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The New England Patriots are the most successful pro football organization of the 21st century. Having won six Super Bowls, the team established itself as a modern dynasty under head coach Bill Belichick.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are the most successful college football organization of the 21st century. Having won six National Championships, the team established itself as a modern dynasty under head coach Nick Saban.
When it comes to dominance and playing good football the Patriots and Alabama are quite alike. However, their connection goes beyond their status compared to the rest of the competition or their six championships each. They are also coached by former colleagues a the Cleveland Browns: Belichick served as head coach for the team between 1991 and 1995, with Saban as his coordinator for the first four of those five seasons.
After punting on the position in the 2020 Draft, finishing 7-9 with Cam Newton and watching Brady win another Super Bowl, you’d think the sense of urgency for New England to pick out its next long-term signal-caller would be at DEFCON 1.
Instead, the team remains slotted to pick 15th next Thursday, likely out of reach to draft any one of the consensus top-five quarterback prospects: Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Mac Jones (Alabama), Zach Wilson (Brigham Young) and Trey Lance (North Dakota State).
“It’s an interesting class,” Bill Belichick said last week. “It’s an interesting group of guys. Some are very strong in some skills. Some seem very strong in other skills. It’s definitely an interesting group.”
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Behind the Box Score: Ole Miss
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Three hundred and eight.
Let’s not kid ourselves, the one number that mattered this weekend belonged to Kayshon Boutte. 308. As in receiving yards. Until a few years ago, that was the benchmark for a good game for a quarterback, and he did that as a receiver.
Move over Josh Reed.
But before you do, let’s talk about the difference between those two numbers. As time marches on, players get reduced to simple numbers on the page, and we lose the full picture of them as players. Records were meant to be broken, but one of the great things about a record falling is it gives us a chance to recognize the former record holder one last time.