I know, it's March Madness! Time to concentrate on the Cinderella teams and hoping for a great upset for College basketball teams. However, it is never too early to concentrate on professional football. Really, Jason Taylor's ballroom moves on "Dancing with the Stars" is what really made me start thinking about football again.
With that, I started to wonder about what teams could really be a contender this year. I was not, and still not truly convinced of the talents of Eli Manning. I am not sure if he is as great as it may seem. One thing I am completely set on, however, is that Tom Brady is. How will the Patriots fair in the 08-09 season after losing the Super Bowl?
In recent years, the losing Super Bowl team was average at best, but I cannot see the Pats and Tom Brady being average. Is this the end of the dynasty?
In the last seven seasons, the losing Super Bowl team's record is a combined 47-65. In that time frame, the best record belonged to the 2006 Seattle Seahawks who ended with a 9-7 record. However, let's be honest, the Seahawks have not needed to play that well to win their division.
It just does not seem likely that the Pats will go from a nearly perfect season to mediocre. How could they fall so quickly? Of course, spygate may be an issue but the full extent of that is still unknown. In terms of the offseason, so far, the Pats have been busy with a number of key signings and resignings. I am sure that there will be more surprises around camp time.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots continue this trend of losing Super Bowl teams and losing records. Then again, if they are a true dynasty (like I believe they are) they should return to the mix and I expect to see them in the Playoffs for at least one more year.
