That was then: Celebrating what was

BaseballJones

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Sanu sure did turn into a pumpkin.

2016 with Atl - 59 rec, 72.8% catch rate
2017 with Atl - 67 rec, 69.8% catch rate
2018 with Atl - 66 rec, 70.2% catch rate
2019 with Atl - 33 rec, 78.6% catch rate
2019 with NE - first 2 games - 12 rec, 63.1% catch rate - then got hurt
2019 with NE - last 6 games - 14 rec, 50.0% catch rate
2020 with 2 teams - 17 rec, 70.8% catch rate (limited action due to injury again)

So he was really good (not pro-bowl caliber, but steady, reliable, quality veteran receiver) right up til he hurt his ankle. Then he was TERRIBLE. Then this year, when he got on the field, he was solid again in limited action.

So that's kind of the definition of a guy turning into a pumpkin, and it coincided with a serious ankle injury that he tried to fight through the rest of the year, obviously unsuccessfully.

The hate around here for Sanu is seriously misplaced. The guy is a good player. Not WR1 caliber, not a star, but a good player.
 

NortheasternPJ

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It's weird how a guy who's not a WR1 is expected to be a WR1 after an ankle injury and not being paired with Julio Jones. I loved the Sanu trade at the time in terms of talent, I think they gave up too much in draft cap. but I think if he didn't get hurt, was going to be a WR2 really or 2.5 behind Edelman and an outside threat he would have been very good.
 

soxhop411

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Cotillion

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With Lynch in, Rodney's case has to have improved to he deserves to be in also unless I am missing something in the level of play.
 

Mystic Merlin

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No Hall of Fame for Seymour.
Next year he has a good shot, he faced a tough slate of stiff first ballot guys and some other guys with serious groundswell support.

The first ballot guys next year include Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, and Demarcus Ware. With Faneca, Lynch, and Pearson off the board I could easily see Seymour in as one of 5 guys or so.
 

bsj

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What's uncomfortable about it? The season ended Sunday night, so now the Patriots are on to next season.
The whole "stick with us" message in the hours after a Brady win with another team. I dont know. I prob would have waited a few days is all....or released it after THEIR season ended.

Look, Its fine, its a nice piece of video. My first instinct was just the timing felt off.
 

streeter88

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Just watching the SB replay and they showed the HOF class this year led by Peyton - honestly couldn’t tell which was more glaring, his jacket or his forehead - and it struck me that since he retired, all Brady has done is play in 4 of 5 SBs, winning 3 more Rings.
 

BaseballJones

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Why I did this, I have no idea. But I rewatched the Manning/Bradshaw fumble in the Scottish Game. Pierre Woods had it, and was fully laying on top of the ball. Nobody touching him. THEN Bradshaw dove on him, burrowed underneath Woods, and after a few seconds, ripped it away. Of course the refs gave it to the Giants.

Then on the awful NYG drive, the Patriots had THREE near-interceptions.

- 2nd and 10 from the NYG 28 with 2:00 left, Manning lofts a pass down the left sideline for Burress. Harrison comes over and the ball goes right through his hands.

- 2nd and 5 from the NYG 44 with 1:20 left, Manning throws down the right sideline for Tyree, who stopped, leaving Samuel all alone to make the pick. It glances off his hands.

- 2nd and 11 from the NE 25 with :50 left, Manning lofts a fluttering duck down the left sideline for Tyree. Meriweather has the ball go through his hands.

Plus the 4th down conversion - a Jacobs run where he made it by six inches, and the sack on Manning (which under any other circumstance would have been in the grasp, and in either case it involved at least 3 egregious holds on the Giants, which were later admitted by the NYG offensive line)...

...and the Pats had 5 chances to stop them.

Why did I do this to myself? I don't know. But man...talk about a horseshoe up their (New York's) butts.
 

shoosh77

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Why I did this, I have no idea. But I rewatched the Manning/Bradshaw fumble in the Scottish Game. Pierre Woods had it, and was fully laying on top of the ball. Nobody touching him. THEN Bradshaw dove on him, burrowed underneath Woods, and after a few seconds, ripped it away. Of course the refs gave it to the Giants.

Then on the awful NYG drive, the Patriots had THREE near-interceptions.

- 2nd and 10 from the NYG 28 with 2:00 left, Manning lofts a pass down the left sideline for Burress. Harrison comes over and the ball goes right through his hands.

- 2nd and 5 from the NYG 44 with 1:20 left, Manning throws down the right sideline for Tyree, who stopped, leaving Samuel all alone to make the pick. It glances off his hands.

- 2nd and 11 from the NE 25 with :50 left, Manning lofts a fluttering duck down the left sideline for Tyree. Meriweather has the ball go through his hands.

Plus the 4th down conversion - a Jacobs run where he made it by six inches, and the sack on Manning (which under any other circumstance would have been in the grasp, and in either case it involved at least 3 egregious holds on the Giants, which were later admitted by the NYG offensive line)...

...and the Pats had 5 chances to stop them.

Why did I do this to myself? I don't know. But man...talk about a horseshoe up their (New York's) butts.
Peyton played with his a horseshoe on his helmet, Eli with one up his heinie.
 

BigSoxFan

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Why I did this, I have no idea. But I rewatched the Manning/Bradshaw fumble in the Scottish Game. Pierre Woods had it, and was fully laying on top of the ball. Nobody touching him. THEN Bradshaw dove on him, burrowed underneath Woods, and after a few seconds, ripped it away. Of course the refs gave it to the Giants.

Then on the awful NYG drive, the Patriots had THREE near-interceptions.

- 2nd and 10 from the NYG 28 with 2:00 left, Manning lofts a pass down the left sideline for Burress. Harrison comes over and the ball goes right through his hands.

- 2nd and 5 from the NYG 44 with 1:20 left, Manning throws down the right sideline for Tyree, who stopped, leaving Samuel all alone to make the pick. It glances off his hands.

- 2nd and 11 from the NE 25 with :50 left, Manning lofts a fluttering duck down the left sideline for Tyree. Meriweather has the ball go through his hands.

Plus the 4th down conversion - a Jacobs run where he made it by six inches, and the sack on Manning (which under any other circumstance would have been in the grasp, and in either case it involved at least 3 egregious holds on the Giants, which were later admitted by the NYG offensive line)...

...and the Pats had 5 chances to stop them.

Why did I do this to myself? I don't know. But man...talk about a horseshoe up their (New York's) butts.
I was actually at the game and remember being incredibly confused about the Pierre Woods play. Everyone near me thought we had it. Still, though, you can't let the ball get away. That would have been a game changer given where it occurred. As for the final drive, that was simply a comedy of missed opportunities. As you mentioned, the Patriots had multiple opportunities even before that fateful play. They also inexplicably left Ellis Hobbs on an island against a 6'5 WR on the go ahead play. You knew exactly where that ball was going. Was like when the Pats used to split out Gronk on a LB.

13 years later, that game doesn't really bother me anymore and it's largely given how awesome SB 49 and 51 turned out. That was the universe evening out. Stinks that the perfect season was lost but shit happens.
 

Shaky Walton

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I was actually at the game and remember being incredibly confused about the Pierre Woods play. Everyone near me thought we had it. Still, though, you can't let the ball get away. That would have been a game changer given where it occurred. As for the final drive, that was simply a comedy of missed opportunities. As you mentioned, the Patriots had multiple opportunities even before that fateful play. They also inexplicably left Ellis Hobbs on an island against a 6'5 WR on the go ahead play. You knew exactly where that ball was going. Was like when the Pats used to split out Gronk on a LB.

13 years later, that game doesn't really bother me anymore and it's largely given how awesome SB 49 and 51 turned out. That was the universe evening out. Stinks that the perfect season was lost but shit happens.
Intellectually, I agree and think it's pretty craven and spoiled to think otherwise.

Emotionally, and largely because I live in the NY area and have to deal with comments from Giants fans about the Pats never getting past them, that game still makes me throw up in my mouth.

This is not like the Grady Boner Game, that was directly and emphatically undone the very next year by arguably the Greatest Comeback/Collapse in baseball playoff history. The Sox got the Yankees but good; the Pats never direclty avenged that gut wrenchingGiants loss and never will.
 

dynomite

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Peyton played with his a horseshoe on his helmet, Eli with one up his heinie.
Same with the intellectual vs. emotional divide on this.

Intellectually, I recognize we cannot complain about luck. Let's start with drafting the Greatest Team Sport Athlete of All Time with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft, meaning many teams had five or six (!) chances to draft him and didn't. Then we can consider, say, that the 1st Pats Super Bowl turned on the Tuck Rule (a correct call but wouldn't have been the first time a team lost on a missed call) and a nearly impossible FG thereafter, the 4th Super Bowl on a goal line INT with :30 left, and the 5th & 6th Super Bowls in part on winning a coin toss to possess the ball first in OT in the Championship Game/Super Bowl, I'm fairly sanguine about the amount of luck the Patriots got.

Emotionally, there are times when I still am overwhelmed thinking about the Scottish Game, the '06 AFC Championship game, and the '11 Super Bowl.
 

epraz

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Emotionally, and largely because I live in the NY area and have to deal with comments from Giants fans about the Pats never getting past them, that game still makes me throw up in my mouth.
I live here too, and my response is usually something along the lines of agreeing that it's great to enjoy your team's super bowl victories.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Same with the intellectual vs. emotional divide on this.

Intellectually, I recognize we cannot complain about luck. Let's start with drafting the Greatest Team Sport Athlete of All Time with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft, meaning many teams had five or six (!) chances to draft him and didn't. Then we can consider, say, that the 1st Pats Super Bowl turned on the Tuck Rule (a correct call but wouldn't have been the first time a team lost on a missed call) and a nearly impossible FG thereafter, the 4th Super Bowl on a goal line INT with :30 left, and the 5th & 6th Super Bowls in part on winning a coin toss to possess the ball first in OT in the Championship Game/Super Bowl, I'm fairly sanguine about the amount of luck the Patriots got.

Emotionally, there are times when I still am overwhelmed thinking about the Scottish Game, the '06 AFC Championship game, and the '11 Super Bowl.
My point about that last drive in SB 42 is that it's not like we're talking about one unlucky play. There were FOUR of them on that drive. The Pats easily could have had a turnover on any of three different plays, and then throw in the Tyree nonsense. All that, just on one drive.

Ugh.

Oh well. Six Lombardis. I'm good.
 

BigSoxFan

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My point about that last drive in SB 42 is that it's not like we're talking about one unlucky play. There were FOUR of them on that drive. The Pats easily could have had a turnover on any of three different plays, and then throw in the Tyree nonsense. All that, just on one drive.

Ugh.

Oh well. Six Lombardis. I'm good.
I'm sure we've had a few of those as well turn out positively for us although probably not as pronounced. For instance, if Alford turns around a half second sooner, he almost certainly picks off the throw that Edelman caught in SB51 when there were 2:30 remaining and the Pats had 2 timeouts left. Dude got 2 hands on the ball so Falcons fans probably view that play like we view the Samuel near INT, for instance.
 

BaseballJones

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I'm sure we've had a few of those as well turn out positively for us although probably not as pronounced. For instance, if Alford turns around a half second sooner, he almost certainly picks off the throw that Edelman caught in SB51 when there were 2:30 remaining and the Pats had 2 timeouts left. Dude got 2 hands on the ball so Falcons fans probably view that play like we view the Samuel near INT, for instance.
Yep. Over the course of the dynasty the Pats have gotten some breaks for sure.

But that was for 19-0. And the Giants needed FOUR lucky breaks on the same drive. Crazy.
 

Van Everyman

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One thing that kind of occurs to me from time to time is that the really painful losses mostly are sort of deserved. Which is to say, they probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Think about it:

In 2006 they are a Troy Brown forced fumble away from losing in the first round to the Chargers. That they even faces the Colts, much less went up by three scores against them, was kind of a miracle.

In 2011 they only beat the Ravens because their kicker missed a gimme at the end of the game (Sterling Moore prevented us from losing but boy that play is close).

In 2017 Miles Jack probably wasn’t down, they were terrible particularly in the first half of that game and they probably should’ve lost to the Jags.

Even in 2007 Brady wasn't so hot against the Chargers in the AFCCG and was in the boot after. The last half or third of the regular season felt like a series of near misses to me – and again, they should’ve lost that regular season Ravens game were it not for Rex’s timeout (in which case I believe they win the SB, but that’s another story).

All of which is to say that most of the frustrating losses in that run have almost all felt kind of those Final Destination movies where the character cheats death early on the movie only to get killed by a malfunctioning elevator that squashes their heads between floors later in the film. These games all suck but ... the Pats usually had it coming.
 

Preacher

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Just watching the SB replay and they showed the HOF class this year led by Peyton - honestly couldn’t tell which was more glaring, his jacket or his forehead - and it struck me that since he retired, all Brady has done is play in 4 of 5 SBs, winning 3 more Rings.
So played in the same number of SBs and won one more SB in the 5 years since Manning retired than Manning did in his entire hall of fame career. And people used to try to compare the two.
 

E5 Yaz

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Patriots-Falcons at noon Eastern (Valentine's Day) on NFLN. Suggest tuning in halfway through
 

Al Zarilla

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Patriots-Falcons at noon Eastern (Valentine's Day) on NFLN. Suggest tuning in halfway through
That baby has a permanent spot on my DVR, along with Seattle-NE. I think I'm going to hold onto last week's game for a good while (LV). It's got Brady, it's got Gronk and it's got the Chiefs looking bad. Almost makes up for no Patriots.
 

johnmd20

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The Edelman catch still gives me goose bumps. How he was able to snag that inches from the ground after being hit like that, with 3 other guys around him, was insane.
 

54thMA

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One thing that kind of occurs to me from time to time is that the really painful losses mostly are sort of deserved. Which is to say, they probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Think about it:

In 2006 they are a Troy Brown forced fumble away from losing in the first round to the Chargers. That they even faces the Colts, much less went up by three scores against them, was kind of a miracle.

In 2011 they only beat the Ravens because their kicker missed a gimme at the end of the game (Sterling Moore prevented us from losing but boy that play is close).

In 2017 Miles Jack probably wasn’t down, they were terrible particularly in the first half of that game and they probably should’ve lost to the Jags.

Even in 2007 Brady wasn't so hot against the Chargers in the AFCCG and was in the boot after. The last half or third of the regular season felt like a series of near misses to me – and again, they should’ve lost that regular season Ravens game were it not for Rex’s timeout (in which case I believe they win the SB, but that’s another story).

All of which is to say that most of the frustrating losses in that run have almost all felt kind of those Final Destination movies where the character cheats death early on the movie only to get killed by a malfunctioning elevator that squashes their heads between floors later in the film. These games all suck but ... the Pats usually had it coming.
That's actually a very good way to look at those games.

To further your point, the 20-18 AFCCG loss in Denver was the result of losing to the Jets and the Dolphins down the stretch that year

I might be confusing one game with another, but in the Jets game, didn't the Jets kicker miss the game winning FG only to have the Patriots commit a penalty, do over and he hit the game winner?

And the Miami loss was worse; that Dolphins team had their bags packed for the off season, absolutely nothing to play for yet they managed to win the game; those losses led to the Patriots blowing HFA and having to play Denver in Denver for the AFCCG.

And furthermore, on the two point conversion attempt at the end of the Denver AFCCG loss, Gronkowski was open in the end zone but Brady did not see him......................
 

Ale Xander

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That's actually a very good way to look at those games.

To further your point, the 20-18 AFCCG loss in Denver was the result of losing to the Jets and the Dolphins down the stretch that year

I might be confusing one game with another, but in the Jets game, didn't the Jets kicker miss the game winning FG only to have the Patriots commit a penalty, do over and he hit the game winner?

And the Miami loss was worse; that Dolphins team had their bags packed for the off season, absolutely nothing to play for yet they managed to win the game; those losses led to the Patriots blowing HFA and having to play Denver in Denver for the AFCCG.

And furthermore, on the two point conversion attempt at the end of the Denver AFCCG loss, Gronkowski was open in the end zone but Brady did not see him......................
Brady is so good his vision improves past 40
 

Silverdude2167

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I might be confusing one game with another, but in the Jets game, didn't the Jets kicker miss the game-winning FG only to have the Patriots commit a penalty, do over and he hit the game-winner?
I believe it was a completely bullshit lining up over the center call...if I am remembering correctly.
 

rodderick

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That's actually a very good way to look at those games.

To further your point, the 20-18 AFCCG loss in Denver was the result of losing to the Jets and the Dolphins down the stretch that year

I might be confusing one game with another, but in the Jets game, didn't the Jets kicker miss the game winning FG only to have the Patriots commit a penalty, do over and he hit the game winner?

And the Miami loss was worse; that Dolphins team had their bags packed for the off season, absolutely nothing to play for yet they managed to win the game; those losses led to the Patriots blowing HFA and having to play Denver in Denver for the AFCCG.

And furthermore, on the two point conversion attempt at the end of the Denver AFCCG loss, Gronkowski was open in the end zone but Brady did not see him......................
In 2015 they lost to Denver because Chris fucking Harper was back to return a punt in bad weather up 10 in the 4th. Then there was the horrific mortar kick, blocked punt and punt return against the Eagles; giving the Jets the ball in OT (they promptly scored a TD) and running the corpse of Steven Jackson about 20 times in a row vs. Miami. Even decimated by injuries that team basically worked really hard to lose 4 games to inferior teams down the stretch.
 

tims4wins

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In 2015 they lost to Denver because Chris fucking Harper was back to return a punt in bad weather up 10 in the 4th. Then there was the horrific mortar kick, blocked punt and punt return against the Eagles; giving the Jets the ball in OT (they promptly scored a TD) and running the corpse of Steven Jackson about 20 times in a row vs. Miami. Even decimated by injuries that team basically worked really hard to lose 4 games to inferior teams down the stretch.
Up 14 in Denver. 21-7.

I hate any mention of the mortar kick. It was reason number like 100 they lost that game.
 

Seels

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In 2015 they lost to Denver because Chris fucking Harper was back to return a punt in bad weather up 10 in the 4th. Then there was the horrific mortar kick, blocked punt and punt return against the Eagles; giving the Jets the ball in OT (they promptly scored a TD) and running the corpse of Steven Jackson about 20 times in a row vs. Miami. Even decimated by injuries that team basically worked really hard to lose 4 games to inferior teams down the stretch.
I'll never understand as long as I live Belichick running Jackson all those times that game. That was a pretty easy game and they have Brady throw the ball like 5 times in the first half. Wtf?

They really had to grab defeat from the arms of victory in every loss they had that year.
 

Super Nomario

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One thing that kind of occurs to me from time to time is that the really painful losses mostly are sort of deserved. Which is to say, they probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Think about it:

In 2006 they are a Troy Brown forced fumble away from losing in the first round to the Chargers. That they even faces the Colts, much less went up by three scores against them, was kind of a miracle.

In 2011 they only beat the Ravens because their kicker missed a gimme at the end of the game (Sterling Moore prevented us from losing but boy that play is close).

In 2017 Miles Jack probably wasn’t down, they were terrible particularly in the first half of that game and they probably should’ve lost to the Jags.

Even in 2007 Brady wasn't so hot against the Chargers in the AFCCG and was in the boot after. The last half or third of the regular season felt like a series of near misses to me – and again, they should’ve lost that regular season Ravens game were it not for Rex’s timeout (in which case I believe they win the SB, but that’s another story).

All of which is to say that most of the frustrating losses in that run have almost all felt kind of those Final Destination movies where the character cheats death early on the movie only to get killed by a malfunctioning elevator that squashes their heads between floors later in the film. These games all suck but ... the Pats usually had it coming.
You could probably make this argument about the Pats teams that won the Super Bowl, too - obviously with the Tuck Rule, getting down two scores twice in the Divisional Round vs the Ravens in the 2014 playoffs, some close calls in a number of SBs and the 2018 AFCCG etc. It's rare you win three or four postseason games in a row, by definition against tough teams, without close calls.
 

Van Everyman

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You could probably make this argument about the Pats teams that won the Super Bowl, too - obviously with the Tuck Rule, getting down two scores twice in the Divisional Round vs the Ravens in the 2014 playoffs, some close calls in a number of SBs and the 2018 AFCCG etc. It's rare you win three or four postseason games in a row, by definition against tough teams, without close calls.
Yes every season comes down to a few plays going one way or another – the Dee Ford offsides call against KC being another example.

My point is that almost all of those teams I mentioned—2006, 2011, 2017—didn’t really “deserve” to win the way those other teams did. Each of them was significantly more flawed and kind of lucked their way into the SB when they probably shouldn’t have made it there. Probably a factor of Tom and Bill.
 

Leather

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Yes every season comes down to a few plays going one way or another – the Dee Ford offsides call against KC being another example.

My point is that almost all of those teams I mentioned—2006, 2011, 2017—didn’t really “deserve” to win the way those other teams did. Each of them was significantly more flawed and kind of lucked their way into the SB when they probably shouldn’t have made it there. Probably a factor of Tom and Bill.
With the benefit of hindsight, I suppose that’s comforting. But at the same time, the team that’s the best throughout the season only ends up winning the SB...what? 25% of the time? It seems more often it’s the team that hottest in December (Giants in 07,11; TB this year; Eagles in 2017).

The thing that made those losses painful was twofold. First, we had no idea (how could we) that the Patriots’ window was going to last nearly as long as it ended up lasting, so every bite at the apple seemed like it could be the final chance. And while everyone circa 2006/07 had some grudging respect for the Pats’ three championships, there was never the coronation or awe-filled talk about the Patriots that seemed to come along with being a dynasty like the 49ers or Cowboys or Steelers. Lots of “they were lucky” or “Steelers were better that year” or “Manning is better” type of stuff. Rightly or wrongly, as fans many of us felt that one more SB would put the Patriots over the edge and into all-time great status. The second thing which exacerbated the first is Spygate, which basically pushed the reset button on the level of respect the Patriots received and pushed them back to O.
 

tims4wins

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That seems like an awfully downbeat take, @Leather
It’s true though. When they lost in 11, then blew a miracle Denver loss in 12 when they lost the AFCCG at home, then when they fell behind by 14 twice to Baltimore, it truly felt like they might never win that elusive 4th. The “drought” was a decade at that point.
 

BaseballJones

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Agreed T4W. It seemed like Brady would never lose a playoff game. Then suddenly the team was snakebit and couldn't win it all. Tyree, Brady's knee, stupid Ravens/Jets games, bad losses to Denver....one thing after another. Seemed like it would never happen again.

Then Malcolm Butler happened. And the dam burst again for this team over the next 5 years.

Amazing.
 

Super Nomario

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Yes every season comes down to a few plays going one way or another – the Dee Ford offsides call against KC being another example.

My point is that almost all of those teams I mentioned—2006, 2011, 2017—didn’t really “deserve” to win the way those other teams did. Each of them was significantly more flawed and kind of lucked their way into the SB when they probably shouldn’t have made it there. Probably a factor of Tom and Bill.
Yeah, those teams were pretty flawed, but if we're being honest, the 2001 and 2018 teams had no business winning it all, either. The others, I think you can make a case at least they were the best team in football even apart from the SB.
 

Helmet Head

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In 2006 they are a Troy Brown forced fumble away from losing in the first round to the Chargers. That they even faces the Colts, much less went up by three scores against them, was kind of a miracle.
Great post. If the Pats don’t win this playoff game in 06 @ San Diego, Peyton likely doesn’t win his first Super Bowl. That San Diego team was stacked and the Pats had no business winning it. I certainly don’t think the Colts were going in there and winning the AFC Championship.
 

Hendu for Kutch

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Yes every season comes down to a few plays going one way or another – the Dee Ford offsides call against KC being another example.

My point is that almost all of those teams I mentioned—2006, 2011, 2017—didn’t really “deserve” to win the way those other teams did. Each of them was significantly more flawed and kind of lucked their way into the SB when they probably shouldn’t have made it there. Probably a factor of Tom and Bill.
I think if you make it to or win the Super Bowl, you deserve it. I just don't think you can "luck" yourself that far. It's easy to pick a play like the Dee Ford play and say they were "lucky", but doing so usually ignores an equal and opposite play that gets forgotten. Remember Kelce fumbling and Hightower recovering, which set NE up deep in KC territory with about 3 minutes remaining? Remembering how that game went down, I think it was KC who was lucky to be in it rather than the other way around.

In the end, unless you're an all-time great team you're going to play some close games in the playoffs that could go either way, and even being an all-time great team is no guarantee as we all painfully know. The intestinal fortitude of the Patriots almost always ensured that any loss they suffered would be close and thus gut-wrenching.

To circle back to Celebrating What Is, that's one of the underrated aspects of that 20 year run. The lack of egg-laying that happened in the playoffs. They might lose, but they never let themselves get obliterated and due to their ability to come back an out-of-reach playoff game before the late 4th quarter was a rare sight. Montana/Walsh lost 49-3. Manning/Dungy lost 41-0. Rodgers lost 44-21. Mahomes/Reid just lost 31-9. Elway lost 42-10 and 55-10. Favre lost 35-9 and 45-17. Marino lost 38-3 and 62-7. Kelly/Levy lost 52-17. Simms lost 44-3.

Brady & BB's worst playoff loss, despite playing in way more games than any of these guyes? 33-14, the only playoff L of the era that was by more than two scores. Three other L's were two score losses, and the other seven L's were one score games. Those are always going to sting a bit more.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,054
Hingham, MA
I think if you make it to or win the Super Bowl, you deserve it. I just don't think you can "luck" yourself that far. It's easy to pick a play like the Dee Ford play and say they were "lucky", but doing so usually ignores an equal and opposite play that gets forgotten. Remember Kelce fumbling and Hightower recovering, which set NE up deep in KC territory with about 3 minutes remaining? Remembering how that game went down, I think it was KC who was lucky to be in it rather than the other way around.

In the end, unless you're an all-time great team you're going to play some close games in the playoffs that could go either way, and even being an all-time great team is no guarantee as we all painfully know. The intestinal fortitude of the Patriots almost always ensured that any loss they suffered would be close and thus gut-wrenching.

To circle back to Celebrating What Is, that's one of the underrated aspects of that 20 year run. The lack of egg-laying that happened in the playoffs. They might lose, but they never let themselves get obliterated and due to their ability to come back an out-of-reach playoff game before the late 4th quarter was a rare sight. Montana/Walsh lost 49-3. Manning/Dungy lost 41-0. Rodgers lost 44-21. Mahomes/Reid just lost 31-9. Elway lost 42-10 and 55-10. Favre lost 35-9 and 45-17. Marino lost 38-3 and 62-7. Kelly/Levy lost 52-17. Simms lost 44-3.

Brady & BB's worst playoff loss, despite playing in way more games than any of these guyes? 33-14, the only playoff L of the era that was by more than two scores. Three other L's were two score losses, and the other seven L's were one score games. Those are always going to sting a bit more.
Mahomes just lost in the SB by more than the Pats lost to Baltimore in 2009 in their worst ever playoff game. It was the biggest loss to date of his career. That is simply remarkable.