It doesn't happen often, but yes, I walked out on the Patriots with seven minutes left to go in the game. It's been a long time since we've been schlacked that bad. With no pressure whatsoever, Drew Brees picked apart our secondary with ease. Their pass rush and inexperienced corners shut down our deep ball. Laurence Maroney (surprisingly!) was probably the only bright point of the evening. He ran hard knocking guys around and scored both our TDs. Before the game the commentators quoted one of New Orleans' coordinators saying, "Either you are or you're not." That about sums it up. Clearly the Saints are one of the best teams in the league. They can score at will and shut down a great offense. They are championship caliber, no doubt. And as much as it hurts to say, clearly the Patriots are not. I know every dynasty has an end, but that doesn't mean it's any less painful when it happens. Last night was the game where every Patriot fan had to realize, we're no longer the standard of the NFL. Since the 03-04 seasons, we've always been an elite team until we proved otherwise. Last night demonstrated that now we're a second tier team until we prove otherwise. We're no longer favored just because we're the Patriots. We're back to being the underdogs, because we deserve to be. Our days of expecting to win every game are gone. That doesn't mean we're not a good team, we're just not great. And for all those emotional fans (mostly female) who are objecting that I've lost hope and I'm bailing the bandwagon after one tough loss, suck it up and be realistic. Sure, we'll bounce back and beat Miami. Sure, we'll win the division and make it to the playoffs. But now greatness has to be attained rather than assumed. But then again, that might not be such a bad place to be because I remember a lowly 2001 franchise who had a lot of attaining to do.