COMMENTARY
In the Patriots’ true championship-contending seasons, which is to say pretty much every season barring a Bernard Pollard-induced catastrophe, Bill Belichick has trained fans to anticipate the team fulfilling its potential and playing its best football in December, when the temperatures are low and the stakes are high. A successful December indicates the hard work of the previous months has taken hold, offering the promise of a potential ultimate payoff, punctuated by a parade, in January/February.
But beyond that Gospel of Belichick adage, we don’t pay much attention to the month-to-month progress of the seasons within the season.