Falcons on Pats’ kill list
Recent victims know of pain
INDIANAPOLIS — One by one, Patriots adversaries lined up yesterday at the scouting combine to unveil reasons why the future will reveal a different path.
But the fact of the matter is, over the past couple years, the Pats haven’t just ended their opponents’ seasons, they’ve crippled some foes, leaving them reeling for months and, in certain cases, years to come.
There will be no greater microscope levied upon any team in 2017 than the Atlanta Falcons. In the aftermath of blowing a 25-point lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan reportedly muttered that he “blew it” at their postgame party, which he did not dispute two days later when he was introduced as coach of the San Francisco 49ers. And wide receiver Mohamed Sanu used Lady Gaga’s halftime performance as a sorry excuse for Atlanta’s surrendering of a 28-3 advantage.
The Falcons remain as talented as any team in the NFC, but will they self-destruct like some of the Pats’ other recent castaways?
“I am past it. I am not over it, and I don’t think I ever will be and that’s a good thing,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said yesterday. “You’ve got to learn to get past it. I didn’t say you have to get over it, but you do have to get past it.”
A lack of character-defining toughness in the wake of adversity can have lasting effects. Quinn has vouched for all the right attributes, but they’ve still got to execute. And remember, Quinn was the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator when the Patriots recorded the first 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback in Super Bowl history. Quinn apparently wasn’t able to apply any lessons learned from that experience, which could draw some second guesses from his players, and the Seahawks have also taken a major step back in the past two seasons.
Since losing Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots, running back Marshawn Lynch was critical of coach Pete Carroll’s decision to throw from the 1-yard line to set up cornerback Malcolm Butler’s game-clinching interception. And last season, cornerback Richard Sherman publicly blasted the coaching staff when they made a similar play call. The Seahawks were 7-2 in their first nine playoff games under Carroll, but they’re 2-3 since encountering the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“There are lessons to be learned,” Quinn said when drawing parallels between the two losses. “They go into the memory bank forever. We’re hopeful to learn those lessons, take from them and move forward.”
There may be no greater example in recent history than the Indianapolis Colts, who appeared to be building something real by the time the Patriots unleashed a 45-7 hellfire assault in the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
The Colts have since been exposed for helping spawn Deflategate, and the bottom has fallen out. Indianapolis has gone 8-8 in back-toback seasons and has been shut out of the playoffs since qualifying from 2012-14.
Recently, general manager Ryan Grigson, who last season blamed the contract that he gave to quarterback Andrew Luck for the deficiencies throughout a roster that is littered with holes, was fired.
“I know we all want instant coffee right now,” new GM Chris Ballard said of the Colts’ rebuilding process. “That’s not reality.”
The Baltimore Ravens have also fallen into a rut since the Pats axed them with a pair of 14-point comebacks in the 2014 divisional round. In two seasons since, the Ravens are 13-19, including coach John Harbaugh’s career-worst 5-11 in 2015.
To be fair, this epidemic hasn’t been universal. The Kansas City Chiefs recovered from a 2015 playoff loss to the Patriots by securing the No. 2 seed in the AFC last season, and the Houston Texans impressed with their competitiveness with the Pats in January’s divisional round. The Texans are viewed as a team on a sharp ascension.
And then there’s Quinn, who admitted he still struggles to sleep on Sunday nights when he runs through the what-ifs from the Super Bowl. To some degree, the Patriots have broken the Colts, Ravens and Seahawks with recent playoff victories, and the Falcons don’t want to be included in that type of company.
“We got our (butts) knocked down on the canvas,” Quinn said. “You get back up and go fight again. That’s what this offseason is about for us.”