Courtesy of nwe.scout.com

By: Joshua Anderson, YawkeyTalkies correspondent

You know what, thank God the Patriots won on Sunday. The only thing worse than imagining the Patriots with a losing record (eeks!) is the inevitable media hoopla that would result from it. I personally couldn’t stand another entire week of Sports Center pundits making bold and dramatic assertions about how this isn’t the “old” Patriots team and how far they’ve fallen from grace after losing two out of their first three games.

I really had enough of that last week. Every mistake they made, especially that big mistake to not win, was replayed over and over again in brilliant high definition. It’s safe to say that the Patriots are by far the most scrutinized team in the league right now. But, I guess it’s something to be expected when the expectations for your performance are set so high.

Luckily this week, the Detroit Lions can steal the SC spotlight, for ending their 19-game losing streak, clouding over the Patriot’s mediocre performance against Atlanta.

The 2007 season was an anomaly that will likely never be reproduced. It was a perfect storm of a dominant defense, precise offensive execution and the benefits of a favorable schedule. Never again, should we expect Tom Brady to throw 50 TDs or for the Patriots to have the largest average margin of victory (24.3 points) for any team in NFL history. The Patriots will win a few blowouts this year, and Tom Brady will be among the league’s elite quarterbacks, but the special mix of energy and perfection that enabled the Patriots to cruise to an undefeated regular season won’t come around anytime soon. I’m sorry to say this, but it simply won’t happen.

The 2009 Patriots find themselves with a completely different defense and the reality of having to play from behind. These two factors change the dynamics of the game so much that it’s almost impossible to expect the same record-setting performances from Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots. Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons proved just that. Despite winning against a red-hot Atlanta team, the media reception after the game was lukewarm. Pundits and commentators focused more on what Brady did wrong than what he did right. Yes, he did miss some open receivers. And yes, those receivers dropped some very catchable balls. But the game was a 180-degree turnaround from last week’s miserable performance against the Jets and few people in the media seem to be giving the Patriots the respect they deserve. Apparently, the expectation for the Patriots is not just to win, but to win in a way that is seemingly flawless and absolute. It’s not if you win, but rather how you win. And Sunday’s win lacked the attractiveness that the media expected.

As fan’s, if it’s a win, we’ll take it.

But, maybe the rest of the sports world is so sick of the Patriots winning that it’s now become more exciting when they lose. Everybody hates a winner just as much as they love a whipping boy. With that, I bring you the 2009 Patriots.

If they win out, they’ll be hated for being winners. If they lose, they’ll be branded as underachievers and Tom Brady will likely be targeted as the scapegoat. The media will compare him to his old self and put the blame squarely on his shoulders for failing to lead his team to another Super Bowl appearance. Winning season or not, it seems to be a lose-lose situation for the Patriots as they are bound to find their way into the media spotlight one way or another.

Even with other teams around the league either surpassing last year’s performance (see the 2-1 Bengals and the 3-0 Jets) or dropping off entirely from last season (see the 0-3 Titans) these trends will likely play second fiddle to the ongoing drama in New England as they struggle to be the team everyone thinks they should be. The only thing they can do is to continue to play better, smarter football and silence critics who say they’re no longer a premier team.

I love being a Patriots fan, and I’m still optimistic about this season. However, any notion of duplicating the success of the 2007 season is simply wishful thinking. The 2009 Patriots are a completely different team that doesn’t deserve to be compared to the “old Patriots.” Evolution isn’t quick and rarely pretty, but it will happen for this football team. And once it does, Patriots fans can go back to watching the team they love, and everyone else can go back to hating the team they love to hate.

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