New England Patriots - End of an Era

Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots crashed out of the playoffs in the first week of the finals. There were plenty of upsets in the first week of the finals and some 888sport betters cleaned up with some big payouts.

The Roman Empire lasted a thousand years and in modern day football terms the New England Patriots Empire nearly lasted as long. Last year they were strong pre season favorites, but with Tom Brady leading a huge list of crippling injuries, the jury was still out preferring to see what happened this year. This year they were back to full strength but like the Roman armies of the 4th and 5th centuries they were a shadow of their once brilliant selves. At their best they were dominant and the ear landed them 3 Superbowls and they narrowly missed out on a fourth to the Giants.

As it often happens at the fall of an empire, it comes from the top and this year Belichick made a series of stupid play calls that left everyone scratching their heads as to his stupidity. Tom Brady is still great but he is leading a team that just isn’t what it used to be. Randy Moss is gone….finished…. and should look for a graceful retirement option.

A mash of old tired players and new directionless kids crumbled under the pressure of post season football to a well drilled, yet not brilliant Baltimore. In fact you could argue that the Ravens defence is a well and truly spent commodity but they still managed to crush the Pats with a blend of interceptions, turnovers and a series of Ray Lewis lead blitzes that left Brady watching most of the match from his back.

The other thing that the Pats have to worry about next year is competing in a division that is on the rise. The Jets and Dolphins are both looking like serious contenders next year. Even the Bills are an outfit that could easily get better than worse. I never much liked the Pats for their methodical brilliance and I am glad that their era has now finally been put to rest.

888sport will continue to offer their clients the very best online football betting service throughout the NFL finals which is heating up and seeing some big dividends being paid to betters with enough courage to take on some of the favourites.