Do you believe in the SB hangover? - Page 2 - New England Patriots Forums

Elijah · 10-24-2012, 08:27 PM

2011: Steelers had a pretty good season and blew it in the WC round to Tebow.
2010: Colts had a good but not great season and lost at home to the Jest in the WC round.
2009: Cardinals had a good regular season and made a fairly respectable playoff run.
2008: **** Bernard Pollard
2007: Bears went 7-9.

So in the last 5 years, the Super Bowl loser is 1-3 in playoff games and 50-30 in the regular season (that's 10-6 on average). Seems like we're on pace for a similar year, with 9 to 11 regular season wins and a quick playoff exit. I wouldn't call it a hangover, but it does seem like slight regression happens to the team that lost the previous Super Bowl.

***jmt57*** · 10-24-2012, 08:49 PM

The biggest negative effects (i.e., "hangover") are:

Team played up to four more games than other teams did the previous year (more wear and tear, more injuries)
Team had up to six weeks less time off to heal and rehab from injuries, and to mentally recharge from a draining season
Team drafts 31st, meaning all but one other team gets a better chance to improve the talent on the roster through the draft.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the talent level among NFL teams is very close. Typically half the teams that make the playoffs one year don't make the playoffs the next year. Things that went your way one year that helped you get to the Super Bowl are bound to not happen twice in a row.

It is really hard to win in the NFL.

It is really, really hard to get to the Super Bowl.

It is really, really, really hard to get there twice in a row.

I would characterize it more as infinitesimally small odds rather than a 'hangover'.

PATSYLICIOUS · 10-24-2012, 09:13 PM

If the Patriots make the playoffs this year (very likely barring a Brady injury), we'll be the 4th straight SB loser to make the playoffs the following year, and would have been the 5th straight if not for Brady tearing his ACL. So I think this hangover thing is pretty overrated and probably just more coincidence than anything. Some of the teams (Chicago '06, Panthers '03) were just flash in the pan teams who mostly benefitted from playing in a weak NFC conference, they returned to their normal selves soon after.

juny · 10-24-2012, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elijah

The refs did nothing to cost us the Arizona game; you can blame the offense and Gostkowski for that one. They hosed us pretty badly in Baltimore but it shouldn't have been that close in the first place. 5-2 and I'm still talking hangover because of how badly they've played in 3 of the games (Arizona, Seattle, Jest).

there was a hold called on gronk that was a terrible call, which took back woodhead's TD in the arizona game.