That was then: Celebrating what was

Ed Hillel

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I think I can count 3 of them that are on the final defensive play. 2 this year, and one against Baltimore in the 2014 AFC divisional game
Baltimore actually got the ball back and the game ended on a hail mary that scared the shit out of me. You probably just blacked out, that game was a doozy.
 

streeter88

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3rd straight season Brady is at 25+ TD with 5 or fewer picks through 11 games. That has only been done 4 other times in NFL history and one was Brady in 2007. The other two are Rodgers twice and Wentz this year.
While we are talking Brady, if I am counting correctly, he passed Brees (481 including today's 1) on the all time TD passes list and has 482 TD. Both obviously still active so it might seesaw a bit, but Brady was 9 behind at the beginning of this season due to only 12 games played last year, and has now caught up.
 

dynomite

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Baltimore actually got the ball back and the game ended on a hail mary that scared the shit out of me. You probably just blacked out, that game was a doozy.
Yup. Pats kneeled 3 times then punted from our own 15 with 15 seconds left. Ravens had the ball at midfield and enough time for one Hail Mary. Couldn’t breathe.

It’s here at 7:50 —

[youtube][/YouTube]
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
Look back at 1997. 20 seasons ago. Can any Pats fan think this would have been possible in just 20 years? I know it is talked about a lot, but it still amazes me what this team has become in the last 20 years. The Patriots were THE Clown Show franchise for a long period of time.
I appreciate everything this version of the Patriots does, because I know that it is only a matter of time until the luck runs out. I mean, look at the 49ers.
Whenever I get the “you guys are so spoiled” crap, I reply with the fact that I lived through Wilson, Miller, Hodson and a generation of being a joke of a franchise that failed, often in spectacular fashion, the moment it sniffed any opportunity to escape it’s history as the forgotten, remote outpost of the league. We invented new ways to suck, and now we’re polar opposite of that. As bizarre as it is wonderful.
 

Hendu for Kutch

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Whenever I get the “you guys are so spoiled” crap, I reply with the fact that I lived through Wilson, Miller, Hodson and a generation of being a joke of a franchise that failed, often in spectacular fashion, the moment it sniffed any opportunity to escape it’s history as the forgotten, remote outpost of the league. We invented new ways to suck, and now we’re polar opposite of that. As bizarre as it is wonderful.
I remember thinking in SB XXXVI when Tebucky Jones ran back a 99-yard fumble return for a clinching TD, only to see it get called back and a 1st and Goal given to the Rams from the 1 that it made sense. It was the natural order of things, that we had a team/franchise that was good enough at times to be a footnote on the legacies of other teams/players, and that was it. We gave it a good run, but in the end we are background in the story of the NFL, and the Rams were going to come back. I hoped it wouldn't happen, but it seemed like the way it was supposed to go based on everything I'd known in my life to that point. The Proehl TD didn't do much to dissuade that feeling later on either.

But that one drive...that one seemingly impossible drive from a system QB who was cool as a cucumber but probably in over his head...it changed everything. We were no longer bit players in someone else's story. It just kept growing and growing until we became the story. Even when we lost, maybe even especially when we lost, we were the story.

So, we may be spoiled. Shoot, we definitely are spoiled. But at least we're not foonotes and I'll take that every time.
 

Reverend

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Whenever I get the “you guys are so spoiled” crap, I reply with the fact that I lived through Wilson, Miller, Hodson and a generation of being a joke of a franchise that failed, often in spectacular fashion, the moment it sniffed any opportunity to escape it’s history as the forgotten, remote outpost of the league. We invented new ways to suck, and now we’re polar opposite of that. As bizarre as it is wonderful.
Anyone who thinks an organizational turnaround of this kind, even one a person might find annoying, is not intrinsically interesting might not be worth talking to.

At least about, well, organizations of people, anyway.
 

Al Zarilla

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Jeff Howe‏ @jeffphowe
Tom Brady reached a rushing milestone yesterday. He has now lost 201 rushing yards in his career due to 194 kneel-downs. Both are the most in the NFL since 1994. Cost of doing business.
Can’t remember, did they do kneel-downs before 1994 or so, or did the guy with the ball have to get whacked for the play to end so the QB handed it off? I think you could do kneel-downs or the Miracle of the Meadowlands wouldn’t have been so stupid by the Giants (handing off, fumble, Herman Edwards recovery and touchdown).
 

Toe Nash

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Can’t remember, did they do kneel-downs before 1994 or so, or did the guy with the ball have to get whacked for the play to end so the QB handed it off? I think you could do kneel-downs or the Miracle of the Meadowlands wouldn’t have been so stupid by the Giants (handing off, fumble, Herman Edwards recovery and touchdown).
It looks like the rule was change in 1987, but after that play, most teams kind of ran a kneel in such situations where they fell onto the ball.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarterback_kneel#History
 

Dick Drago

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I think kneel downs were pretty standard even in the 70s. The Miracle of the Meadowlands was exceptionally stupid, because kneel downs were already common. (If I remember right)
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I feel as though there was a time when the clock rules at the end of the game were different from how they are now. I don't remember exactly how, but I remember it wasn't as clear cut before how long each play would take at the end of the game and you could not always count on a 40 second wind down. I think there was a 25 second clock and it started on ready to play or something. Anyway, the way I remember it was that you could eek out a few extra seconds if you actually ran a running play than you could with a kneel down. I think they spotted the ball pretty fast so it wasn't simple math like it is now where you know that there's a full 40 seconds, so no time outs by the other side necessarily means 2:00.

That's how I remember it, at least. And I think it made for more attempts to strip the ball and put fumble into play even in the end of the game in a way that's not really the case any more.
 

Al Zarilla

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I think kneel downs were pretty standard even in the 70s. The Miracle of the Meadowlands was exceptionally stupid, because kneel downs were already common. (If I remember right)
That’s what I was trying to get at, clumsily (why did he hand off if he could have just knelt). You know what the definition of old is? When you remember so many of these old time things because you were around then.
 

Bowhemian

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I feel as though there was a time when the clock rules at the end of the game were different from how they are now. I don't remember exactly how, but I remember it wasn't as clear cut before how long each play would take at the end of the game and you could not always count on a 40 second wind down. I think there was a 25 second clock and it started on ready to play or something. Anyway, the way I remember it was that you could eek out a few extra seconds if you actually ran a running play than you could with a kneel down. I think they spotted the ball pretty fast so it wasn't simple math like it is now where you know that there's a full 40 seconds, so no time outs by the other side necessarily means 2:00.

That's how I remember it, at least. And I think it made for more attempts to strip the ball and put fumble into play even in the end of the game in a way that's not really the case any more.
Yes, you remember correct. There was a 25 second play clock that would start once the refs marked the ball ready to play. Now they just start the 40 second clock as soon as the previous play ends.
 

Nator

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This could be considered celebrating what could be in the playoffs, but here goes.

I fully expect the Patriots to start a play that looks like the hot-potato jet sweep to Brandin Cooks, but it will be a fake followed by an incredibly easy touchdown pass to some-one so wide open in the end zone I will start giggling.
 

Bowhemian

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This could be considered celebrating what could be in the playoffs, but here goes.

I fully expect the Patriots to start a play that looks like the hot-potato jet sweep to Brandin Cooks, but it will be a fake followed by an incredibly easy touchdown pass to some-one so wide open in the end zone I will start giggling.
Agreed, they are setting something up. But until teams are able to cover the Cooks sweep, the Pats will keep running it.
 

Red Averages

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This could be considered celebrating what could be in the playoffs, but here goes.

I fully expect the Patriots to start a play that looks like the hot-potato jet sweep to Brandin Cooks, but it will be a fake followed by an incredibly easy touchdown pass to some-one so wide open in the end zone I will start giggling.
It'll be Marcus Cannon.
 

BuellMiller

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Mar 25, 2015
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This could be considered celebrating what could be in the playoffs, but here goes.

I fully expect the Patriots to start a play that looks like the hot-potato jet sweep to Brandin Cooks, but it will be a fake followed by an incredibly easy touchdown pass to some-one so wide open in the end zone I will start giggling.
I'll always love that first TD to Givens against the Colts in the 2003 AFC Championship, where Brady pump faked the quick WR screen, got the CB to bite, and then lofted it to the wide-open Givens in the end zone.
I believe that was also Givens' first playoff TD to start his streak of TDs in each of the rest of his playoff games.

 

Bowhemian

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Agreed, they are setting something up. But until teams are able to cover the Cooks sweep, the Pats will keep running it.
Oh, Red Averages is making me change my answer on this.
The Pats will be playing the Ravens in the playoffs. Fake the jet sweep to Cooks, and swing the pass out to Cannon, who will be eligible, who will then rumble the 20 yards to the promised land, and the game-winning score. Pandemonium ensues, Harbaugh loses his shit, and we all worry about what Brady will say about knowing the rule book at the post-game presser.
 
Apr 7, 2006
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That Givens play is one of my all time favorites - mainly because I, like so many other Pats fans, knew why it worked almost instantaneously. That its success had been drawn up by so many quick screens throughout the season. I hope we're right about the Cooks shovel pass play will set up a similarly deceptive playoff score.
 

Reverend

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Oh, Red Averages is making me change my answer on this.
The Pats will be playing the Ravens in the playoffs. Fake the jet sweep to Cooks, and swing the pass out to Cannon, who will be eligible, who will then rumble the 20 yards to the promised land, and the game-winning score. Pandemonium ensues, Harbaugh loses his shit, and we all worry about what Brady will say about knowing the rule book at the post-game presser.
Not all of us will. ;)
 

Ralphwiggum

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Considering only the bad Bills have played there it's not as cool a stat as if he had the most in New Jersey.
That would be pretty much impossible considering the Giants and Eli. It's a pretty cool stat regardless that with two TDs on Sunday Brady will have thrown for more TDs at Ralph Wilson/New Era than any Bills QB over that time period.
 

johnmd20

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The better QB stat is the fact that Rothlisberger has the most QB wins in Cleveland since 2001. And Ben was drafted in 2004. It's incredible.
 
Jeff Howe‏ @jeffphowe
Tom Brady reached a rushing milestone yesterday. He has now lost 201 rushing yards in his career due to 194 kneel-downs. Both are the most in the NFL since 1994. Cost of doing business.
Whenever my girlfriend makes fun of TBs "rushing" abilities (which is quite often) I point out that he ranks 3rd among active players in playoff rushing TDs.

That's 3rd among all players, not 3rd among QBs. (Brady has 6, behind only Blount with 8 and Lynch with 9)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rush_td_active_playoffs.htm

If you want to allow WRs in on the show, and make it simply playoff TDs scored, there are 3 current receivers ahead of Brady (Fitz 10, Gronk 9, Vernon Davis 7).

It's very clear he's a monster rushing machine, and any stat that suggests otherwise is just cherry-picked by non-believers.

(For playoff passing TDs he has more than the next two combined (63 v Rodgers 36 & Flacco/Rothlisberger 25 each), but my girlfriend doesn't make fun of his passing quite so much).
 

jmcc5400

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Took some time today to catch up on this thread. It's a good one.
Part of celebrating what is is cherishing what was. The callbacks to the Givens TD in the 2003 AFCG (a stand up out of your seat moment as it unfolded) and reliving the highlights of the divisional game against Baltimore in 2014 (my god, were Gronk and Amendola unreal) were a delightful half hour this week.
 

Salva135

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Just saw on CSN that the Pats have won a franchise record 13 straight road games. I'm pretty surprised this record happened now.
 

Al Zarilla

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Inside the NFL this week is really, really good about the Patriots, not just the Miami game highlights, but the discussion after. Simms, Esiason and, gasp, Ray Lewis, all with good stuff.
 

luckiestman

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Not positive if this is the right thread but I had been trying to watch Cleveland ‘95 again and couldn’t find it. I went looking again and it’s on YouTube now:

 

SirPsychoSquints

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Assuming this article is accurate, with two touchdown passes Sunday, Tom Brady will surpass Ryan Fitzpatrick for the most touchdown passes in the state of New York over the last twenty years

https://www.google.com/amp/billswire.usatoday.com/2017/11/28/tom-bradys-statistical-dominance-vs-bills-will-blow-your-mind/amp/
That's true if you go all the way back to 1994. If you include 1993, then Drew Bledsoe is the leader with 40. If you include 1992, then it's Jim Kelly with 53.

http://pfref.com/tiny/ZsYYs
 

Ralphwiggum

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Just saw on CSN that the Pats have won a franchise record 13 straight road games. I'm pretty surprised this record happened now.
I looked at this earlier this season when the Pats were at 10 straight to see what the record was. It is the the 1988-1990 49ers with 18, which is insane. My guess is they'll probably drop at least one of the three straight road games they are about to play, but it's not outside of the realm of possibility that they go into next season with a shot to tie or break that record.
 

tims4wins

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Inside the NFL this week is really, really good about the Patriots, not just the Miami game highlights, but the discussion after. Simms, Esiason and, gasp, Ray Lewis, all with good stuff.
BB was mic'd up. He noticed the great Allen block on the long Burkhead run as it happened. Unreal that he saw it during live play.
 

Reverend

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BB was mic'd up. He noticed the great Allen block on the long Burkhead run as it happened. Unreal that he saw it during live play.
I can only speculate on what it’s like to be able to imagine what he sees while watching a game.
 

Bowhemian

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I can only speculate on what it’s like to be able to imagine what he sees while watching a game.
It's easy, don't watch the ball. The first few years I coached, I had a hard time not watching the play where the ball is. I got used to watching where the ball was supposed to go, and what other players were doing. No question I was not, nor will I ever be at BB's level, as I imagine that he sees things even before they happen.
 

Al Zarilla

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BB was mic'd up. He noticed the great Allen block on the long Burkhead run as it happened. Unreal that he saw it during live play.
Bill congratulated a couple of other players coming off the field for the play and then spun around to get Duane Allen when he was coming by and give him the big congrats. I might have thrown my back out doing that. Good that Bill doesn’t just reserve big congrats for the stars.