DeROK

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share an article that I wrote to wrap up the season for my Patriots site. Despite the title, I think you'll find it to be a very inspiring article. It's a good look back at the past six years for this team and a good way to lose some of the frustration we're all feeling after Sunday's loss.

Here's the address of the article. I tried posting the full text for you here, but I got an error message saying it was too long:

http://www.derok.net/patriots/new-en...mpionship.html

SoonerPatriot

Sigh....people who proclaim the "dyansty is dead" don't seem to understand the concept of the word.

In football terms a dyanasty is defined as sustained excellence over an extended period of time. The 49ers took nine seasons to win 4 SBs. We've won 3 in 6. Last time I checked, the 49ers were a dynasty.

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Seymour93

The Steelers went through a two year drought during their dynasty and the 49ers went an even longer period SB-less. Don't call the funeral home just yet.

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MrClutch

Despite the "Death of a Dynasty" thing, I think it was a pretty good written article. But you do talk about the 2nd coming, which means it isn't really dead yet.

BoTown

The overtime win in Miami happened in 2003, not 2002. Save for that, this is a good read. It made me feel a little better. I don't agree that the dynasty is over, but one thing that is undeniable is that the Patriots mystique took a severe blow. That game on Sunday still doesn't make sense to me.

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Tunescribe

The criteria you use to declare the dynasty "officially over" is ambiguous, at best. But then, so is the very definition of "dynasty." I don't think anything is concluded/over/done/finished with this team until BB and Brady leave, Kraft sells the team, or the current regime posts back-to-back losing seasons.

Patriot Missile

I agree with the ending of that article. But for him to say there were no questionable calls in that game is pretty asinine. The alleged faceguarding by Hobb'sand the holding of Caldwell in the endzone was blatantly clear that this game could of had a different outcome. Injuries also became part of the equation. but they are part of the game.

I'll admit though this loss didn't sting as bad as Denver last season. To be honest I think I'm drinking too much Koolaid with sour grapes as an apetizer,but if a few calls might of gone our way we could of been looking at 5 superbowls in 7 years. Ofcourse we've also benefited from some breaks ourselves, so in the end it all evens out. They won and we lost,end of story

I liked the end of the article because I truly believe that this team will do what it takes to get younger and faster and be better than last year. I'm uncertain how they are going to go about it. Samuel,Warren,Graham,Brown and Dillon. If we are lucky we will keep 3 of these guys and I don't think it will be in that sequence either. All I know is somehow,some way this team will climb the mountain and battle again.

ctpatsfan77

That was only because the Patriots did the seemingly impossible (which, if you think about it, is an oxymoron in and of itself).

I think it's so shocking because it's only the second time the Belichick/Brady Pats have brought a lead into the fourth quarter and lost the game, although, to be blunt, given how bad the team seemed to be faring, it's almost a miracle that it wasn't an utter massacre by the Colts.* Undoubtedly losses like this will happen again--but I don't think it'll happen very often under the current regime.

Then again, it also begs the question of what "the Patriots mystique" is. After last season, let alone last Sunday, I think the "mystique" of the seemingly invincible teams of 2003 and 2004 is certainly dead and buried. What I see now, though, is what's been there for the last six seasons: the most consistent team in football (I'm speaking long-term here, not week-to-week), one that manages to win far more games than it should given how few "stars" it has, how much attrition it's suffered, and how little credit it's given by the pundits.

[*BTW--my guess is--and I admit it's only speculation here--is that the flu bug that "hit" the team this weekend was more like a sledgehammer than a flyswatter.]

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Armen Da Pats Fan

Good article, DeRok...it's obvious you put some work and thought into it and I respect that...

However, I have a different slant on this...

By their very nature and definition of the word itself, dynasties never die. They are only born.

The very act of becoming a dynasty grants immortality.

It's like being a marine. There is no such as an "ex-marine" and there is no such thing as an "ex-dynasty". Semper Fi!

In sports, there is the Yankees Dynasty, Celtics Dynasty, Canadiens Dynasty, Steelers Dynasty, 49ers Dynasty, Cowboys Dynasty, Patriots Dynasty, Packers Dynasty...

Each dynasty may occur within its given epoch, but it never dies when the next one takes over. It only retires.

Have the Patriots reached retirement of their dynasty? As was mentioned earlier by other posters here, I wouldn't put them put them out to pasture just yet.

Consider the past seven years of the franchise:

2001 - AFC East Champion; Super Bowl Champion
2002 - Missed playoffs (lost division championship on a tie-breaker to Jets @ 9-7)
2003 - AFC East Champion; Super Bowl Champion
2004 - AFC East Champion; Super Bowl Champion
2005 - AFC East Champion; Divisional Round of Playoffs
2006 - AFC East Champion; Conference Championship Round of Playoffs

Note to the rest of the NFL & especially the AFC East: Dismiss them at your own risk!

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MoLewisrocks

Sorry bud but when you put it out there you're asking for it.

Don't quit your day job, and I'm assuming after reading this that you are a fan and you have one.

If you feel compelled to write about a sport, try NASCAR - it goes around and around in circles and eventually they wave a checkered flag just to make the nonsense stop. Which is about what you ended up doing.

And you are dead wrong about the dynasty - those span decades with championship seasons bookending years of consistently competitive teams. This HOFHC/QB tandem still has several prime years in front of it and a track record proving that even in a transitional season they can somehow consistently remain competitive - something no other championship team has been able to sustain in the salary cap era.