MEDIA MADNESS, N.E. PATRIOTS to BE PERFECT?

Oh my, how just a few short weeks can make all of the difference in the world, when it comes to the experts in today's media. I wrote a story a few weeks back about how the national media was persecuting the New England Patriots. They were questioning Super Bowl wins, who might have lost a job from the Spygate escapades, and whether or not the Patriots were going to be forever tarnished by the whole "cheating" accusations. There was plenty of debate over what the punishment should be. The opinions ranged from suspending the Pats from post season competition, to laughing off the whole scandal. I was very much amused by the varying opinions. The league then handed down the punishment, which I felt was a little tough, but fair, in today's NFL.

Fast forward to the week. As a true football junkie, I again woke on Sunday morning to watch the 500 football shows about the week's match ups. But before I could finish my first English muffin, the media was at it again. The New England Patriots were number one on a lot of the media "expert" minds. Only this time it was a bit more ridiculous than the entire "spygate" issue. "I guess they must of forgot about all that stuff already," I thought. Apparently they have a brand new subject to debate. Now, instead of wanting to bash my beloved team, they wanted to praise them. It's a good thing my team's bandwagon is huge, because now , the same naysayers from two weeks ago wanted to debate today's hot topic. Will the New England Patriots finish the year with a perfect 16-0 record? What the heck is this?

I decided to sit there patiently, and watch all the "experts" sing the praises of my team, it's players, and yes, even the coach. They rambled on and on about why they would either go 16-0, or not. After all, there was a team or two that might beat them this year. As they debated, I watched in total amazement, and shook my head. First, does it really matter? What does 16-0 do for you anyways? Second, the Patriots already own a bunch of NFL records, including most consecutive wins by a NFL team, and so on. Now, let's make them the best team that has ever played, after week 3. Why don't these networks hire "experts" who have something better to talk about? A perfect season? Who cares? Every week in the NFL, as any true football fan knows, any team can beat another team, regardless of records. You don't even have to get paid to be an expert to know that.

The Patriots went on to be a good Bengals team on Monday night, improving their record to 4-0. While it is truly fun to watch this team every week, let me assure everyone that they could care less about going 16-0. They only care about this week's opponent, the Cleveland Browns, who have been playing some very good football. But I do know what to expect this Sunday morning from the "experts. Once again, the Pats are facing another former coach. I can hardly wait to see what the media cooks up in the next ten days after this one!