There was a 2001 vibe across the NFL Sunday.
Tom Brady beat the Colts.
Drew Bledsoe celebrated in Foxboro.
Mike Vrabel was full of liquid waste and vinegar.
And the Patriots pounded another opponent with their smash-mouth defense, a cocky young QB who was stellar on the stat sheet, and lights-out special teams.
But this time, Brady was playing for the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bledsoe was sipping wine with Robert Kraft in the owner’s box.
Mike Vrabel was coaching the Tennessee Titans.
And that young QB for the Patriots. The one with the baby-face look and killer instinct? He was Mac Jones.
Jones, like Brady, has jumped in head-first during his first opportunity to start in the NFL. With the coaching acumen of Josh McDaniels at his back, Jones has game-managed his team to first place in the AFC East and No. 2 in the AFC after 12 weeks.
There is one lasting similarity from 20 years ago: Bill Belichick roaming the sidelines for New England.
Following the lead of God in the Old Testament, Belichick created the 2021 Patriots in His own image. No ribs were required. All that the hoodie-less Belichick needed Sunday was the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL draft, $160 million-or-so in guaranteed free-agency money, and Brady’s exodus to Florida.
Much has been said and written about the resemblance between this team and those Super Bowl 36 champion Patriots. That team played 20 years ago this fall and winter. Like their forefathers, the 2021 Patriots use defense as a weapon, prevail in nearly every contest on special teams, and favor the run while allowing their raw-but-very-talented quarterback to flourish at the right time.
The Patriots brought back the biggest ghost of that first Super Bowl-winning season Sunday. Bledsoe was placed at the right hand of the Father, Robert Kraft. The son, Jonathan Kraft, was caught on the CBS broadcast as the odd man out of their intimate conversation. Bledsoe walked the sidelines pregame, exchanging pleasantries with Vrabel and posing for snaps with Jones.
The Patriots do a wonderful job of making sure all who contributed over the years get their due.
One can only imagine the ruckus on “Tom Brady Day” in 2025.
Bledsoe was the biggest holdover of the Bill Parcells regime when Belichick was hired as head coach nearly 22 years ago.
Certainly, the Patriots who won all those Super Bowls in the first score of this century were baptized in Belichickian dogma. But many of their stars —including Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Adam Vinatieri, and Bledsoe — arrived while Parcells was still shopping for the groceries.
By the time the last of the Parcells/Pete Carroll holdovers were gone from Foxboro, Brady had morphed from the humble and hungry 199th pick of the NFL draft to the humble and hungry three-time winning Super Bowl quarterback who was in an interplanetary orbit of his own.
“Expletive” Johnny Foxboro was his own island.
This team is 100% Belichick in all three phases without the gravitational pull of Brady like a second sun in the solar system. While Brady was an afterthought in the 2000 draft, Jones was the target of Belichick for up to as many as three years during his time at Alabama.
So far, so good with this Belichick Bunch.
The Patriots have forgotten 2020. You should, too. Want a reminder of just how bad things were last year? Cam Newton was disemboweled by the Dolphins Sunday. He threw for just 92 yards and pair of interceptions with no TD passes. Jones was 23 for 32, throwing for 310 yards and pair of TD passes. The Offensive Rookie of the Year race is now over.
The 2021 NFL season is on its way to becoming the greatest coach/GM performance of Belichick’s stellar career in New England.
An old gambling adage tells us that “good teams win, but great teams cover.” The Patriots have not only won six in a row, they managed their sixth-straight cover with the final score Sunday.
Even if you don’t know the difference between point spread and a buffet spread, six straight covers means the Patriots are exceeding expectations. Even though they were 7.5-point favorites at kickoff Sunday.
The only downside in this Patriots joyride is that adults over 21 in Massachusetts who choose to act lawfully aren’t able to enjoy it financially. Those in power on Beacon Hill have cost their constituents millions in potential winnings thanks to their inability to pass a bill allowing sports betting before the Patriots embarked on this rampage. Patriots fans in or who travel to Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire have fattened their electronic accounts by backing this manifestation of all that is Belichick.
Even the shortcomings that manifested themselves Sunday fit perfectly into the Belichick scheme.
The Patriots were 2-of-5 in the red zone and 4-of-10 on third down against Tennessee. Their inability to close out long possessions with touchdowns not only kept this one closer than it should have been, but won’t work against the Bills next Monday night in Buffalo. All items to motivate and educate.
“We play Buffalo Monday night,” Belichick said. “Eight wins isn’t going to win anything, we got a long way to go.”
What else would you expect from Belichick after six straight victories?
No one wants their team peaking on Nov. 28, anyway.
Bill Speros (@RealOBF) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.