Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Half the fucking starting 22 are on IR. That makes a small difference. And yet they were one of the last four teams standing.
Let's think back to the time following the draft. At that point, here's what the Patriots looked like:
Offense
QB - Brady (HOFer)
RB - Ridley (coming off a 1200 yard year), Vereen (explosive receiving back), Bolden
WR - Amendola (talented, but oft-injured), Edelman (talented but unproven at WR), Dobson (rookie), Boyce (rookie), Thompkins (who?)
TE - Gronk (coming back from injury, but the best overall TE in the game), Hernandez (matchup nightmare at TE/WR), Hoo-man, Ballard
OL - Solder (pro-bowl caliber), Mankins (pro-bowl caliber), Wendell, Connolly, Vollmer (pro-bowl caliber)
Of that group, by the 2nd quarter of the AFCCG, they were missing Gronk, Hernandez, and Vollmer, three pro-bowl caliber players, and Thompkins, who had become a pretty reliable receiver, plus Boyce. And Amendola and Dobson were playing hurt.
Defense
DE - Ninkovich, Jones
DT - Wilfork (all-pro caliber), Kelly
LB - Mayo (pro-bowl caliber), Spikes (one of the best in the NFL against the run), Hightower
CB - Talib (pro-bowl caliber), Dennard
S - Adrian Wilson (not as good as he once was, but once was a pro-bowl caliber player), McCourty
Of that group, by the 2nd quarter of the AFCCG, they were missing Wilfork, Kelly, Mayo, Spikes, Talib, and Wilson. That's *six* projected starters all gone. At least three of them were pro-bowl caliber players.
So the Patriots ended up missing at least *SIX* pro-bowl caliber players, and at least nine starters overall. Let's compare what this would mean if you're, say, Denver.
Gronk --> Julius Thomas
Hernandez --> Decker (maybe the best actual WR on the Patriots, but not as good as D. Thomas for Denver)
Vollmer --> Clady (he actually was out)
Wilfork --> Knighton
Mayo --> Von Miller (actually was out)
Spikes --> Woodyard
Talib --> Harris (actually was out)
Plus having D.Thomas and Welker hobbled
How would Denver have done under those circumstances? I doubt they'd be playing in the Super Bowl. Missing J. Thomas, Decker, Clady, Knighton, Miller, Woodyard, and Harris, plus having D. Thomas and Welker gimpy? I don't see them playing for a Lombardi in that situation.