Your Opinion/Analysis of the 2008 New England Patriots

[NE_PATS_FAN_54]

this is my take on the 2008 new england patriots.

this season was a success for the patriots. i can honestly say the 2008 regular season was more enjoyable than the 2007 regular season. nobody gave the pats a chance after brady went down. nobody. and for them to win 11 games after all of the other injuries they sustained? remarkable. simply remarkable. im very happy with the direction in which this team is headed in. a lot of players stepped up and showed that they can play in this league going forward.
-they found their franchise linebacker and defensive leader of the future in jerod mayo.
-they found a cornerback that could develop into a #1 corner in Jonathan Wilhite.
- Ellis Hobbs showed that he is a very good #2 cornerback, and that he is not a lockdown corner
-Matt Cassel proved he can lead a team to 11 wins. my bet is that they franchise him, and trade him. there is no way that the patriots let him go walking for nothing. they are too smart. If brady really needs more time, you keep Cassel.
-Randy Moss showed, for the first time in his career, that he can be a true team player.
- Wes Welker showed yet again that he is one of the toughest players in the league and is the best slot receiver in the game.
-Junior Seau still has something left in the tank. If he will just stick around one more year, i think he will finally get his ring.
-Sammy Morris showed he is the best running back on the patriots roster.
-Laurence Maroney has an awful lot to prove next year.
- Brandon Merriweather showed that he can replace rodney harrison as the leader of the secondary.

i love the direction of this team. i really do. hopefully they can resolve the cassel situation soon and make a big splash in free agency or lock up some of the core guys(wilfork, seymour, mankins, etc.). this will be a fascinating offseason.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

First, it's way too early to suggest that Wilhite will become a #1 corner. The last two weeks made him look good because of the weather. This was Bill Belichicks best coaching season of his career and did so much with so little, especially on defense. Also, I'm impressed with how well Matt Cassel turned his game around with so little time. With that said, the Pats should have a busy offseason concerning Brady, where Cassel goes (or stays), and how to rebuild this defense. The Pats need to focus on getting a pass rusher that can change games, better depth at CB, another ILB to team up with Mayo and a SS so Merriweather can go back to his natural position of FS. Lastly, if the Pats plan to keep Brady, they better get some O-lineman in this draft or FA. In fact, this should be the Pats #1 priority.

 

[PatSunday]

What sucks is all signs point to the offensive line not protecting the quarterback enough in the first few games, be it Brady or later on Cassell. We would have had more wins and maybe averted the Brady injury if our offense line did not suck so much when the season started.

 

[NEPatriot]

I selected 'Failured' for 2 reasons:

1- We have had 'secondary' problem for years and we haven't done anything to fix it. As a result, we haven't won a SB game since then and everybody in NFL knows it. Our redzone defense record shows it.

2-Cassel is 'obviously' not a good way to 'give the team the best chance to win' even though he has been here for 4+ years. Other NFL rookie QBs lead their team to 'playoff' EXCEPT Cassel.

If pats continues making this kind of bad decisions, they will never see a SB again.

 

[Disco Volante]

All four teams (Bucs, Cowboys, Packers, Patriots) the Giants beat to win their championship last year in the post-season, failed to make the playoffs this year.

 

[Fixit]

2-Cassel is 'obviously' not a good way to 'give the team the best chance to win' even though he has been here for 4+ years. Other NFL rookie QBs lead their team to 'playoff' EXCEPT Cassel.

If pats continues making this kind of bad decisions, they will never see a SB again.

I simply disagree with your first point, but your second is, wow...it's pretty weak.

 

[Real American Hero]

I'm proud of the team for overcoming adversity but I can't call it a success because we lost games that we could have won and to teams that we should have beat even with our injuries. We had a pretty nice schedule and the proof is in the pudding - 1-4 vs. AFC playoff teams. Hard to call that successful. But I'm still proud that we put up a fight and actually managed to develop some young and underutilized talent in the process.

 

[NEPatriot]

I simply disagree with your first point, but your second is, wow...it's pretty weak.

it's the reason that our record is 11-5 and we missed the playoff. We have an easy schedule and this is how we ENDED the season with Cassel.

Other NFL rookie QBs are leading their team to playoff. Where does Cassel lead us? Foxbrought?

 

[Fixit]

it's the reason that our record is 11-5 and we missed the playoff.

Getting blown out by Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Miami?

Dropping a perfect TD pass against Indy?

Stripping the ball...from yourself...on a critical first down against the Jets?

I didn't see those on your list.

How anyone can "blame" Cassel for an 11-5 season is beyond me. They lost the division on the third tiebreaker, for Pete's sake.

If you think that anything short of the Superbowl is a failure, congratulations, you're a Yankee fan. Me, I thought this was a great season.

 

[Jackson 2]

it's the reason that our record is 11-5 and we missed the playoff. We have an easy schedule and this is how we ENDED the season with Cassel.

Other NFL rookie QBs are leading their team to playoff. Where does Cassel lead us? Foxbrought?

Either you're being intentionally facetious, or...never mind,I won't go there.

 

[Real American Hero]

it's the reason that our record is 11-5 and we missed the playoff. We have an easy schedule and this is how we ENDED the season with Cassel.

Other NFL rookie QBs are leading their team to playoff. Where does Cassel lead us? Foxbrought?

There wasn't one game this season that I thought we lost because of Cassel. There were a few blowouts that weren't shown in my area and a few close games where the blame was squarely on the defense and a dropped pass that should have been caught.

On the other hand the guy lead a few drives to tie us up late or give us the lead. He also came right in cold after Brady went down and lead a TD drive that may have saved the season.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

It was both a success and failure. The team played so hard yet was so frustrating to watch at times. We were able to develop alot of the younger guys (which was desperately needed considering the age of Bru/Vrabel/Rodney) yet to me, any year in this run our team is having where we don't win the Super Bowl feels like a wasted year. The run won't last forever.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

How anyone can "blame" Cassel for an 11-5 season is beyond me. They lost the division on the third tiebreaker, for Pete's sake.

I suggest this approach to managing troll crap's amazing intellect. This creature hasn't had anything good to say about Cassel all season and just waits between losses before regurgitating the same foul ignorance.

This message is hidden because NEPatriot is on your ignore list.

 

[Connecticut]

My third season as a Pats fan. My reaction? Absolutely thrilling to follow, a bit disappointing at the end because we're not in the playoffs, but overall very satisfied with what we were able to do given the circumstances. A real success.

 

[NEPatriot]

Getting blown out by Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Indy

Cassel didn't play well against these teams. Pats SCORED less than 18 pts against these teams. He couldn't win in the BIG game.

He also didn't score high in the first 7 games either.

Stripping the ball...from yourself...on a critical first down against the Jets?

I didn't see those on your list.

How anyone can "blame" Cassel for an 11-5 season is beyond me. They lost the division on the third tiebreaker, for Pete's sake.

If you think that anything short of the Superbowl is a failure, congratulations, you're a Yankee fan. Me, I thought this was a great season.

It's not a 'great' season when you only played 16 games.

 

[DalTXColtsFan]

Your team should be very proud. How many teams can lose an NFL MVP and still go 11-5?

 

[Connecticut]

Your team should be very proud. How many teams can lose an NFL MVP and still go 11-5?

Thanks man. Good luck to you.

 

[Fixit]

Cassel didn't play well against these teams. Pats SCORED less than 18 pts against these teams. He couldn't win in the BIG game.

He also didn't score high in the first 7 games either.




It's not a 'great' season when you only played 16 games.

Week 5: 30 points
Week 7: 41 points

Season points:
Pats: 410
Falcons: 391
Ravens: 385 (I'd love to know how many of those were defensive)

Brady only managed 14 in the biggest game of his career. What a bum.

As I said, congrats. You're a Yankee fan. It's a shame that a 16 game season can't hold any joy for you. This season was exciting as hell in my eyes.

 

[JMarr]

Either you're being intentionally facetious, or...never mind,I won't go there.

"NE PATRIOT" = TROLL. good gawd people stop feeding this clown. just classic stuff from him like "I think Cassel could be gone after this year," and "I don't think Favre has done the Pats any favors" type posts. jeez just ignore this idiot.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I can't help but wonder how a similar poll would look among the Jets fandom.

$140 million, HoF QB and no Tom Brady to get in the way = 3rd place in the AFC East.