For the primary time in 34 years, the Patriots have a Rust drawback.
This time, it’s Je-Rod Rust whose crew that has begun to corrode alongside the sides, is unable to
free itself from indecision, and stays frozen within the grip of inept assistant coaches.
Gillette Stadium must be energy washed with Rust-Oleum. Beginning within the house owners’ suite.
The affable Rod Rust helmed the native AFC East squad in 1990. Rust was a first-year head coach whose profession had been spent as a defensive coordinator. Je-Rod Rust can also be a first-year head coach. Patriots lore has it that Je-Rod Rust (recognized elsewhere in these pages as Jerod Mayo) was christened as Invoice Belichick’s successor some 5 years in the past after a speech he delivered throughout a go to to Israel with proprietor Robert Kraft and a number of other different Patriots people.
A giddy Robert Kraft expanded on this when he was interviewed by Taylor Rooks of the Amazon Prime NFL Thursday Evening Soccer crew earlier than the Patriots-Jets recreation in Week 2.
“Jerod learned a lot from Bill. You know, the technical background,” Kraft mentioned. “I’ve gotten to
know Jerod during the last 15 years. I picked him 5 years in the past to be our subsequent head coach. He’s very particular and had the power to coach below Invoice.”
It’s all in regards to the “culture,” you realize.
On the time, the Patriots have been 1-1 and have been coming off an oh-so-close 23-20 OT loss to Seattle.
Duck Boats had begun to amass. The flight plan to Kraft Power One to Tremendous Bowl 59 in New
Orleans was about to be filed with the FAA.
Lower than three months later, the Patriots have been formally eradicated from the playoffs on Dec. 1. Some 70 days forward of the Tremendous Bowl. The primary season with simply the ultimate third of “The Dynasty” in residence turned a Purple Line derailment.
That is the primary time since Kraft purchased the crew in January 1994 that he’s labored with no web. Till this season, Kraft has had Invoice Parcells, Drew Bledsoe, Invoice Belichick and/or Tom Brady in his make use of as crew proprietor.
John Henry’ wielding the tightest pockets attainable could be laborious pressed to screw up below these circumstances for greater than a yr or two. Even Pete Carroll’s Patriots reached the
playoffs in two of his three seasons.
“A lot of things were going on that made it difficult for him to stay, some of which were out of his control. And it began with following a legend,” Kraft mentioned on the time he fired Carroll after the 1999 season.
That’s an enormous trace that Kraft goes to be way more affected person with Je-Rod Rust than the outdated Patriots’
regime was with plain outdated Rod Rust.
Rod Rust didn’t earn his job as Patriots head coach when he went to the Remington shaver
manufacturing unit in Bridgeport with then-owner Victor Kiam.
Relatively, he was pulled out of head teaching obscurity when then-GM Patrick Sullivan fired
Raymond Berry in February. In typical Patriots dysfunction of the time, Sullivan and Berry had a
falling out after a disagreement over hiring an offensive coordinator.
Like Je-Rod Rust, Rod Rust was a Patriots’ defensive assistant when the crew reached the Tremendous Bowl. That was Tremendous Bowl XX throughout which the Patriots have been massacred by Richard Dent and the Chicago Bears reside on NBC.
Rod Rust’s 1990 marketing campaign was indisputably the worst season in franchise historical past on and off the sector. It gave us the Lisa Olson sexual harassment scandal, Victory Kiam’s “Patriot Missile” one-liner, and a 1-15 season that set all-time franchise information for futility in victories, scoring, and watchability.
The 2024 Patriots gained’t even crack the underside 5 in the case of all-time worst Patriots groups.
The optimists amongst us might liken this crew to the 1993 Patriots.
First-year coach. Rookie QB. 5-11 end.
OK, 5 wins may be asking for lots right here.
And Je-Rod Rust is not any Invoice Parcells.
However Drake Maye is giving off loads of DB11, if not TB12, vibes.
And right here’s the place the Je-Rod Rust drawback might result in huge collapse of the complete construction that’s below building on Route 1.
Do you need to blow out Alex Van Pelt? Effective, however what does Maye take into consideration his present
offensive coordinator? Would a change after Week 1 sluggish Maye’s rocket ship improvement?
Will Van Pelt lastly belief Maye sufficient to let him throw within the crimson zone, versus settling for a discipline purpose strive? Will he ever let Maye throw on first down?
The Rust drawback on offense has let the concern of shedding outweigh the need to win in the case of essentially the most crucial of selections.
Foreigner hit No. 1 on the charts 43 years in the past with “Urgent.”
Rumor has it that track has been faraway from each play listing at One Patriot Place.
And whenever you’re within the midst of a down-to-the-studs rebuild, studying how you can win is essentially the most
paramount of duties. Along with not holding on each different play and dealing with the snap-count
on the highway.
When the one drawback on this crew was the offense, it was so easy. Simply stack the draft with
offensive lineman and wideouts.
Now the protection, too, has shortly rusted to its core. Save for the silver star bestowed on Christian Gonzalez. Defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington seems to be merely overwhelmed together with his first-year activity. The Colts’ 1945 Purple Military-like game-winning drive Sunday bodes doom for these two upcoming video games towards MVP-in-waiting Josh Allen and the Payments.
Je-Rod Rust might multi-task and deal with the protection, or on the very least step in to cease the
carnage.
All that money the Patriots as soon as needed to burn won’t cowl their post-season winter heating invoice.
Invoice Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X) may be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.
