Reading all these posts about the Patriots and Rams rebuilding while we sit here stuck in the mud made me realize something.
We love to use Jerry as a shield. It's comfortable. It's easy. But honestly, blaming Jerry for the last 30 years is letting the actual players and coaches off the hook.
I know the counter-argument: "Jerry is cheap in Free Agency." And yeah, for a long time, he was. We all hated the bargain bin shopping years. But look at where the money actually goes.
First, he pays the homegrown talent. He resets the market for our own guys constantly. He didn't cheap out on Dak. He didn't cheap out on CeeDee. When we have a star, they get paid top dollar.
Second, the roster is always considered "stacked." Every single August, the national media talks about how loaded our roster is. We at times have some of the highest numbers of Pro Bowlers in the league. You can nitpick a bust here and there, but generally, the GM puts a potential playoff-caliber roster on the field every year.
Third, the "All-In" move. We finally screamed for a big trade, and he went out and got Quinnen Williams and George Pickens. He actually pushed the chips in.
My point is this: The front office does its job by assembling a playoff-caliber roster. They hand over a team loaded with talent. The failure lies with the coaches who can't maximize that talent and the players who disappear in big moments. The resources are there; the execution is what's missing.
When we lose in the playoffs, have losing seasons, is it because Jerry has an ego? Or is it because we have a locker room full of professionals who consistently fold when they get punched in the mouth? The Patriots are in the Super Bowl because their players executed. Ours didn't.
Blaming the owner feels good, but he gave them a loaded deck and they still couldn't win the hand. At some point, we have to stop yelling at the guy in the owner's box and start demanding more from the guys wearing the star.
