I'm not going to pretend I saw the writing on the wall before Richard Seymour was sent to Oakland just before the regular season began. But the apparent fact is that the New England Patriots are a different team than the one that won three out of four Super Bowls in the first half of the decade, or even the ones that came within a half of playing the Bears in Super Bowl 41, or went 16-0 only to lose in the final moments of Super Bowl 43.
But when you look at the big picture, what did Patriots fans think would happen?
Tom Brady would come back after a devastating knee injury and immediately return to 2007 form? Even when Randy Moss and Benjamin Watson were the only receivers with whom he had any familiarity?
That the defense would lose five starters, including the core heart-and-soul pieces like Bruschi, Vrabel and Harrison, yet immediately right the problems that had plagued them for the last three seasons?
The 2009 New England Patriots are still a work in progress and no one understands the process of team building better than Bill Belichick.
The New York Jets were the better team in week 2. Their defense at this point looks close to the level of the elite defenses of the NFL. The Patriots, especially on offense, do not look elite yet.
In this age of constant paralysis by analysis, everyone is ready to bury a team or hand them the Lombardi trophy after each and every game until a pattern of performance has been established.
It's understandable to be frustrated by a loss to a team that did so much talking in the week leading up to the game. But this game will not define the season for either team, as much as they do or do not want it to.
Welcome to Bill Belichick's New England Patriots version 2.0.
Keywords: Bill Belichick, Mark Sanchez, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Tom Brady
