Stats on Pats Weekly Article and Photo by Joshua Bonneau, southcoast247.com correspondent
The Reign Supreme: Pats Dominate in Week XV
Much like in the business end of football, the weekly Stats on Pats page has
undergone some personnel changes. So I, Joshua Bonneau, will be taking over as
the southcoast247.com mouthpiece to the New England Patriots. But as a writer,
this is an on your feet, hit the ground running kind of transition, as I find
myself right in the thick of things here late in the season.
I feel like this heavy, roaring Patriots machine has fallen directly into my lap at a very exciting time, and it's all I can do to grab on and try to harness the
fucker. Because best you believe, the Patriots are moving full bore ahead and
showing no signs of stopping. After an entire season plagued by injury and
uncertainty, in which back to back wins at times looked as good as a division
championship, the performance in week XV was nothing short of a miraculous
turnaround from earlier in the season.
But perhaps miraculous is not the right word. Luck has little to do with it. It's
simple physics and numbers. The Pats' once depleted starting lineup is
seeing the return of some very key players, and accordingly, the hard hitting,
physically dominant Patriots of old are what we saw come out of the ashes on
Saturday, and the Sunday before that. Which begs the question, can the Patriots
carry this kind of momentum into the post-season, or are we seeing the rise
before the fall?
Without a doubt if the Pats do maintain this kind of optimal performance in the playoffs, a return trip to Super Bowl XL is a very real possibility, especially when coupled with their unmatched post-season experience. Like I said, it all hinges on the players' ability to remain healthy, and an increasing sense of confidence on both sides of the ball. Which brings me, in an indirect way, to my claim that although the Pats have already clenched the AFC east division title and are playing the laughable N.Y Jets come Monday night, they should not be overly careful in resting the marquees like Brady, Dillon, Branch, Colvin etc. Yes you run the risk and yada yada yada, but working as a cohesive whole while gaining confidence ultimately gears up towards the post season, but I'm sure Belichick had an ideal strategy worked out long before I even gathered the notion. Would you expect any less from a man who has done nothing but win since he got here?
Come right on back here next week for a complete rundown of Monday night's game, which will actually involve statistics rather than just the inner dialogue of yours truly.
Much like in the business end of football, the weekly Stats on Pats page has
undergone some personnel changes. So I, Joshua Bonneau, will be taking over as
the southcoast247.com mouthpiece to the New England Patriots. But as a writer,
this is an on your feet, hit the ground running kind of transition, as I find
myself right in the thick of things here late in the season.
