Several years ago, I was speaking with a Boston Red Sox fan who referred to the Yankees as the Evil Empire because they outspent everyone else and could basically put an all-star team on the field every day.  I had to remind him that his Red Sox put the second most expensive team on the field and also fielded a team of all-stars.  This came to mind recently when I read that the Patriots had signed Donte Stallworth.  In this free agency period, they not only signed the best overall free agent in Adalius Thomas, but they just got the best wide receiver available in Stallworth.  I believe they are playing with fire.  All-star teams like this look great on paper, but generally do not win championships.

The 2007 Patriots are starting to remind me of the 2003-04 Lakers.  The Lakers had won the NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002 but they lost to the Spurs in 2003.  Later that year, they picked up future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton.  On paper, with Shaq at center, Payton at the point, Kobe at shooting guard, and Malone at power forward, they seemed unstoppable, and they did have a very good season, but eventually lost to a less talented Detroit team in the finals.  After that, there was so much division in their locker room that the team was broken up, and the Lakers have been essentially rebuilding since then.  What was lacking on that Lakers team and on just about every Yankee team is chemistry.

I hate to even bring up team chemistry because to me it sounds like so much psychobabble.  It can’t be quantified or treated statistically, so it’s lumped into that pile that we call “intangibles”.  The intangibles, though, generally win championships.  Can anyone truly say that the 2006 Colts, 2005 Steelers, or any of the champion Patriot teams were the most talented? Each of these teams found a way to play beyond their talent to beat teams which were better on paper.  To me, chemistry is why free agency has never been the road to success in the NFL.   Team chemistry can’t be bought, it must be earned and developed.  I read a story several years ago about the 2004 Steelers.  In 2003, the Steelers went 6-10, so in 2004, not much was expected of them.  They had just lost their starting quarterback in the second game of the season and were going to Miami with a rookie at quarterback.  The players arrived earlier than usual to try to avoid the hurricane which was to blow through south Florida.  The game was postponed due to this hurricane, and the players were stuck in their hotel without power, so they just hung out in the hallway just doing what guys do, and basically becoming friends.  They won their next 15 games, and point to this experience as the turning point of their season.

The media has been touting the “Patriot Way” for years.  By this, they’ve meant not overspending on players, relying instead on solid role players rather than stars, and playing as a team.  I think that Patriot players actually thrived on flying under the radar and playing the underdog role.  Now after the addition of these free agent stars, they will not have that.  In every publication and website this year, they will be the hands down favorite to win the Super Bowl, a role in which they are not accustomed.  I wrote in my last article, that the addition of Adalius Thomas, makes this the team to beat, but the addition of Stallworth may be too much to maintain the team chemistry which has been the Patriots rallying cry.

With the Patriots’ extravagances in free agency this year, you have to wonder if they are putting everything in one basket for a final run.  You also have to wonder why they would do that.  Even though their defense is old, as long as they have Brady, they have a chance to win so they will not have to go through a painful rebuilding process. Perhaps it’s because Bill Belichick is starting to think about retirement, and wants to go out with a bang.  I don’t want to start any internet rumors, and I don’t have any inside information, but this is not that far fetched.  I would not have believed after last year’s Super Bowl victory, that Bill Cowher would retire, but he’ll be sitting behind a desk at CBS next year.  It’s been reported that Tony Dungy was thinking about retiring after the Super Bowl this year.  Belichick’s Mentor, Parcells has already retired (again) this year.  Belichick has been the head coach in New England for 7 years and before that in Cleveland for 5 years, and the Jets for one day.  That’s a total of 12 years and a day in the most stressful job in pro sports.  He’s already won 3 championships and is headed to the Hall of Fame, so why should he keep on killing himself?  New England fans would probably react in horror to the thought of anyone, but Belichick roaming their sideline, but as long as they have Brady (and the team chemistry remains) they will have a winner