Patriots

Morning sports update: ESPN analyst explained why he thinks the ‘the dynasty is over’ for the Patriots

"The next three or four years are going to look very, very different in New England."

Bill Belichick hasn't experienced a losing season since 2000. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

November 3, 2020

Aside from being Election Day, Tuesday is also the NFL trade deadline. Teams can make deals until 4 p.m. ET. The Patriots are reportedly willing to listen to offers on “almost everyone on the roster.”

Dan Orlovsky on the Patriots’ dynasty: With the Patriots falling to 2-5 on Sunday after a loss to the AFC East-leading Bills, thoughts have been filtering out from experts across the NFL that New England’s multi-decade dynasty might be over.

Arguably the most definitive take came from ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky. The former University of Connecticut quarterback — who played in the NFL from 2005-2017 — unloaded with a detailed assessment during a Monday episode of NFL Live.

“The dynasty is over,” Orlovsky began. “It really ended on March 17 when Tom Brady left.

“They have been a very poor drafting football team,” noted Orlovsky. “We know that the roster right now is depleted, mainly because of free agents that have left, and poor drafting, and some COVID opt-outs. Some of those COVID opt-outs are free agents next year as well. So you’re going to figure out can you re-sign them?”

Looking at the team’s current setup, Orlovsky found more fault with Bill Belichick’s roster building than coaching.

“They drafted poorly,” he explained. “Go back to 2013. I think they’ve drafted one really good player in the first round. That’s Isaiah Wynn, their left tackle. They’ve missed on a bunch of first rounders and second rounders, especially at the skill positions. So, how do you rebuild an organization that right now is struggling in the draft. [The Patriots] haven’t shown they’ve been able to do that.”

Beyond that, Orlovsky also looked at how the Patriots’ decline began earlier than the 2020 season.

“This is a team that last year wasn’t very good,” he claimed. “I know they went 12-4, but they were 0-4 against the four best teams in the AFC. They’re 6-10 in their last 16 games.

“And folks, it’s not just the quarterback,” Orlovsky added. “It’s not like, ‘Hey Cam Newton is playing really bad football. If we had a better player in there, we would fix this. This is going to take a couple years.”

Orlovsky also pointed to a Monday interview with Belichick on WEEI in which the Patriots’ coach offered a candid assessment of the team’s current capacity.

“Look, we paid Cam Newton $1 million,” Belichick told “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria” on Monday. “I mean it’s obvious we didn’t have any money. It’s nobody’s fault. That’s what we did the last five years. We sold out and won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth and played in a AFC championship game. This year we had less to work with. It’s not an excuse, it’s just a fact.”

For Orlovsky, Belichick’s quote is an indicator of what might be in the Patriots’ future.

“Bill Belichick has said it himself,” said Orlovsky. “They sold out. They sold out over the last five years to try to win as many Super Bowls as they did. And they got a couple, but the dynasty is over. The next three or four years are going to look very, very different in New England.”

Trivia: What member of the 1975 Red Sox ran for governor of a New England state in 2016?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He was traded from Boston to the Montreal Expos in late 1978.

More from Boston.com:

The McCourty twins’ message on the importance of voting:

GO VOTE!!! pic.twitter.com/FLYditRFwE

— Devin&Jason McCourty (@McCourtyTwins) November 3, 2020

The Patriots’ reported asking price for Stephon Gilmore: Stay tuned for all of the latest Patriots rumors and updates before today’s NFL trade deadline.

After speaking with a few GMs around the NFL, I’ve learned multiple teams who have called the Patriots about CB Stephon Gilmore were told by New England they want a first round pick and a player in exchange for the 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year.

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) November 3, 2020

On this day: In 1942, Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon was announced as the American League MVP, with Ted Williams finishing second by a tight margin (270-249).

Williams — who hit .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBIs to win the triple crown — finished second for the second year in a row to a Yankee with less impressive numbers. The reason, especially in the case of Gordon, seemed to fall heavily on the Red Sox star’s personality.

“Williams’s attitude, perhaps, was taken into account in the voting of some members of the committee and it may have been the deciding factor in the balloting,” wrote an Associated Press account at the time.

What’s remarkable, both in terms of Williams’s career accomplishments as well as his combative relationship with baseball media, was that 1942 wouldn’t be the last time he would win the triple crown yet not the MVP.

In 1947, Williams would finish second to Joe DiMaggio by just a single point in the voting, blaming (erroneously) dissent from Boston Globe writer Melville Webb.

Ted Williams MVP

Daily highlight: On Monday, newly promoted Fulham scored a first win in the Premier League this season thanks in part to a fantastic volley from Ola Aina.

LOOK AT THIS STUNNER.

This hit by Ola Aina helped put Fulham in the win column for the first time this season. pic.twitter.com/KmoTf5H7s1

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 2, 2020