This Could Be Us But You Playing: Who missed out that you most feel for?

singaporesoxfan

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In the 10 years between Super Bowl victories, a lot of players have donned the Patriots uniform. There have been a lot of failed opportunities to grab that brass ring. Which of those players do you most feel for, in terms of missing out on getting a Super Bowl ring?

My own take:

Logan Mankins - OL stud for a good while, traded away just before this season began. Clearly misses NE, if this Jackie Mac story is anything to go by. http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=12119027&city=boston&src=desktop

Randy Moss - my own sentimentality from loving watching him play and watching the 30 for 30 on him - a ring would've been a nice capstone to a great career. Missed out in 2007 obviously, but also in 2012 when he was with the 49ers.

Edit: This is different from "who do you wish got a ring" in that the latter question implies that the 2007 and 2011 seasons would have gone differently.
 

ChinaCat2

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Junior Seau. I don't suppose a ring would have changed his life enough that he survived, but it still wish he had gotten one here.
 

TSC

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Things didn't end the way we would have liked with him - but Wes Welker.

The dude absolutely gave the Patriots everything he had in his time here. He deserved better.
 
Apr 7, 2006
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Co-sign on Welker. Not only was Wes an excellent and key member of so many great teams, teams that came close, but his departure was messy and possibly avoidable - and yes, I realize that the CW has that as self-inflicted by Welker and his agent(s). Plus, the one Super Bowl he did get to after he left was an outright disaster for him and his team. Add to that the concussions, the suspension and that unfortunate helmet and the end looks particularly regrettable for him.
 

Granite Sox

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Part of me feels badly for Welker, but the other part believes he would have had a critical drop (or two) had he played in this game.
 
2014 Edelman >>> Welker
 
I'm on Team Mankins here.
 

Jungleland

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Too young for Rice's prime, but Randy Moss is the greatest receiver I've ever seen. Was absolutely through the moon when he came here, delivered on the hype and then some, and seems like a genuinely funny and interesting dude to boot. I don't think I've ever wanted another player to get a ring more, and in hindsight it just makes 2007 that much more upsetting. Crabtree lets a pass in the endzone go and he might have won it for SF himself. 
 
I loved Welker as much as anyone while he was here, but the drop and the departure for an arch rival takes him off the sympathy list. I hope his brain's not mush but I couldn't care less if he gets his Super Bowl.
 

RhaegarTharen

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Probably obvious; but definitely Moss for me.  He was probably my favorite player for most of a decade.  Having him show up in NE for a record breaking 2007 that ended w/ a ring would have been at least 4 or 5 years of Madden franchises come to life for me.  
 

ilol@u

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I agree. Randy Moss is that guy for me. He changed a lot for the better as a person/player and I wanted him to be rewarded for that with a ring.
 

The Social Chair

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Moss was my favorite football player since his Marshall days. Seeing him join the Pats and have that connection with Brady was a dream come true. He caught the go ahead TD in the 4th qt of a super bowl. ugh...
 

Norm loves Vera

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Not a player obviously, but I would have loved to see Dante Scarnecchia retire with another ring.  I read somewhere that he was "consulting" for the Patriots and if so, I hope he gets one as well.
 
Apr 7, 2006
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And if he had been able to high-point that bomb toward the end of the game that shall not be named the history of Moss would be even more epic. It was soooooo close.
 

Leather

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Brandon Merriweather and Laurence Maroney.


Just kidding.
 
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Aaron Hernandez
 
But seriously after the 2 that are way ahead of everyone else IMHO  for skill/personality (Moss) and for timing (Mankins), 3rd for me is Fred Taylor. All those years he played for the Jags didn't sniff much and had a chance here.
 

jsinger121

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Randy Moss

I don't feel as bad for Mankins who was on the back nine and refused to see that and refused a paycut.
 

crystalline

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Mugsy said:
And if he had been able to high-point that bomb toward the end of the game that shall not be named the history of Moss would be even more epic. It was soooooo close.
Yes yes yes yes yes.


Here is the video. I haven't been able to watch this until this week

[Ed: the board has apparently blocked the link, perhaps also unable to watch it. Search for "youtube randy moss SB 42"]

Key moments:
- how absolutely frightened Eli looks at 00:16
- Moss's face at 00:40. Belichick has a poker face on but Moss knows what that incompletion meant.
- replay around 1:00. Despite being double covered Moss JUST BARELY missed pulling that in.

Moss gets my vote. Slightly crazy, but a hard worker and a gifted player.
"Straight cash homey" might have been enough to get my vote even without the incredible talent.
 

Yaz4Ever

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Only one?  Randy Moss
 
More than one?  Add Woodhead, Mankins, and Seau.  Fuck Welker.  Love him while he was here, wished we could've kept him, but he's dead to me after how it all played out not just because he left.
 

bankshot1

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The Brady-Moss ball, about 65-70 yards in the air, was about 6 inches from being either a TD or goal to go.
 
Amazing throw.
 
I still fell bad for Welker:
 
He may end up scrambled brains.
 

Tony C

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I don't get Mankins - he could be here if he wanted, could give an f about him.
 

bankshot1

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BigSoxFan said:
Wasn't the safety right there to tackle Moss (going off memory since I refuse to watch the video)?
There was double-coverage, but Moss still beat it and had a step, IIRC and IMO another 6 inches would have added to the probability of that catch.
 
Just a sick throw by Brady.
 

soxfanSJCA

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Ditto on Randy Moss, it would have been epic to see him hoist the Lombardi as a NEP.
 
26 posts in an not one vote for Zoltan Mesko?
 
 
 

jsinger121

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Tony C said:
I don't get Mankins - he could be here if he wanted, could give an f about him.
This is where I am at. He chased the money when he was on the downside of his career over the ring. I don't feel sorry for players that do that when they have made a lot already yet havent won a title. I hope he enjoys rotting away in Tampa Bay in the twilight of his career.
 

riboflav

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Seau. I still vividly remember watching him walk off the field in Glendale and he looked devastated. I never felt so much for a Patriot than in that moment.
 

Super Nomario

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jsinger121 said:
Randy Moss

I don't feel as bad for Mankins who was on the back nine and refused to see that and refused a paycut.
Didn't Moss do pretty much the same thing (which is why they traded him)? Technically Mankins wanted to play for the contract he already signed, while Moss wanted a new contract, but in both cases the team and player didn't see eye-to-eye on their worth so they were shipped out of town.
 

jsinger121

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Wasn't Moss becoming a malcontent behind the scenes as well? there was no chance he was getting another big deal from NE at his age.
 

SMU_Sox

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Stealing this from a fellow bariatric warrior!

Only one?  Randy Moss (Seau is a very close second)
 
More than one?  Add Woodhead, Mankins, Seau, and Welker. I don't think having a ring would have prevented Seau's death or change his legacy at all. He was one of the all time greats and I would have loved to see him retire on top.
 

DourDoerr

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crystalline said:
Key moments:
- how absolutely frightened Eli looks at 00:16
- Moss's face at 00:40. Belichick has a poker face on but Moss knows what that incompletion meant.
- replay around 1:00. Despite being double covered Moss JUST BARELY missed pulling that in.

 
Last Sunday makes this watchable.  It's devastating because Webster isn't looking for the ball at all and it barely hits 2 of his fingers - just enough to make it bounce off Moss' hands.  Moss would have had that clean otherwise (no guarantee of a catch however), but I think they would have tackled him.  It's a great throw by Brady, but another foot or so and Moss might have been able to catch it in stride and avoided a tackle.  Moss had to just slow up a bit as the ball's coming down.  As it is, the Pats would then have had 2 good shots at the end zone.   Brutal - beating Manning and the Giants in that fashion would have been an ending to rival Sunday's.
 
I'm surprised by all the support for Moss - I loved watching him play with NE, but he made the decisions to leave when the going got tough.  Junior Seau gets my vote.  Great career, then came here for the ring for less money, played hard and was thisclose.
 

Erik Hanson's Hook

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Junior.
 
After Moss scores in Glendale to make it 14-10, there's a camera shot of Bruschi and Junior hugging/looking into into each other's eyes. You can tell they're thinking "one more stop and we're immortal". Always felt bad for him after that.
 
Was kinda rooting for Brian Waters, too.
 

Hoya81

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DourDoerr said:
Last Sunday makes this watchable.  It's devastating because Webster isn't looking for the ball at all and it barely hits 2 of his fingers - just enough to make it bounce off Moss' hands.  Moss would have had that clean otherwise (no guarantee of a catch however), but I think they would have tackled him.  It's a great throw by Brady, but another foot or so and Moss might have been able to catch it in stride and avoided a tackle.  Moss had to just slow up a bit as the ball's coming down.  As it is, the Pats would then have had 2 good shots at the end zone.   Brutal - beating Manning and the Giants in that fashion would have been an ending to rival Sunday's.
 
I'm surprised by all the support for Moss - I loved watching him play with NE, but he made the decisions to leave when the going got tough.  Junior Seau gets my vote.  Great career, then came here for the ring for less money, played hard and was thisclose.
Moss' post-Patriots statements of appreciation for his time in NE and for TB, BB and the Krafts have done a lot for his reputation in NE, despite the method of departure.
 

singaporesoxfan

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Hoya81 said:
Moss' post-Patriots statements of appreciation for his time in NE and for TB, BB and the Krafts have done a lot for his reputation in NE, despite the method of departure.
My favourite Moss story in this regard is that after Myra Kraft passed away, Moss flew into Boston to see Robert Kraft and signed his sympathy card "Randy Moss Kraft".
 

RetractableRoof

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I have to think Mayo has a churning feeling like he's finally going to get a ring - that he wasn't on the field for. I wish he had been healthy enough to have played all year for the ring.

People have already mentioned Seau and I do have a soft spot for him, answering the call when BB rang the bell. He is probably my number 2 answer.

Beyond that, OchoCinco comes to mind, he was a good soldier, closed his yap, toed the line, etc. and didn't produce/get what he wanted. There are dozens of practice squad players that were blips on the ring radar that would be worthy of thought.

But all in all, I think my answer has to be Moss. He did what he was asked to do, toed the line, produced in a magnificent way, and left without the ring because... they were one play away.

In a related thought - I'd trade this years win for the undefeated season (and in BB draft day style throw in an AFC championship as well) in a heart beat - just for Moss.

ETA: Seau
 

loshjott

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Hoya81 said:
Moss' post-Patriots statements of appreciation for his time in NE and for TB, BB and the Krafts have done a lot for his reputation in NE, despite the method of departure.
Nobody leaves clean, except Bruschi who was ready to retire anyway.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
Moss.  My sons were alternating between Brady and Bruschi jerseys the past few weeks, but my 15 y/o wore Moss either to school on Super Friday or to a SB party, either of which days made a statement considering we're in north Jersey.
 

JMDurron

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Junior Seau for me as well, with Randy Moss in a clear second place.  I have immense sympathy for great players who comport themselves in a way that seems appropriate from the outside for years, while being stuck on miserable teams most of the time.  Junior Seau absolutely should have gotten the Rodney Harrison experience with the Patriots, but he came up just short.  I felt that way before his life ended, and the way that happened doesn't really change my opinion on that at all.  The only difference in my mind between Seau and Moss is how they chose to behave off the field while playing with (mostly) miserable, undisciplined teams, but we saw the change in Moss, both during and after his time with the Patriots, when he finally played for an organization that was actually a first class operation, with the tools and vision to win.  Elite, temperamental players get a little slack from me when they have to suffer through being the biggest names on bad teams, and I think they get blamed for a downward spiral of dysfunction that is partly a result of the organizations that they play for.  
 
Wes Welker would have been nice, but I think he suffers a bit in comparison to Julian Edelman.  If Edelman was more of a Moss-type stud, or even a LaFell/Lloyd style outside WR, I think I'd feel more for Welker, but that comparison is just too easy to make, and Edelman's shine makes Welker suffer a little bit by comparison.  Wes Welker is in a distant third place for me.  
 

Marbleheader

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Would have been fun to hear what would have come out of Talib's mouth had he won a SB. Lawfirm, Zoltan, Andre Carter. Probably Moss gets my vote. Welker got to 3 and played a key role in losing one of them.
 

bigsid05

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I think people are being a bit hard on Welker. He was really great here (racking up >7,000 yards in 6 seasons) and always popped right up after some huge hits. He was Brady's safety valve for a long stretch and a huge part of the team's success from 2007-2012.
 

TFP

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loshjott said:
Nobody leaves clean, except Bruschi who was ready to retire anyway.
Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, and Rodney Harrison are a few others. You're right, it's pretty rare though.
 

JMDurron

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bigsid05 said:
I think people are being a bit hard on Welker. He was really great here (racking up >7,000 yards in 6 seasons) and always popped right up after some huge hits. He was Brady's safety valve for a long stretch and a huge part of the team's success from 2007-2012.
 
Of course, and I think Edelman is part of the problem there.  Plus, some people want to pretend that Tom Brady was betrayed by him on a really tough catch that wasn't made in the Super Bowl, as opposed to Brady throwing high and behind a wide open WR.  
 
Even knowing that, he's still a distant 3rd for me.  The emotional tie just isn't there, no matter how I can tell myself intellectually that he should be higher.  
 

Jungleland

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Marbleheader said:
Would have been fun to hear what would have come out of Talib's mouth had he won a SB. Lawfirm, Zoltan, Andre Carter. Probably Moss gets my vote. Welker got to 3 and played a key role in losing one of them.
 
Benny is a great pick. Another guy that started as a nobody and worked his way into a serious role. Not the greatest player but his rise to success would've fit on this year's team perfectly.
 

DourDoerr

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Hoya81 said:
Moss' post-Patriots statements of appreciation for his time in NE and for TB, BB and the Krafts have done a lot for his reputation in NE, despite the method of departure.
That clears it up a bit, but it's easy to apologize after the fact.  Moss' actions that last season weakened a Patriot offense that began the year counting on him and I hold that against him.  He should have sucked it up and helped the team to win a SB THAT year.
 
Andre Carter is a good call.  Worked hard, produced for a time, loved being on the team and was always ready to join the team if needed.