From @scottyno's answer to the question @Time to Mo Vaughn asked in P&G ("when was the last time that the Pats were the works Boston sports team?")
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"2008-09 after losing Brady. The Bs had 116 points that year, the Cs would have likely repeated if not for the KG injury, and still nearly made the eastern finals without him, and the Sox were 1 win from going to the world series for the 2nd straight year."
So the last time the Pats were at the bottom of the NE sports heap was more than a decade ago. the year when they lost their starting QB in the first quarter of the first game of the season, turned to a guy who hadn't started since high school...and finished 11-5, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker? That's nuts!
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"2008-09 after losing Brady. The Bs had 116 points that year, the Cs would have likely repeated if not for the KG injury, and still nearly made the eastern finals without him, and the Sox were 1 win from going to the world series for the 2nd straight year."
So the last time the Pats were at the bottom of the NE sports heap was more than a decade ago. the year when they lost their starting QB in the first quarter of the first game of the season, turned to a guy who hadn't started since high school...and finished 11-5, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker? That's nuts!
Haven't listened/viewed it yet, but my Youtube feed showed "28-3" on this Games with Names podcast. Looks like it is hosted by Julian Edelman and comedian Sam Morril, and Danny Amendola is the guest to review this game.
View: https://youtu.be/3E2cX5K2cpk
View: https://youtu.be/3E2cX5K2cpk
I always am interested in these (things like these), and then see it’s 90 mins long.
It's pretty funny, some good anecdotes. Worth a listen on a drive or something. Just having audio, you don't lose much.
By the way, what must it have been like to be a Seahawks fan on the eve of SB 49? You're the defending SB champs, having just obliterated Peyton Manning and the Broncos the year before. You're 12-4 and you're coming off three straight seasons of 11, 13, and 12 wins. You have an historically great defense and a rising young superstar at QB who in three seasons in the league has been to three pro bowls already and is just 26 years old. The sky's the limit for this guy. You've got talent all over the field at virtually every position, and your head coach is a perfect fit.
You're going up against Tom Brady and the Pats, with a chance to cement your own legacy as a dynasty and an all-time great team, knocking off the erstwhile GOAT QB and GOAT HC in the process.
And you lose that game.
And then the team muddles around in the "we're pretty good but not great" area for a while, but now is without Wilson (who knows...maybe that's a blessing in disguise) and very little direction, sitting at 2-3 (coming off a 7-10 season the year before) with a career backup at QB.
They had the chance to be an all-time team, and then.....boom.
You're going up against Tom Brady and the Pats, with a chance to cement your own legacy as a dynasty and an all-time great team, knocking off the erstwhile GOAT QB and GOAT HC in the process.
And you lose that game.
And then the team muddles around in the "we're pretty good but not great" area for a while, but now is without Wilson (who knows...maybe that's a blessing in disguise) and very little direction, sitting at 2-3 (coming off a 7-10 season the year before) with a career backup at QB.
They had the chance to be an all-time team, and then.....boom.
See also, the 2001 Rams. They had won the super bowl 2 years earlier and seemed like the best team in the league by a mile, and looked just as good offensively as the Seahawks did defensively (greatest show on turf vs legion of boom is a clash of great nicknames), and while they weren't 'as young as Seattle, they collectively had won the last 3 league MVP awards. After losing to the Pats in heartbreaking fashion, they make the playoffs twice in the next three years (both times losing in the divisional round), followed by a full dozen years missing the playoffs and including a move back to LA.
Pretty rough.
Yeah, true.
The Pats have destroyed several would-be dynasties:
late 1990s/early 2000s Rams
Peyton's Colts (looked like the "other" best team in the NFL in 2003 and 2005, and obviously won it in 2006)
mid 2010s Seahawks
Toss the Steelers in that mix. They still won 2 super bowls and went to 3, but losing 3 AFC title games to the Pats means there's an alternate universe somewhere in which the Steelers are the dominant franchise of the last 20+ years.
Not necessarily a dynasty but they also stole the souls of the SD Chargers with Rivers, Gates and Tomlinson, particularly in the Troy Brown game in ‘06.
Yup, although they did get right back in the next AFCCG and played well enough to win but LDT was a sourpuss and Rivers was hurt. They did a great job on the Pats passing game in that one, holding Moss to 1 catch for 18 yards and Welker for 7/56. Picked Brady off 3 times as well. Faulk was huge in that one with 8/82.
We don't really have to imagine, Pats fans lived it to some extent. Eve of SB 42 , undefeated season, yadda yadda yadda.
The next season Brady has his ACL blown out in the first quarter of the first game. 2009 we make the playoffs and get annihilated by the Ravens. 2010 we get upset by the Jets after boat racing them a few weeks prior in the regular season.
Obviously it's different because of the 3 titles we won a few years earlier. But there certainly was a feeling that those days weren't returning and we blew a chance at extending the dynasty.
...and then we went to 8 straight conference championship games. Eight. Blows my mind to even write it. The AFCCG was the Belichick/Brady Invitational.
Of all the Belichick/Brady stats, that one remains the most staggering to me. Every dynasty has a down year from time to time, even if they recover. In the 30 full years of the Cowher / Tomlin Steelers, they've gone to the playoffs 20 times, missed the playoffs 10. The Montana/Young 49ers dynasty from 81-98 only missed the playoffs twice in those 18 years (one of which was the 1982 strike-shortened year). Their maximum streak of going to the NFCCG? 3 years, '88-90. Peyton Manning never went to the AFCCG in so much as back-to-back years, though he did go to 5 total (winning 4).
There are hardly any comparable streaks even in deep NFL history, long before the salary cap and when team imbalances were far larger:
- 6 (10?): Cleveland 1950-1955, 6 straight NFL Champ games, going 3-3. Prior to joining the NFL, had teabagged the AAFC to win it 4 straight times 1946-1949, but not exactly the same level of competition.
- 5: Raiders 1973-77, the peak of Madden / Stabler, and also a 4-year run '67-70.
- 4: Kansas City 2018-2021 (active streak), 2-2 in AFCCG, 1-1 in SBs, and 4-1 so far this year. Still a long way to go for Mahomes.
- 4: Buffalo 1990-1993, the famous 4 SB loss streak, though they were a 1989 Divisional Playoff away from making it 6 straight AFCCGs.
- 4: Dallas 1970-73 and 1992-95, plus '80-82. Landry had an 18-year run from '66-83 making the playoffs 17 times, 12 of them the NFCCG. But even Staubach had down years.
- 4: Chicago 1940-1943, 3W - 1L in the champ game, all under Luckman
- 3: Miami '71-73, did a lot of losing in the Divisional round otherwise.
- 3: SD Chargers '63-65, plus '60 and 61, so very close to 6 straight - but a 4-10 season in '62.
- 3: Houston Oilers, '60-62 with George Blanda at QB.
- 3: Detroit, '52-54.
- 3: LA Rams, '49-51 and '74-76. Very nearly 6 straight, but lost the 1977 Divisional to Minnesota.
- 3: NY Giants '33-35 and '61-63 under Y.A. Tittle. Jets have been to back-to-back conf champs more recently than the G-men.
- 3: Green Bay '29-31 (Lambeau), '60-62 and '65-67 (Lombardi). But finished in 2nd in their division in '63 and '64, missing the playoffs.
Unless Mahomes and Reid make me eat my words, I think it will be generations before we see that level of consistent excellence again, by that measure anyway.
It’s why Malcolm will forever be a hero. At the time, none of us knew that there was a near 3-peat coming. All we knew was that Brady was 37 and probably had a few years left.
I still remember the shot of Brady throwing on the sideline late in the game against the Ravens in the 14 divisional round. The PA is blaring the Outfield and the crowd is at full throat and I said to my wife, “Tom looks old…we need to win one more.” I would’ve never guessed three more titles were headed our way and he’d still be playing 8 years later.
With Belichick tying Halas today with a rookie QB, I was curious how his wins would be broken down by starting QB. I couldn't find this anywhere, so I ran through PFR:
293 regular season wins, plus 31 playoff wins -- 30 of those by TB, and 1 by Vinny Testaverde (which was maybe my first football heartbreak after I got sucked in to that '95 Pats team as a kid).
| QB | Wins |
| Tom Brady |
249 |
| Vinny Testaverde |
17 |
| Bernie Kosar |
11 |
| Mac Jones |
11 |
| Matt Cassel |
10 |
| Cam Newton |
7 |
| Drew Bledsoe |
5 |
| Mike Tomczak |
4 |
| Todd Philcox |
2 |
| Mark Rypien |
2 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo |
2 |
| Bailey Zappe |
2 |
| Jacoby Brissett |
1 |
| Eric Zeir |
1 |
| Total: |
324 |
293 regular season wins, plus 31 playoff wins -- 30 of those by TB, and 1 by Vinny Testaverde (which was maybe my first football heartbreak after I got sucked in to that '95 Pats team as a kid).
That’s a great list. Sort of cements the fact that the Pats incredible success over the last 20 years is a combo of having the GOAT QB and GOAT coach at the same time.
With the Bills now in third place in the AFC East, I never again want to hear whether such and such team can go undefeated in the regular season until they’re 12-0.
My tires are normally at 35 psi. This morning it was 35 degrees when I got in the car. I saw this:
Crazy how that happens.
Crazy how that happens.
Over the years, I have periodically enjoyed these Butler INT reaction compilation vids. Haven’t checked them out in awhile, but there are some new ones mixed in here. Some are little kids, which bum me out. HOWEVER…
Run-don’t-walk to the last (edit: 15] seconds of this video. Holy shit, the best:
View: https://youtu.be/o75CiXV3VZQ
Run-don’t-walk to the last (edit: 15] seconds of this video. Holy shit, the best:
View: https://youtu.be/o75CiXV3VZQ
10 years ago today. Enjoy some delicious schadenfreude...............
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/11/22/23471718/new-york-jets-butt-fumble-10-year-anniversary-mark-sanchez
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/11/22/23471718/new-york-jets-butt-fumble-10-year-anniversary-mark-sanchez
I'm not sure there will ever be a better 1 minute of pure football bliss (non-championship edition) than that game. 3 TDs in 52 seconds, one by the offense, one by the defense, and one by the special teams. Against the bitterest of rivals, on national TV against absolutely nothing else. Any one of those TDs would be extremely memorable on their own. An 83-yard touchdown pass (the 3rd longest of Brady's entire Patriots career). The butt fumble. Then the absolute final kick in the groin effortless special teams never even touched the ground fumble recovery and score.
But all within one minute?
By the way, what an incredible 12 minutes of football for Steve Gregory, a Pats' safety at the time.
6:01 left in the first, no score, and Sanchez and the Jets are driving. On 2nd and 6 from the NE 23, Sanchez is picked by Gregory at the NE 15. That leads to a NE touchdown drive and a 7-0 lead.
10:06 left in the second quarter, Pats up 7-0. Jets driving again. On 4th and 1 from the NE 31, Shonn Greene fumbles, and it's recovered by Gregory at the NE 17. The next play, Brady hits Vereen for an 83 yard TD for a 14-0 lead.
9:10 left in the second quarter, Sanchez has the butt fumble, and Gregory scoops it up and goes in for the score and a 21-0 lead.
Three turnovers by Gregory in the span of 12 minutes, all either directly or indirectly leading too touchdowns.
For the day, he'd have 4 tackles, 1 interception, 1 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown.
6:01 left in the first, no score, and Sanchez and the Jets are driving. On 2nd and 6 from the NE 23, Sanchez is picked by Gregory at the NE 15. That leads to a NE touchdown drive and a 7-0 lead.
10:06 left in the second quarter, Pats up 7-0. Jets driving again. On 4th and 1 from the NE 31, Shonn Greene fumbles, and it's recovered by Gregory at the NE 17. The next play, Brady hits Vereen for an 83 yard TD for a 14-0 lead.
9:10 left in the second quarter, Sanchez has the butt fumble, and Gregory scoops it up and goes in for the score and a 21-0 lead.
Three turnovers by Gregory in the span of 12 minutes, all either directly or indirectly leading too touchdowns.
For the day, he'd have 4 tackles, 1 interception, 1 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown.
My favorite video highlights of the game-complete with clown music. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4wYyJG9tjU
Here's video of the three TDs, but with some stupid musical background instead of the game calls. I looked for the NBC calls, couldn't find it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQYUaMnZhc0
Also, apparently the Patriots also once scored three TDs in a minute against the Bears
It's one thing for the Jets to embarrass themselves now, a dozen years removed from their last playoff appearance. At the time, they were coming off of 2 AFC title game appearances in 3 years (and less than 2 years removed from upsetting the 2010 Pats in the divisional round) and still fancied themselves threats to the Pats divisional supremacy. This game put the nail in that particular coffin (though Rex somehow survived for 2 more years).
Hey, man. Ease back on Cage the Elephant. That is a killer track on a very solid LP.
Too soon. That game still pisses me off.
It was this game!
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201410260nwe.htm
Pats scored TD (2-yard pass to Gronk), then a quick 3-&-out from Chicago. Pats scored again (9-yard pass to LaFell), then 1st play from scrimmage from Chicago off the kickoff was a Cutler fumble returned for TD (Ninkovich, 15 yards).
Edit: here's the highlight video, but NFL has the sequences out of order.
View: https://youtu.be/QI_R9V05TD4
What’s great about the Butler interception reactions is how so many Seahawks fans, young and old, knew before the play even happened that the correct call should be to run Lynch. You had rooms of people chanting “Beast Mode!” Pete and Wilson were the only two idiots on the planet who thought throwing was a good idea.
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I like the Bears guy at the end that blew his knee out celebrating a sack while down 20 points in the 4th Q
I can't imagine any employee not being fed up with their employer at SOME point, especially if they've been there a while. Obviously we know that JE loves BB and the Pats - he's said so many positive things over the years, never did leave the organization, and even in retirement is all Pats, all the time. But yeah, there are going to be issues that come up with any employee and employer if the relationship lasts any decent amount of time. It's why Brady/Belichick working for 20 years together at such a high level was absolutely remarkable in every way.
The article gives more context than the quoted tweet. The tl;dr version is that Edelman was upset when the Pats signed Amendola, as Julian had hoped to take over Welker's role once Welker left for Denver. He was UFA and considered signing with the Giants, but decided to stay to play with Brady.
Yes for sure. I did read that. Edelman points out that he was young, hadn't done anything yet in the league, and the impression I got was that he realized that he was being immature.
The point being, though, that there's all kinds of reasons why an employee would have an issue with an employer. Money. Respect. Role. Promotion/lack thereof. Personality conflict. You name it. For JE11 in this case, it was a sense of disrespect due to the money issues.
On another note, I was thinking about this last week. In the lead up to the second Jets game, they were talking about how Mosely of the Jets was calling out the Patriots' plays in the first matchup. And that conversation was all about how poorly the Pats' coaching staff was handling things. But in years past, when the Patriots' defenders would call out the opponents' plays, the conversation was all about how the Pats must be doing something suspicious; how else could they possibly know what plays the offense was running?
Funny how that goes.
Funny how that goes.
Recall that blowout down in Miami when the Pats noted that the Nick Saban-coached Dolphins players seemed to know what was coming nearly every play.
Sometimes the scouts and coaches just get it right.
This is very true. Watch a lot of film and look for tendencies. Some coaches/teams think they are above changing things up week to week.
Case in point: a dozen or so years ago I was coaching an 8th grade football team. We made it to the championship game against a really good team. All us coaches watched hours upon hours of game film. A few hours together, but mostly on our own. Then we would share what we discovered. Personally I watched every play they had played that season, and wrote down formation, down/distance, what hash they were on, etc. What we all found out was that they were very predictable. And they changed nothing going into the championship. /humblebrag we coached the shit out of our kids, and they played awesome. The other team was high powered offense with a great passing game (we weren't very good at passing or defending the pass). But we held them in check until the final 9 seconds. We were on offense trying to kill the clock, but the coach keeping track of the play clock lost track and we got a delay of game penalty, which stopped the clock. We had to punt, and gave the ball back on the opponents 35 yard line with 9 seconds left. One play was all we had to make. And we failed. They pulled a play out of their ass that actually worked. I think we over-coached our kids, because they never saw it coming. Heck, us coaches never saw it coming. A 5 yard slant to the fastest 13 year old kid on the planet. Game. Over.