2008 Patriots: the Dynasty Fades

I don't take preseason too seriously. Because it's the preseason and coaches are mostly looking to see what their players can do more than win games. But last night's New England - Philadelphia game doesn't seem to foreshadow any greatness for the Patriots in 2008.

Brady was out last night with a foot issue so back up Matt Cassel started in the Patriots' 27-17 loss to the Eagles. Their play could be described as "sluggish" and 27-17 doesn't really show just how one-sided the affair was. The score had been 27-3 until New England Scored two fourth quarter touchdowns against the Eagles' third string. Maybe it was just that they don't have a great back up for Brady, or maybe the Patriots' age was finally showing?

Last season the unstoppable Patriots seemed to die slowly as the wear and tear of the season took its toll on the NFL's oldest team. After a couple late-season scares against the Eagles and Giants, the Pats were looking pretty vulnerable going into the playoffs. In the playoffs, they dominated a strong Jaguars team, but struggled against the banged-up San Diego Chargers, foreshadowing their loss in the Super Bowl.

There was a lot of talk using vague terms like the Patriots "peaked too early" or that teams had finally "figured them out." But maybe the Patriots were just finally showing their age.

And I wouldn't expect anything else to happen this year. In fact, I think the Patriots will likely finish the season 11-5, with losses to San Deigo, Denver, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and splitting their season series with Buffalo. 10-6 may even be more like it with a surprise loss from an upstart team like San Francisco, Seattle or the New York Brett Favres.... er... Jets. They will probably still win the weak AFC East division, but I definitely would not expect the Patriots to have the kind of dominating season that they had in 2007.