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What do you say?
...One year ago Thursday night, I asked that same question to this very forum in wake of another icy chunk of adversity that was thrown at the Patriots only one week into it all. Do you remember that feeling of how everyone just wanted to go out there Sunday night against the Chargers and play? Do you remember Belichick waving to the fans, chanting his name, after that "statement" game? I do.
It is often in these situations that I pop in some old VHS game to take a look at. The longer it's been since I've seen it, the better. Tonight I think I made a good choice: the 2003-04 Divisional Playoff game versus the Tennessee Titans. It was freakin' cold, as we all remember. Both the 2001 and 2003 seasons had such a different feeling to them than the other two Super Bowl seasons, 2004 and 2007. It was all still very new to us. Those teams were unexpected by many fans, and disrespected by many critics; 2001 was supposed to be the same old "Patsies" story, and you didn't know what to expect in 2003 coming off a rocky 2002 campaign.
Yet there were events in both of those seasons that shaped and rallied together those teams: the injury to Drew Bledsoe and the resulting QB controversy in 2001, and the shocking release of Lawyer Milloy in 2003. One prompted not much of any response (who is Tom Brady?), and the other prompted Tom Jackson's famous comments. From that point on, these teams, while well-built (moreso in 2003), lacked that superstar draw, that unmistakable talent margin. Fast forward through 2003: there were field-goal only games in the rain and mud against the Browns and the Giants, games where the Red Sox mattered more against the Titans, games that came down to the wire against the Texans and Colts, and games that were just purely magical against the Dolphins (twice) and Broncos.
But that night against the Titans, the Patriots - Weis, Crennel, Law, McGinest, and the typical gang - just did what they needed to do. The ball was frozen. The Pats were 14-2, and yet the game still came down to a few plays at the end. It was dark, it was cold, Gary Glitter was blaring in the background, and the crowd (SROs to the club seats - and a loud one at that) was really into it. With that atmosphere, and the smash-mouth, back-and-forth football being played really contributed to an on-the-edge feeling that we as fans really felt the entire season. This was the Patriots football that we came to know and love and that defined the "dynasty" years.
Honestly, I've barely read this forum over the past few days. I don't care, because all the sudden, that feeling from 2003 - that you also felt for parts of 2004 - is back. I've been trying to tap into it over the past few years, but from the time the Pats opened camp in 2005, even through the successes of last season, I just haven't been able to find it. Granted, it has taken a catastrophic injury to rediscover that for me, but nonetheless, I'll embrace it again.
Why?
I truly believe we are back to 2003. I'm ready to see things happen. I'm ready to see the special teams make some big plays like they did in 2001, I'm ready for the Homeland Defense t-shirts to get back on the presses like in 2003, I'm ready for 10-yard drives with no runs like in those years, I'm ready for it all. Buckle your chinstraps, because as this autumn turns into a bitter winter when the sun goes down at 4:00 PM, the brand of Patriots football that gave you goosebumps that night in January 2004 is back.
And that, I say, is why my original question matters.
Quick slant to Moss.
...One year ago Thursday night, I asked that same question to this very forum in wake of another icy chunk of adversity that was thrown at the Patriots only one week into it all. Do you remember that feeling of how everyone just wanted to go out there Sunday night against the Chargers and play? Do you remember Belichick waving to the fans, chanting his name, after that "statement" game? I do.
It is often in these situations that I pop in some old VHS game to take a look at. The longer it's been since I've seen it, the better. Tonight I think I made a good choice: the 2003-04 Divisional Playoff game versus the Tennessee Titans. It was freakin' cold, as we all remember. Both the 2001 and 2003 seasons had such a different feeling to them than the other two Super Bowl seasons, 2004 and 2007. It was all still very new to us. Those teams were unexpected by many fans, and disrespected by many critics; 2001 was supposed to be the same old "Patsies" story, and you didn't know what to expect in 2003 coming off a rocky 2002 campaign.
Yet there were events in both of those seasons that shaped and rallied together those teams: the injury to Drew Bledsoe and the resulting QB controversy in 2001, and the shocking release of Lawyer Milloy in 2003. One prompted not much of any response (who is Tom Brady?), and the other prompted Tom Jackson's famous comments. From that point on, these teams, while well-built (moreso in 2003), lacked that superstar draw, that unmistakable talent margin. Fast forward through 2003: there were field-goal only games in the rain and mud against the Browns and the Giants, games where the Red Sox mattered more against the Titans, games that came down to the wire against the Texans and Colts, and games that were just purely magical against the Dolphins (twice) and Broncos.
But that night against the Titans, the Patriots - Weis, Crennel, Law, McGinest, and the typical gang - just did what they needed to do. The ball was frozen. The Pats were 14-2, and yet the game still came down to a few plays at the end. It was dark, it was cold, Gary Glitter was blaring in the background, and the crowd (SROs to the club seats - and a loud one at that) was really into it. With that atmosphere, and the smash-mouth, back-and-forth football being played really contributed to an on-the-edge feeling that we as fans really felt the entire season. This was the Patriots football that we came to know and love and that defined the "dynasty" years.
Honestly, I've barely read this forum over the past few days. I don't care, because all the sudden, that feeling from 2003 - that you also felt for parts of 2004 - is back. I've been trying to tap into it over the past few years, but from the time the Pats opened camp in 2005, even through the successes of last season, I just haven't been able to find it. Granted, it has taken a catastrophic injury to rediscover that for me, but nonetheless, I'll embrace it again.
Why?
I truly believe we are back to 2003. I'm ready to see things happen. I'm ready to see the special teams make some big plays like they did in 2001, I'm ready for the Homeland Defense t-shirts to get back on the presses like in 2003, I'm ready for 10-yard drives with no runs like in those years, I'm ready for it all. Buckle your chinstraps, because as this autumn turns into a bitter winter when the sun goes down at 4:00 PM, the brand of Patriots football that gave you goosebumps that night in January 2004 is back.
And that, I say, is why my original question matters.
Quick slant to Moss.
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