Remember that reference I made to the Patriots having their once impenetrable Great Wall and now it is in danger of being torn down? Well it's happening, but not by an opposing team. The media will be the downfall of the Patriots Era. In the past week alone, I have seen things happen to the Patriots that either a) would never have happened four or five years ago or b) would not be a relevant story.
The mainstream media, especially in the sports world, is up against constant deadlines to deliver so many newsworthy stories a day. But let's be honest, everyday there is not going to be a major story to break. And in New England, where the Patriots are taught to keep everything in-house, I'm sure a reporter is left scrambling to put something together.
Not only do reporters have to compete with themselves and the clock, but now they have to compete with assholes like myself--bloggers. Now anyone can be a reporter and voice their opinion. So as you may be able to guess, sometimes a reporter puts a story up to be the first one to break it and hope it gets attention. Thus we have the story about four Patriots players getting kicked out of practice for arriving late.
Let's be honest here, does anyone really give a flying fuck if Randy Moss and Adalius Thomas were late to practice and were asked to leave? Shit happens. You suck it up, take it as an opportunity to prove yourself, and enjoy your day with your family. But one thing a player shouldn't do is run his mouth to the media when the head coach is clearly trying to pull a team that's falling apart back together. Would you ever see Tedy Bruschi do that? What about Ty Law? Or Rodney Harrison? The answer is a collective no. Even during the media-crazed 2007 season, you never heard the Patriots speak of the undefeated record. It was always "We're focusing on this week's opponent," or "It's a one week season". Everyone wanted a piece of that Patriot team and the media never got to them---and Thomas was on that team!
Adalius Thomas is not Tedy Bruschi. He is not Rodney Harrison. He is not a leader on this defense. Thomas is an over-paid, under-achieving linebacker who seems more worried about his reputation in the eyes of the media than his own team's.
"I mean, I could've been in a ditch," he said. "They really don't give a damn. Hey, as long as you aren't in that meeting, they really don't give a (bleep)."
"There's nothing to apologize about. I wasn't trying to be late. I don't know what to say. You leave home, there are people there, cars sitting in the road, you're sitting there, what are you gonna do? It's not the Jetsons. I can't jump up and fly. What am I supposed to do?"
The guy obviously doesn't get it. He, as well as the team, would have been better off if he had not said anything, taken the slap on the wrist and go back to work the next day. But this guy's ego just fed the story even more. And in return just gave the media fuel for the fire. Now we see pundits and "experts" saying that Belichick is losing touch with his team and the players are tuning him out. And people are actually buying into it.
But when the first stone falls, it opens up everyone else to pry at the wall. Tom Brady misses two days of practice and suddenly it's bigger news than Tiger Woods using his driver on a few holes of the back nine. Yes, he is coming off a very-serious knee surgery, but did we already forget the days when Brady was listed as questionable every week before the 2008 season? It happened all the time. Okay so he has a finger problem and his ribs are sore but this guy is a warrior. When the team needs him most, Brady will not be on the sideline. It just wouldn't happen.
So what Brady misses two practices because of a finger. Perhaps it has something to do with the birth of his second son. I mean give the guy a break here. He hasn't even gotten a chance to name the damn thing! Let him have some family time and he will be ready to take on the life-threatening Carolina Panthers defense.
I find it funny that the news about the Patriots coincides with this whole Tiger Woods saga, because they are quite similar. As everyone over the world is going wild over his infidelities, we must really ask ourselves is it any of our business? It is clearly a topic that the people want to hear about, but as a journalist one must ask about the morality of the subject. Clearly the answer has been made as we cannot turn on a TV without someone saying something about Tiger Woods. The same can be said about the Patriots. Here is a team that was viewed as untouchable for so many years; a team that was used as a mold on how to build a great franchise.
Now as the people see the Patriots stumble, they jump to their downfall. But not everyone who stumbles falls. It are the ones who catch themselves before the ground who rise back to their feet. The Patriots certainly have stumbled, but contrary to what the media believes they have not fallen yet.
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