Though their season ended abruptly when the New York Jets beat them in the divisional round of the playoffs at Foxboro, the New England Patriots had a season to remember and the accolades keep rolling in. Â Tom Brady won the Associated Press’ Offensive Player of the Year award and the Patriots’ offensive line won the Madden Most Valuable Protectors award this week.
After bringing the Patriots to their 12th playoff appearance in 17 seasons, head coach Bill Belichick can be added to the list of winners as he was voted the AP’s Coach of the Year for the second consecutive time, his third time winning the award. Â After the Patriots went 14-2 in the regular season and were favored to get to the Super Bowl, the Jets surprised everyone with an offensive onslaught, beating the Pats in the divisional game 28-21.
It could be argued that, despite the team’s inability to get to the Super Bowl, 2010 was one of Belichick’s best as a coach. Â While dealing with young, inexperienced defenders and the loss of Randy Moss during the season, the Patriots were the highest scoring team in the NFL and Belichick became the first coach in the NFL with a 14-win season in four separate seasons.
While plenty of sportswriters and Monday morning quarterbacks were questioning Belichick’s style still being effective, they still saw the value in how he brought the team from their 10-6 record in 2009 to topping the AFC East in 2010. Plenty of critics will always associate Belichick with “Spygate” but it seems that the Associated Press appreciates the talent and skill Belichick brings to the NFL, with or without video tapes.
Given how the season ended, the award will probably come as little comfort to Patriots’ fans but the acknowledgment of Belichick’s contributions to the success of the Patriots overall gives validation to the faith and trust the players, fans and ownership put in their coach.