That was then: Celebrating what was

Al Zarilla

Al Zarilla

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BaseballJones said:
If you rewatch it, you'll see that he doesn't get much elevation on it at all. It looks, coming off the foot, like it's just going to knuckle and die at about the goal line, but somehow it goes in. Easily the best kick of all time - even better than Tucker's 66 yard game winner vs. Detroit (which was amazing, obviously). Just the conditions and the stakes...Adam's kick is #1 all time.
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I've thought of it before, and your post reminded me, I've often wondered if Adam intentionally kicked it low, to keep it out of the higher winds. Problem with that would be if he overdid it and kicked too high on the ball, it could have been blocked by any defensive Raider or died short of the goal posts. I remember Adam being interviewed after the Super Bowl by Cris Collinsworth (Inside the NFL?) and it would have been a perfect time for questions like that. Instead, they talked about Adam's wife telling him it was time to shave off the beard.
 
tims4wins

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Al Zarilla said:
I've thought of it before, and your post reminded me, I've often wondered if Adam intentionally kicked it low, to keep it out of the higher winds. Problem with that would be if he overdid it and kicked too high on the ball, it could have been blocked by any defensive Raider or died short of the goal posts. I remember Adam being interviewed after the Super Bowl by Cris Collinsworth (Inside the NFL?) and it would have been a perfect time for questions like that. Instead, they talked about Adam's wife telling him it was time to shave off the beard.
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Pretty sure he is on record as kicking it low on purpose. He’s also super honest that if you gave him 100 chances, maybe he makes it like 10 times.
 
soxhop411

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side note, I hate that the videos wont play because the NFL blocks embedding it

edit: Fixed spelling its too early for me
 
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InstaFace

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On the first video above - the overtime - go to 7:00 and you'll see uncalled helmet-to-helmet hit by the Chiefs FS on Patterson. I think no way does that go uncalled today. It was a pretty big hit, honestly. And the pass had already been swatted away, meaning the hit was just completely unnecessary, by both the letter and the spirit of the rule.

So many "almost" plays on that OT drive, for both sides. And each of those 3 Brady 3rd-and-10 conversions was crazier and required more precision than the one right before it, he might have never been more dialed in than on that drive.
 
jmcc5400

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InstaFace said:
On the first video above - the overtime - go to 7:00 and you'll see uncalled helmet-to-helmet hit by the Chiefs FS on Patterson. I think no way does that go uncalled today. It was a pretty big hit, honestly. And the pass had already been swatted away, meaning the hit was just completely unnecessary, by both the letter and the spirit of the rule.

So many "almost" plays on that OT drive, for both sides. And each of those 3 Brady 3rd-and-10 conversions was crazier and required more precision than the one right before it, he might have never been more dialed in than on that drive.
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I'd go with the last drives against Atlanta (the throws to Amendola and Hogan were ridiculous) or Seattle, but we're comparing Rembrandts here.
 
InstaFace

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also, here is a complete list of Conference Championship wins for the visiting team in the Tom Brady era:

2021 AFCCG: Bengals 27 @ Chiefs 24
2020 NFCCG: Bucs 31 @ Packers 26
2018 AFCCG: Patriots 37 @ Chiefs 31
2018 NFCCG: Rams 26 @ Saints 23
2012 NFCCG: 49ers 28 @ Falcons 24
2012 AFCCG: Ravens 28 @ Patriots 13
2011 NFCCG: Giants 20 @ 49ers 17
2010 NFCCG: Packers 21 @ Bears 14
2007 NFCCG: Giants 23 @ Packers 20
2005 AFCCG: Steelers 34 @ Broncos 17
2004 AFCCG: Patriots 41 @ Steelers 27
2003 NFCCG: Panthers 14 @ Eagles 3
2002 NFCCG: Bucs 27 @ Eagles 10
2001 AFCCG: Patriots 24 @ Steelers 17

Brady is responsible for 4 of the 14 times it's been done in the last 22 seasons, and very nearly another in 2006. And of course, he's 6-1 at home in Conference Championship games... while being 4-3 on the road. Losses were 2006 @ IND, 2013 and 2015 @ DEN, that's it, and 2 of those 3 were very close to also being wins.
 
tims4wins

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InstaFace said:
On the first video above - the overtime - go to 7:00 and you'll see uncalled helmet-to-helmet hit by the Chiefs FS on Patterson. I think no way does that go uncalled today. It was a pretty big hit, honestly. And the pass had already been swatted away, meaning the hit was just completely unnecessary, by both the letter and the spirit of the rule.

So many "almost" plays on that OT drive, for both sides. And each of those 3 Brady 3rd-and-10 conversions was crazier and required more precision than the one right before it, he might have never been more dialed in than on that drive.
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I always thought that was a penalty, even in real time. I think the reason it wasn't called was because the pass was already broken up prior to the hit. If the hit caused the breakup, there may have been a flag thrown. I say may because that crew had a shaky night.
 
54thMA

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jmcc5400 said:
Another day in January, another anniversary of a scintillating win. Happy 4 year anniversary of Dee Ford and three OT 3rd and 10s converted!
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Without a doubt my favorite non Super Bowl playoff win, followed closely by the 2004 AFCCG and the 2006 playoff game vs San Diego.

But this one will forever be #1 for me.
 
Dogman

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snowmanny said:
Which was worse: not warning Dee Ford he was half a yard offsides, or refusing to give Mahomes the ball in OT? I’ve heard both.
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If memory serves, Ford was warned prior to the offsides call that if he kept lining up that way, he would be called for it.
 
InstaFace

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"How hard did they have to fight to beat an evenly-matched team?"

1. 2014 DIV vs Baltimore
2. 2018 AFCCG vs Kansas City
3. 2006 DIV @ San Diego
4. 2003 DIV vs Tennessee
5. 2011 AFCCG vs Baltimore
6. 2017 AFCCG vs Jacksonville

"How fun was this romp over an overmatched team that wasn't expecting it?"

1. 2004 AFCCG at Pittsburgh
2. 2012 DIV vs Denver
3. 2014 AFCCG vs Indy
4. 2003 AFCCG vs Indy
5. 2004 DIV vs Indy
6. 2016 AFCCG vs Pittsburgh
 
tims4wins

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InstaFace said:
"How hard did they have to fight to beat an evenly-matched team?"

1. 2014 DIV vs Baltimore
2. 2018 AFCCG vs Kansas City
3. 2006 DIV @ San Diego
4. 2003 DIV vs Tennessee
5. 2011 AFCCG vs Baltimore
6. 2017 AFCCG vs Jacksonville

"How fun was this romp over an overmatched team that wasn't expecting it?"

1. 2004 AFCCG at Pittsburgh
2. 2012 DIV vs Denver
3. 2014 AFCCG vs Indy
4. 2003 AFCCG vs Indy
5. 2004 DIV vs Indy
6. 2016 AFCCG vs Pittsburgh
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Fun questions. You could argue the 2006 divisional at San Diego should be #1, since that game was basically lost until it wasn't. Also, that 2003 divisional against the Titans is seriously underrated. That was a GREAT team.

On the fun scale, the 2011 divisional vs. Houston was a hell of a lot of fun too. I'd argue that the 2003 AFC Championship game vs. Indy should possibly be #1 on that list. Go re-watch that game sometime. The unstoppable Colts came into Foxboro and went:
Interception
Interception
Fumble over punter's head for safety
Fumble

It was only 15-0 at halftime and the Pats only won 24-14, but it was just ridiculously fun watching the Pats defense make Peyton & Co. look worse than anything we saw from Mac Jones this year. It was a total pantsing.

Edit: 23-47, 237, 1 TD, 4 INT, 35.5 rating, LOL, GJGE
 
54thMA

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InstaFace said:
"How hard did they have to fight to beat an evenly-matched team?"

1. 2014 DIV vs Baltimore
2. 2018 AFCCG vs Kansas City
3. 2006 DIV @ San Diego
4. 2003 DIV vs Tennessee
5. 2011 AFCCG vs Baltimore
6. 2017 AFCCG vs Jacksonville

"How fun was this romp over an overmatched team that wasn't expecting it?"

1. 2004 AFCCG at Pittsburgh
2. 2012 DIV vs Denver
3. 2014 AFCCG vs Indy
4. 2003 AFCCG vs Indy
5. 2004 DIV vs Indy
6. 2016 AFCCG vs Pittsburgh
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The 2004 AFCCG in Pittsburg deserves to be #1 in that category; Joey Porter with his nonsensical ranting on the sidelines in the regular season game when they ended the Patriots winning streak "They will never, ever, ever, EVER get to our level!!"................then as Tedy Bruschi said "What level was that?!"..........that AFCCG was an ass kicking from start to finish, capped off late in the first half with the Harrison PIC 6 where Vrabel wiped out Rothlisberger on the return.

LOVE the fact that the Patriots are 3-0 vs the Steelers in the AFCCG, 4-1 in the playoffs overall.
 
Ed Hillel

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My favorite thing about that OT is, very first play, KC blows coverage on Edelman and he’s wide open for a quick dump and probably a TD. There is no safety over the top and Edelman is very likely to outrun the D. But TB liked the the Hogan matchup and he was open immediately, so he never saw him. Just wanted to make it more “exciting” for us I suppose…
 
dirtynine

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Watched it at good old Charlie’s Kitchen. Well, the end. I attended a Spalding Gray reading that bled into the second half with my then girlfriend. She, I, the Pats and Spalding all went down diverging paths not long after that. Think Charlie’s is still kicking it, though.

That video is now so old, the white pants on the refs seem weird. I remember when black seemed wrong.
 
Preacher

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dirtynine said:
Watched it at good old Charlie’s Kitchen. Well, the end. I attended a Spalding Gray reading that bled into the second half with my then girlfriend. She, I, the Pats and Spalding all went down diverging paths not long after that. Think Charlie’s is still kicking it, though.

That video is now so old, the white pants on the refs seem weird. I remember when black seemed wrong.
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Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge? Still there. My wife lives a couple blocks away. Ate there last weekend.
 
GB5

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It’s impossible now to look back mentally at the Vinateri kick given what has transpired over the past 20 years.

The Pats were the most laughable franchise in the NFL(top 5 in all of sports).If something was going to happen to them it was going to happen badly. Nothing positive ever lasted for them.

At the moment of that Vinateri kick most likely everyone in that stadium’s prior experience with the Pats led them to believe that he was going to miss.

Now, you could drop Vinateri at age 50 at the same spot in 2 feet of snow with the wind howling in his face, wearing an armored suit and we would all expect him to make it.
 
Euclis20

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GB5 said:
It’s impossible now to look back mentally at the Vinateri kick given what has transpired over the past 20 years.

The Pats were the most laughable franchise in the NFL(top 5 in all of sports).If something was going to happen to them it was going to happen badly. Nothing positive ever lasted for them.

At the moment of that Vinateri kick most likely everyone in that stadium’s prior experience with the Pats led them to believe that he was going to miss.

Now, you could drop Vinateri at age 50 at the same spot in 2 feet of snow with the wind howling in his face, wearing an armored suit and we would all expect him to make it.
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With 20 years of success added to that, they have the 3rd best regular season winning percentage (behind Dallas and Green Bay) and the best playoff winning percentage (although SF will take the lead if they win the super bowl this year). Unreal.
 
tims4wins

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Euclis20 said:
With 20 years of success added to that, they have the 3rd best regular season winning percentage (behind Dallas and Green Bay) and the best playoff winning percentage (although SF will take the lead if they win the super bowl this year). Unreal.
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They had 60 years worth of success in 20.
 
G

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GB5 said:
It’s impossible now to look back mentally at the Vinateri kick given what has transpired over the past 20 years.

The Pats were the most laughable franchise in the NFL(top 5 in all of sports).If something was going to happen to them it was going to happen badly. Nothing positive ever lasted for them.

At the moment of that Vinateri kick most likely everyone in that stadium’s prior experience with the Pats led them to believe that he was going to miss.

Now, you could drop Vinateri at age 50 at the same spot in 2 feet of snow with the wind howling in his face, wearing an armored suit and we would all expect him to make it.
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That seems like a massive overstatement. The Patriots made 9 playoff appearances and 2 super bowl appearances in the Super Bowl era pre-Brady. Meanwhile the Saints didn't even win their first playoff game until 2000! They might not have even been among the 5 worst NFL franchises post-merger through 2000; the Saints, Falcons, Lions and Cardinals I think were clearly worse and the Chargers were arguably worse as well, and you can probably throw in the Bucs too if you want to count franchises that came into being post-merger.
 
Ale Xander

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Anyone buy a “six time world champion New England Patriots” license plate perimeter? Where did you get one?
Saw some jerk with Eagles douchey flags on his minivan and it set me off.
 
8slim

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GrandSlamPozo said:
That seems like a massive overstatement. The Patriots made 9 playoff appearances and 2 super bowl appearances in the Super Bowl era pre-Brady. Meanwhile the Saints didn't even win their first playoff game until 2000! They might not have even been among the 5 worst NFL franchises post-merger through 2000; the Saints, Falcons, Lions and Cardinals I think were clearly worse and the Chargers were arguably worse as well, and you can probably throw in the Bucs too if you want to count franchises that came into being post-merger.
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It wasn’t just the Ws and Ls, it was decades of utter incompetence at every level of the franchise. Debt-ridden, loathsome ownership. Smarmy GMs. Bad coaches. Fleeing coaches. More bizarre player incidents than could be believed. A nomadic first decade. An erector set stadium. A tiny fan base. Several near moves.

The Pats had more success than some franchises, but none had more embarrassments than us.

Until 2001.
 
Ferm Sheller

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8slim said:
It wasn’t just the Ws and Ls, it was decades of utter incompetence at every level of the franchise. Debt-ridden, loathsome ownership. Smarmy GMs. Bad coaches. Fleeing coaches. More bizarre player incidents than could be believed. A nomadic first decade. An erector set stadium. A tiny fan base. Several near moves.

The Pats had more success than some franchises, but none had more embarrassments than us.

Until 2001.
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A coach almost got electrocuted at a press conference: https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2019/02/12/clive-rush-electric-shock-patriots-coach-1969/
 
Ralphwiggum

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8slim said:
It wasn’t just the Ws and Ls, it was decades of utter incompetence at every level of the franchise. Debt-ridden, loathsome ownership. Smarmy GMs. Bad coaches. Fleeing coaches. More bizarre player incidents than could be believed. A nomadic first decade. An erector set stadium. A tiny fan base. Several near moves.

The Pats had more success than some franchises, but none had more embarrassments than us.

Until 2001.
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This exactly. If you never went to a game in person at the old Stadium it is hard to explain just how much of a joke it was. Two very large concrete slabs jammed into the ground with bleacher seats stapled on top. The Sullivans deserve credit for bringing pro football to New England, but pretty much everything else they did after getting the AFL franchise was an absolute clown show.

Even in their good moments they were a joke (Billy Sullivan getting cold clocked by Matt Millen following a playoff win, getting smoked in what was at the time the most lopsided Super Bowl ever, followed immediately by the drug scandal, Parcells playing public footsie with the Jets leading up to the '96 Super Bowl, etc.).
 
8slim

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Ralphwiggum said:
This exactly. If you never went to a game in person at the old Stadium it is hard to explain just how much of a joke it was. Two very large concrete slabs jammed into the ground with bleacher seats stapled on top. The Sullivans deserve credit for bringing pro football to New England, but pretty much everything else they did after getting the AFL franchise was an absolute clown show.

Even in their good moments they were a joke (Billy Sullivan getting cold clocked by Matt Millen following a playoff win, getting smoked in what was at the time the most lopsided Super Bowl ever, followed immediately by the drug scandal, Parcells playing public footsie with the Jets leading up to the '96 Super Bowl, etc.).
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It was Billy's son Pat who Millen punched, but your point stands.

I mean, during those '85 playoffs alone, the pinnacle of the franchise to that point in their history, you had (a) fans got electrocuted carrying a goalpost out of our shitbox stadium when we clinched the Wild Card, (b) the GM got his clock cleaned in a post-game divisional scrum, (c) the top WR cut his hand in a domestic incident that forced him to miss the AFCCG, (d) the worst blowout in SB history, and (e) a massive drug scandal the day after.

FIVE ludicrously embarrassing things that happened during the best month the franchise had ever seen.
 
BaseballJones

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8slim said:
It was Billy's son Pat who Millen punched, but your point stands.

I mean, during those '85 playoffs alone, the pinnacle of the franchise to that point in their history, you had (a) fans got electrocuted carrying a goalpost out of our shitbox stadium when we clinched the Wild Card, (b) the GM got his clock cleaned in a post-game divisional scrum, (c) the top WR cut his hand in a domestic incident that forced him to miss the AFCCG, (d) the worst blowout in SB history, and (e) a massive drug scandal the day after.

FIVE ludicrously embarrassing things that happened during the best month the franchise had ever seen.
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LOL absolutely crazy times. Total insanity, and I'm sure we don't even know the half of it.
 
T

thurin68

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Let’s not forget that awful Patriots Super Bowl video from ‘85 which is cringe inducing to this very day
 
BaseballJones

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54thMA said:
I cannot unsee or unhear that.

When it first debuted, I thought it was horrendous.

It has not aged well and has gotten worse over time if that is humanly possible.

"We'll beat the Bears, 100 to 3!!"

No, you will not.
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LOLOL No, you will not. hahaha Not even close.
 
Was (Not Wasdin)

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Ralphwiggum said:
This exactly. If you never went to a game in person at the old Stadium it is hard to explain just how much of a joke it was. Two very large concrete slabs jammed into the ground with bleacher seats stapled on top. The Sullivans deserve credit for bringing pro football to New England, but pretty much everything else they did after getting the AFL franchise was an absolute clown show.

Even in their good moments they were a joke (Billy Sullivan getting cold clocked by Matt Millen following a playoff win, getting smoked in what was at the time the most lopsided Super Bowl ever, followed immediately by the drug scandal, Parcells playing public footsie with the Jets leading up to the '96 Super Bowl, etc.).
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We've had any number of posts/threads expounding on how bad the Pats of the 70s and 80s were. This article from SI is a good primer on what is was like back then (with a special appearance from "your favorite former president", as he like to call himself). This stuff was in the news every. single. day. Even when they were good on the field, the off field stuff would overshadow it. JFC, John Lennon's murder happened during a Pats MNF game.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1988/03/14/the-126-million-fumble-how-billy-sullivan-and-his-son-chuck-turned-a-25000-investment-in-the-patriots-into-a-financial-disaster

The thing is, that article was written in 1988-before some of the most ridiculous stuff even happened like the Victor Kiam era, Lisa Olson, the 1-15 1990 season that was thisclose to being 0-16 (and still has a top 2 or 3 all time worst point differential), the NFL briefly taking control of the team because of the fighting between Kiam and Fran Murray, and Bob Kraft buying just the stadium and almost forcing the Pats to move to St. Louis. That story needs a Volume II.

Bob Kraft bought the absolute worst franchise in the league and has turned it into one of the crown jewels.
 
8slim

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WHAT PART OF "I will not stand for anyone besmirching "New England, the Patriots, and We" DO YOU ALL NOT UNDERSTAND?!?!

It is a glorious time capsule from a wonderful era.
 
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