedly revert to an all running attack, which, between the solid play of their defense and special teams could undoubtedly get me close enough to the end zone to punch in one touchdown and kick one field goal. Plus, since Belichick knows the opponents signals beforehand...ok, ok, I'll let the Spygate jokes go. For now...)

3. No one believes in them

Over the last 8 years, no team has done a better job then the Patriots of finding some way to convince themselves that they've been disrespected and using that supposed disrespect as motivation. No matter that they have won more games, more championships and garnered more respect, both on and off the field, then any other team in the league. No matter that the Patriots claiming that no one believed in them is like WalMart claiming that no one believed they could outsell Old Ferguson's Corner Store or Michigan claiming that no one believed they could beat Appalachian State (oh...wait.). According to the Patriots, no one ever believed in them. Even last year, amid discussions that they were the best team in the history of the NFL, the Patriots rallied around the belief that no one respected them in light of the Spygate controversy. I thought that after they went 16-0 in the regular season, they'd finally lose the ability to play the lack of respect card, but now that the Patriots have lost the services of Tom Terrific for a season (I'm sorry, I tried to say to say it, but I can't. Tom Terrific sounds like Gary and Ace's long lost brother, not one the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time.), I have no doubt that we'll hear a steady stream of "no one believes in us" coming from the Patriots camp.

So no matter what you do over the next few weeks, believe in the Patriots. Tell your friends you think they're going to win the Super Bowl. Call up the team and let them know that you never stopped believing. Send letters to Belichick to let him know you never lost the faith. Because a motivated Patriots team is a dangerous Patriots team.

So if you're listening, Bill; If you can hear me, Tom; If you get the message, Mr. Moss;

We believe. Now more then ever.