PATSNUTme

We don't really know what is going to happen this Sunday or beyond. But I wanted to just say that this team has shown me that it does have the heart of a champion.

Might not be as talented as the 2003 or 2004 teams but the burning desire to win and to play like champions is still there. Personally I think that they will go all the way and win the 4th SB. But if for some reason they don't we all can be very proud of this team.

2006 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: HEART OF A CHAMPION.

Clonamery

I usually agree with everything you say so why stop now.

There's nothing I want more than some Pats players contemplating retirement to go out on top.

ironwasp

I heartily concur. This has been a difficult season, and I think I would have left the season reasonably happy with a 12-4 record and the wild card success over the Jets.

But this team constantly finds ways to take their performances up another notch, and a lot of that has to do with courage and an absolute desire to win and be the best.

Being at the AFC Championship game feels, in a small way, like a bonus for the 2006 season, but having got here now everything is there to be played for, and I'll be bitterly disappointed if we don't make that penultimate leap on Sunday, because while I agree with many that the Pats are not as purely talented as the Chargers, they are more talented than the Colts and bring a whole train load of intangible qualities that few other teams in sport possess.

(That said, and this is where it gets a little controversial, I would not begrudge the Colts a Championship. Throughout our dynastic run they have set very high standards on the football field - and off it mostly, the odd Napolian moment aside - and do not deserve much of the opprobrium heaped on them on this site).

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F0nSY

Look at my signature

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From Spain I say...Go pats!!!

shmessy

That game against the Chargers sealed the deal for me that this team, no matter what happens now, can be proud of this year.

Really, I feel the Pats are now playing with House Money.

That being said, this week's opponent does make it more important to win. Anyone else and I wouldn't be so intense for this game and would be more sanguine. Imagine (shudder) the Colts just making it to the SB. You think the Peyton Manning TV commercial onslaught is bad now???????

TV's would be renamed PV's (PeytonVision) and the internet would be renamed the Manningnet.

The Patriots must protect civilization as we know it.

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"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

shmessy

Disclaimer: The above post's last line was written tongue in cheek. The rest of the post wasn't.

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"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

PATSNUTme

Tounge in cheek but very true.

The ramifications of a Manning win are too terrible to contemplate.

ironwasp

I don't share that view. But then I don't live in a world where I am swamped with all things Manning through the media and advertising world, so it's easier to be a little more forgiving.

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PATSNUTme

If you did, you would be afraid . You would be very afraid.

onegameatatime

Like last year, they do not feel like a #1 team as they did in 03 and 04. But then again, they beat more objectively talented teams in 2001 to win. The SB winner is not the "best team", it's just the team that gets it done when it has to.

Heart of a Champion is right:

For all the talk about how the Chargers gave this one away -- and they did make some big and dumb mistakes, and the Pats made a few too -- let's not forget that after Troy's strip sack (which was a great play by Troy, not a bad play by McKee), the situation was this:

Pats down 21-13, ball on SD 32, 5-6 minutes to go (IIRC). None of the really dumb plays or calls by SD happened after that that I can recall, and there were so many ways SD could have won. The Pats still needed TD, 2-pt, and a further winning score. That was not luck and it was not handed to them -- that was execution.