The late, great Bob Ross was more than just perhaps the finest artist in human history.
He was also perhaps the finest philosopher of this or any age.
With messages of positivity that will span the test of time.
Its like in life.
Gotta have a little sadness once in awhile so you know when the good times come.
I’m waiting on the good times now.
Nowthatdeserves to be immortalized in a frame and hung in a motel lobby.
And for New England Patriots fans, it’s never been more relevant than it is right now.
I’m going to confess; I’ve had a tough week.
Everyone I’ve talked to since Monday sees no way out of the morass we find ourselves in.
Yet it’s a pretty fair and accurate representation of where most Masshole’s heads are at these days.
What I am is a student of history.
I mean, I understand how bleak things look.
Believe me, I’ve been paying attention.
This is not a new concept by any means.
It’s not a thing that’s just been invented to excuse the horrific start to 2023.
I’ve been saying it for years here.
It’s the same with the Patriots schemes on both sides of the ball.
No later than Sunday’s game against New Orleans.
Otherwise we’re facing months of talk about benchings, firings and looking at quarterbacks in the draft.
The point I’ve been building toward is that we have been here before.
Meaning there was precious little hope going into Week 5 against the Chargers.
And basically zero hope when they fell behind 26-16 halfway through the 4th quarter.
2012, 2-2 start -This season actually started out 1-2.
And a 2-3 start was unthinkable.
2014, 2-2 start -Here’s the one we should all remember without looking it up.
That 41-14 debacle at Kansas City on Monday night.
Trent Dilfer’s “Let’s face it: They’re just not good anymore!”
that made the intro of a thousand hype videos.
He was 37 at the time.
It had been 10 years since his last ring.
2017, 2-2 start -Ah, this one brings back memories.
First there wasspeculation that the Houston Texans had solved the Rubik’s Cube that was the Pats offense.
Despite the fact they’d just made one of the biggest defensive acquistions of the Belichick Era.
This year its double that.
All four quarterbacks theyve faced have had 300 yard games.Theyve surrendered 156 more passing yards than the No.
Thats a bigger gap than between teams 2 and 7.
The difference in total yards between them and No.
Theyre giving up 10.0 AY/A.
Meaning teams are averaging a 1st down withevery throw.
And after needing a month to get settled in, Gilmore would win the DPOTY the following season.
2018, 2-2 start -This was another 1-2 start.
In the fifth game, they were on a short week.
A 38-24 win that was never that close ensued.
And that 1-2 start would improve to 9-3 on their way to winning their sixth banner.
2021, 1-3 start -If Mac Jones has a signature win in his career, this is it.
But scoring drives on three straight possessions tied it up.
2022, 1-3 start -A Week 5, 29-0 domination of the Lions at home sparked a 5-1 run.
Which is the overall premise I’m trying to get across.
I’ve just listed eight slow starts to eight very different seasons over 23 years.
It had better happen starting now, or it will be the disaster we’ve all be dreading.
Granted, past performance does not predict future results.
