2019 NFL Preview: Early Playoff Outlook
The NFL Playoffs have been ruled by a few questions, who can beat the New England Patriots and when will their reign finally end?
The Patriots are the most successful franchise in NFL history and they have been the most dominant team in the league since 2001.
For almost two decades they have been a part of the Super Bowl conversation and in recent years it seems almost automatic that they make the Super Bowl.
They don’t necessarily do it with a wealth of talent or by making big splashes in free agency, in fact, any strategy to win games seems to be thrown out of the window.
Every year teams in the NFL draft the biggest names and sign free agents to massive contracts, they bring in new coaches and try to figure out new schemes all to win a Super Bowl.
The Patriots have gone about things without those major contracts and by drafting at the bottom of every draft.
They’re rarely in the market for the biggest free agents and they haven’t had a top 10 pick in the draft since 2008 when they selected Jerod Mayo 10th overall.
Their success is all about the understanding that this team has a system that works and it is as simple as “Do your job.”
That is what Bill Belichick brought to the team in 2000 and it is what he has established over the last two decades.
It is a simple thing as he has essentially broken down what can be a complicated game into individual assignments.
Basically, he asks every player to simply do what they are supposed to do on a play and forget about what else is happening.
To tie it all together Belichick needed someone who would do a little more than just his job and he found that in Tom Brady.
With Brady at the head, the team runs smoothly and Belichick continues to adjust based on the talent that they have.
They get big names but those big names are expected to fit into the mould and if they do they are often rewarded with a ring.
It is a simple process but one that has led to unprecedented success and one that people have struggled to recreate.
Even though this system seems unstoppable, every dominant period comes to an end it is just a matter of when.
The Patriots have done it longer than anyone before but Brady and Belichick aren’t getting any younger and new teams are making their moves to get to the title.
No matter what happens this year it is still the era of the Patriots but these playoffs could be the start of a new era.
Young coaches and players are taking over with new schemes that are bringing offence to new heights that have never been seen before.
The defences are struggling to catch up but some teams have found a way to shut down the best offences in the league.
That battle continues on but only one team can come out on top when the season ends in February.
The Patriots will certainly be a factor in how this special season ends but they won’t be the only ones.
The Rams got a taste of what success was like and they are leading the charge for the new wave of teams.
Stars like Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield are beginning to make some noise and bringing their teams with them.
The Patriots are still the team that everyone is chasing but as these young teams find more confidence and more experience the tide could be changing.
This year could mark the start of something, then again the Patriots could run right through everyone for their 7th title to cap off the 100th NFL season.
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