It all started off great when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady arrived in Foxboro. They won three Super Bowls in their first four years. That had never been achieved by any other coach/quarterback in NFL history. Everything was going great. After the three Super Bowls were over, three years later came the unexpected 18-0 run. We all know what happened…we simply got robbed. From the no call on David Tyres head catch to Asante Samuels dropped interception. Then after the heartbreaking loss Brady goes down the first game of next season. He missed the whole year with a torn ACL.

The Patriots have not won a Super Bowl in 10 years. They have fallen short many times since their last Super Bowl. There are two reasons they keep falling short. First is the fact that they don’t have a down the field receiver who can take the top off the defense. The last time they had a down the field receiver was Randy Moss and they went 18-0. The Patriots wide receivers have not been good enough. They are short, slow, and not explosive. The Pats need a tall receiver who can beat defenses deep and they have lacked that the past five years. Lets look at the five playoff losses. Over the last five seasons, the Ravens (2009), Jets (2010), Giants (2011), Ravens (2012) and Broncos (2013). All of those defenses flood the middle of the field taking away the Patriots slot receivers. Teams are basically telling Brady if you’re going to beat us you have to beat us deep and the Patriots have no vertical threat to do that. The Patriots have been getting smashed in the mouth by opposing defenses because they lack a deep threat receiver.

Another big reason the Patriots have been falling short is their pathetic defense. The Patriots defense has been one of the worst in the NFL over the past 5 to 6 seasons. They have no pressure on the quarterback come playoff time which leads to the opposing quarterback having all day to throw. If you don’t pressure the opposing quarterback, you will lose in the NFL every week. The Patriots have also lacked a solid secondary. All of these loses the Patriots secondary has been torched, especially this year against the Denver Broncos. In the NFL, defenses win championships. And the Patriots haven’t had one. The Patriots can’t guard a big physical receiver. They were burned by Braylon Edwards of the Jets, Anquan Boldin of the Ravens, Hakeem Nicks of the Giants, and most recently, the Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas.

The window is closing on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, so if they want to be on top again and win another Super Bowl, Belichick has to spend some money on a true No.1 receiver and build a strong defense.