SVN

Just watching this on ESPN made me think...how all the people around the country seem to be praising and at the same time 'reprimanding' the pats for going for the perfect season instead of playing for the ultimate goal of winning the championship. They are showing some unlv team which got buried under its own pressure. Somehow every talking head seems to say 16-0 is great but doesnt mean anything without a championship.somehow these guys assume BB is targetting a perfect season from week 2 and the pats are not as concerned about the superbowl.all morning ditka kept saying it doesnt mean anything if it isnt 19-0- stating the obvious.
I remember when the first time it came it was after week 2 and BB was asked he said "its so ridiculous" . Now everyone is saying the patriots have to deal with the pressure of going undefeated etc . Iam not sure what the pats shouldve done..lost a game intentionally ?no one seems to answer that.

Iam just amazed how this talk of the perfect season was brought up from week 3 and has carried over till week 16.The season seems to have gone by in a hurry.

sdaniels7114

Seems to me they have to go one more game under unusual pressure. Then the pressure meter balances out, since a loss for anyone ends their season.

As of the end of the season the only difference between the Pats and the other playoff teams is the huge disparity between them in terms of experience dealing with the sort of pressure the playoffs provide. Pitt and Indy have gone all the way recently one time each and GB many years ago; but what about Dallas? Who there has felt that feeling in the pit of his stomach? and dealt with it?

Bottom line: the pressure goes away, what little there was of it, after the Giants game and is replaced by something the Pats are uniquely qualified to handle.

JoePats

The only way you can possibly think that the pressure meter is equal in the playoffs is if you want to. The Pats will be under intense pressure in the postseason, much much more than anyone else simply because going 11-5 and losing in the playoffs is far different than going 16-0 and getting bounced.

PATSYLICIOUS

the pats have been under more pressure than anyone else since the moss trade. that pressure exponentiated with the spygate issue and since then the pats have gone 15-0. i dont think pressure is a negative when it comes to this team.

ive loved it cuz, at least for me watching the games, every game has felt like a playoff game. the sinking feeling i felt when that 4th down pass against bmore fell incomplete was similar to the one i had in 2001 when woodson hit brady and in 97 when bledsoe fumbled the game away in pittsburgh. the whole season has been like a playoff just against lesser competition most of the weeks.

Fencer

The pressure argument was 90% bogus to begin with. If you give a team extra reasons not to want to lose (pressure), you give them extra reasons to want to win (desire).

The real parts are:

A. Getting everybody's best game.
B. Being distracted by the questions.

But neither one is a terribly big factor IMO.

I don't think the Pats' performance in any of games 10-14, say, was significantly different from what it would have been if they'd had a single early-season loss.

Now, they're trying harder to win in 15 and 16 because there's something to play for, so there's a difference now. But that's not a matter of pressure. It only affects them in the postseason if:

1. The added focus was good for them in staying sharp.
2. They got more banged up than they needed to be.
3. They missed out on the chance to get some reps for the backups.

But hey -- late injuries happen even when you DON'T have anything particular to play for. Did the Pats have anything on the line when Rodney's knee was taken out by the Titans?

sdaniels7114

11-5 may very well mean you're on the road during WC weekend. So you just made the playoffs anyway, making it not so bad to lose. However what's the difference between a #1 seed's pressure and an undefeated #1 seed's pressure? I'm not so sure this team could have stumbled to 11-5.

Besides the key is that no other team perhaps in history, certainly not this season, has been there and done that more than the Pats. As to pressure, that's still the chief force IMO.