When I was a kid in the early 1990's, there was not a lot of hope with my New England Patriots. They were a team consistently at the bottom of the standings and constantly earning negative headlines.
The idea that they had been in Super Bowl XX (an embarrassing 46-10 defeat to the Bears) was hard to believe and if someone ever told me that one day the Patriots would be the most successful team in NFL history, I would have had a good story to share in D.A.R.E. class about a first hand encounter with a drug abuser.
In 1992, the Patriots went 2-14. That record earned the team the first pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and it also led to Bill Parcells, the two-time Super Bowl winning coach, to replace Dick MacPherson as head coach.
The first pick in the draft became Drew Bledsoe, the young quarterback the franchise could build around. After a disappointing 1-11 start, Bledsoe led them on a four game winning streak to end the season. Optimism was high.
The 1994, Robert Kraft's first as owner, season started off slow and the hopes for Bledsoe were not quite as high. Heading in to their Week 11 game with the 7-2 Vikings, the Patriots were just 3-6. At the half, they trailed 20-3. But then Bledsoe turned it on, leading a roaring comeback in the game that he set the NFL record for pass attempts in a single game (70), and which ended on a touchdown pass to Kevin Turner which gave the team a shocking 26-20 overtime victory. The Vikings game started a seven game winning streak that earned the team a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 1986.
This was a magical moment in Patriots history. Bledsoe represented hope and then he went out and proved the hope was legitimate. The 1994 season ended with a playoff loss in Cleveland to a Bill Belichick coached Browns team and the 1995 team disappointingly missed the playoffs, but in 1996 the Patriots won the AFC and made a trip to the Super Bowl.
We all know what happened at the end of Bledsoe's tenure in New England. A vicious hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis almost killed him and while he was recovering Bledsoe was replaced permanently by a young quarterback named Tom Brady. Brady led the Patriots to a surprising Super Bowl victory, the first of six he would capture in New England, and Bledsoe was traded to the Bills.
Despite the spoils of the Brady Era, Patriots fans from the Bledsoe era will forever remember the moments that solidified the Patriots as a bona fide team and kept the team in New England, which was not guaranteed at that time.
Why bring this up right now?
The Patriots are back to the uncertain No Man's Land of NFL mediocrity again since Brady packed up and moved on to Tampa Bay. They went 7-9 a year ago and in the 2021 Draft selected quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th pick. Jones has looked the part of being a real NFL quarterback, but the team has sputtered to a 2-4 record.
In a weird way, and not one in which I thought I'd experience again after the spoils that Brady gave to us fans, we're right back to 1994. Jones represents hope, and he's been close to delivering in his first few games, but he's yet to prove the hope is legitimate. The desire to see this happen, to witness a young promising player take the leap and get the team to a higher level of play, is why we watch the games.
This week's game against the Jets is not the same as that Vikings game 27 years ago. The Jets are 1-4 and, like the Patriots, are hoping that their rookie quarterback Zach Wilson will take them from the basement to the Super Bowl. Jones already beat the Jets, a Week 2 win that saw Wilson toss four interceptions. Wilson may turn out to be great, but he's no Warren Moon.
Still, for Patriots fans hoping to believe Jones is the guy this game, really this whole season, is a litmus test to determine if hope will become reality.
I believe it will, but Jones has to get it done on the field to prove it.
On to the picks.
NCAA
IOWA STATE (-7) over Oklahoma State (Shenanigans Pick)
UCLA (-1) over Oregon
AIR FORCE (-3) over San Diego State
Clemson (+3.5) over PITTSBURGH
PURDUE (+3.5) over Wisconsin
Shenanigans Record: 3-2
Last Week: 3-2
Season: 12-13
NFL (Bye Week: Bills, Cowboys, Vikings, Steelers, Chargers, Jaguars)
PACKERS (-7) over Washington Football Team
TITANS (+5) over Chiefs
Falcons (-2.5) over DOLPHINS
PATRIOTS (-7) over Jets (26-16)
GIANTS (3.5) over Panthers
Bengals (+7) over RAVENS
RAIDERS (-2.5) over Eagles
RAMS (-15.5) over Lions
CARDINALS (-17) over Texans
Bears (+12.5) over BUCCANEERS
49ERS (-3.5) over Colts
Saints (-4) over SEAHAWKS
Last Week: 5-9
This Week: 1-0
Season: 45-32-3
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