Patriots have a new start after the bye week

With a 2-1 record going into the Bye week, most Patriots fans would have thought the loss came versus the Jets even if Tom Brady was still playing. Well the loss is behind us and now we can move forward – even without Brady.
The record shows who the Patriots are as a number two in the AFC East behind a dynamic 4-0 Buffalo Bills team that has improved over 2007, but also enjoying the same scheduling as the other members in the AFC East. So it only goes to show the opportinites that lay ahead for the Pats.
The last two weeks have allowed the players to regroup, heal and come together as a new team since the opening day. The team captains and veterans have more responsibility now more then ever (well at least since 2001 when Drew Beldsloe went down).
The coaching staff has much more to prove then the players. Not only do they need to plan for each game as normal, but now redesign the team that has had so much recent success.
‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ was never a Bill Belichick attitude, but even the smartest of players have had a few problems during the first three games.
The Patriot Way seems to have been lost in the first quarter from that first game.Offensively one could argue it makes sense that there is some confusion, but on defense and special teams there should not have been such a big impact from losing one player. More easily said then done.
The challenge will be finding another path along the Patriot Way to make it work with this team. Each player and coach has a new defining moment and now is the time to ‘Cowboy up’ (ah the Red Sox!) or as we used to say ‘deal with it’.
As the past few weeks have made many in Patriot Nation wonder what will happen after the loss in Miami, an event transpired that saddens and maybe indicates the fate of the franchise in the moment as Mr. Patriot Troy Brown has retired.
The end of a career and an era of an individual that every time he took the field put on the boots and got the work done no matter what is was and no matter what was needed to do it.
This is the attitude I am looking to see today from the Patriots in San Francisco. When the Patriots run onto the field as a team, and play as a team for 60 minutes to execute a game plan and win in all three phases of the game – together!
IN BILL WE TRUST!!