Remember that J-Lo song “Jenny From The Block,” that came out like five years ago? Well if the title isn’t enough of an indication, J-Lo urges her friends and critics through “song,” to remember no matter how successful she has become, she is still the same person; still if you will, Jenny from the block. In the chorus, she triumphantly belts: “No matter where I go, I know where I came from.”

Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything. Well, let’s dive in.

The New England Patriots are 7-5. The still lead the AFC East, but by their traditional standards, they are off to one of their ugliest starts in the last decade. Their Sunday afternoon loss to the Dolphins marked the first time in more than three years that the Patroits have dropped two games in a row.

And when you begin to examine why, “Jenny From The Block” all of a sudden becomes a lot more salient.

Despite the fact that the term “dynasty” gets thrown around in New England all the time, the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl in five years. So let’s examine what they looked like when they were repeat champions in 2003 and 2004.

In 2003, the Patriots ranked in the lower half of the NFL in terms of offensive yards, and were out of the top 10 in points per game. Their defense however allowed less than 15 points per contest, good for best in the NFL.

2004 was the first time in the decade that the Patriots were a genuinely dominating offense. Their offensive output went from 17th overall in 2003, to being ranked in the top five in almost every major offensive category. But the main story was still their defense, which finish just behind the Steelers for best scoring defense in the league.

This paints a very interesting picture. When the Patriots were winning championships, their defense kept them in games until the fourth quarter. Then, Tom Brady and friends would take over. So I guess the million dollar question is this: Have the Patriots forgotten where they came from?

Despite their remarkable offensive outputs over the last three seasons, the Patriots’ defenses have gotten progressively worse. In fact, the 2004 season marked the only time that the Patriots had a top five offense and defense in the same year. The years previous to 2004 saw their defense getting stronger and their offense suffering. Since their last title, it has been a total role reversal.

Now, sports media figures question coach Bill Belichick on a weekly basis. Usually it is because he went for it on fourth down in an unconventional situation. It appears however, that these figures haven’t once stopped to ask why he would go for it. And it’s because his defense has really had that much of a problem.

The Patriots have spent three years adding new Lamborghinis to the offensive garage, including but not limited to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and a cavalcade of running backs. But at the same time, Belichick has been willing to part ways with several of the best defensive players he’s ever had.

Everyone knows about the famed Boston-New York rivalry. But not everyone knows how much they have in common. If there was one team that served as a suitable means comparison for the 2009 New England Patriots, it would be the team that everyone in New England hates: the New York Yankees.

After an unparalleled reign of success through the turn of the millennium, the Yankees appeared to forget how to be themselves. Despite the fact that the Yankees desperately needed pitching and defensive help, they spent the better part of the last six years going after home run hitters.  Now, having come back into their own, the Yankees win a World Series.

The mantra is simple: if you are good enough at one thing, it may be able to overshadow your woes in another area. But for all the great things we say about him, Bill Belichick should know better than that. It is Belichick after all who because famous for shutting down superior teams and then wearing away at their sub par defenses. Don’t forget where you came from. Or else people start singing about it.

Then it gets real ugly.

The NFL won’t admit this, but they are a monopoly.

I base this on the leading characteristic of a monopoly, as taught to me by the greatest economics professor of all time, Vincent D’Andrea. A monopoly is characterized by its formidable barriers to entry, and maintenance of limited to zero competition.

In Layman’s terms: not only can you not compete with the NFL, you can’t even feasibly think about it.

The NFL is the most watched sport in this country, and their marketing people are well aware of that. Despite being a multi-billion dollar business; the element of broadcasting the NFL still somehow appears to be a privilege.

In 2001, the NFL completely cut ties with NBC, after NBC agreed to be the flagship network of the XFL. It took NBC more than five years to get NFL programming back on their network.

In 2004 the NFL demanded that ESPN cancel their highest rated, and most critically acclaimed original show to this date, “Playmakers.” The NFL insisted that it was due to the harsh light which football players were projected, but also threatened to pull Sunday Night Football from ESPN if they didn’t follow along.

Especially in a recession, high ratings for football games have been one of the only sure things in the television industry—which is one of the reasons why television networks like Fox are willing to do anything the NFL tells them to, even after paying an annual check of $550 million (in case you were unsure, $550 million for a year of television programming is a lot of money).

While I’m sure that someone with a much more expensive degree than mine could find something genuinely illegal about this, I am looking at this story in a different manner. Because for the first time since the folding of the USFL, there is another football league that has an honest to god great shot at taking off.

The United Football League (UFL) is making continuous splashes by acquiring great second-string NFL talent, and their business model certainly shows that they have learned from the mistakes of the leagues before them.

It starts with the entire league’s mission statement, which openly admits that the UFL is not an alternative to the NFL, but rather a supplemental league. The league’s founders even declare that “the UFL will field teams comprised of the best players in the world and tomorrow’s rising stars.”

So here we have a league that admits it’s not competitively the same as the NFL, but rather a sophisticated and technically sound second league. And if their current actions are any indication, they are ready to back it up.

Their business plan is going to appeal to some big markets, but more importantly, every small market that the NFL has passed over. The first year will only feature four teams, but each team will play several games on a neutral site.

And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that seats will be cheaper than they are in the NFL (hello Personal Seating Licenses).

Now I can hear the groans, “this is going to be bad football.” Well, it certainly won’t be NFL football. But I’m not sure that they are trying to be NFL football, and I think that is what has done in nearly every upstart league in the past.

And I’m not the only person buying into the hype. The four teams (Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco and Orlando) will be coached by three playoff experienced NFL head coaches and one renowned defensive coordinator.

Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett, Dennis Green, and Ted Cottrell are the four flagship coaches, and all four of them would without a doubt be coordinating the offense or defense of an NFL team right now, if it wasn’t for this.

Beyond that, the UFL also will run side by side with the NFL. Instead of trying to carry a usually exhausted fan base into March, the UFL will play its games on Tuesdays and Fridays in October and November.

So you’ve now heard about all of the UFL’s potential, but you’ve also heard about the NFL’s zero tolerance policy regarding competition. And this leads to what has the potential to be one of the biggest sports dramas of the decade.

The UFL can have all of the potential in the world, but if the games can’t make it to national television, this project is over before it even begins. And the fact that the NFL works with every major network station (and the biggest cable station) certainly doesn’t make things easier.

But that’s not to say the UFL won’t work. Especially with their mission statement in mind, the UFL may not just be a cheap alternative for the fans. But it may be a cheap alternative to some networks too. If a network like Spike or TNT (that already has a fleet of sports broadcasters under contract) could get their paws on the UFL, then this has a real shot.

There is a difference between great potential and great execution. And especially in this regard, history does not bode well for the UFL. But if you look simply at their business plan, their coaching staffs and their game play model, you can tell that the UFL has some really smart people pulling the strings here.

Realistically the ball is once again in the NFL’s court.