BradyManny
Pro Bowl Player
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- Mar 13, 2006
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I said this in another thread but drew very little response, though I think it's a valid point - I feel us Patriot fans became spoiled by the dominance of the 2004 season and have completely unrealistic expectations of how an NFL team should perform week to week.
"Any given Sunday", as cliched as it has become, is the truth. The true test of a winner is not their margin of victory, but how they are able to grind out victories.
With the exception of the Jets game, so far, the identity of this Patriots team is very similar to the 2003 team which provided all the heart-pounding close calls that made the season so exciting to watch, yet also so nerve-wracking.
We rarely blew teams out, and found a lot of victories either just by holding on or coming from behind.
The 2004 Pats completely spoiled us as fans. Now, if we don't win dominantly, we aren't happy. Yesterday wasn't a great win by any stretch, but it was a win, and just to refresh a few memories, here are a few similar victories from 03, it's been sometime since I've watched the 03 DVD, so I'm going to sit down and do that, but for now, some quick recaps...
Patriots 17, Giants 6
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031012_NYG@NE
"The New England Patriots proved that statistics don't win football games -- defense and perseverance does. Outgained 199-29 in a first half in which they had just one first down, the Patriots rallied behind Tom Brady and Kevin Faulk and beat the New York Giants 17-6 on Sunday."
Scary stat of the game -
Brady: 8/21 for 112 yards
Patriots 19, Dolphins 13
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031019_NE@MIA
"The New England Patriots needed two missed field goals and their longest pass play of the season to finally win in the Miami heat...The Dolphins (4-2) had two chances to win the game. But Olindo Mare missed a pair of field-goal attempts on the infield dirt. The NFL's second most accurate kicker of all time had one blocked near the end of regulation and missed one wide right in overtime -- both on dirt."
Scary stat of the game -
Patriots: 59 net yards rushing
Patriots 9, Browns 3
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031026_CLE@NE
"The Patriots won without a touchdown because Couch and Holcomb struggled. Couch went 7 for 11 for 40 yards, while Holcomb was 15 for 25 for 115 yards."
Patriots 30, Broncos 26
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031103_NE@DEN
"It came after coach Bill Belichick's call for a deliberate safety with his team, trailing 24-23, backed up on their own 1 on fourth down with 2:49 left."
Patriots 12, Cowboys 0
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031116_DAL@NE
"The Patriots, helped by two long passes by a mostly ineffective Tom Brady and 10 penalties against the Cowboys, had enough offense to win their sixth consecutive game and give Belichick a 3-2 career record over Parcells."
Brady: 15/34 for 212 yards
Patriots 23, Texans 20
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031123_NE@HOU
"For all his misfortune, Adam Vinatieri wasn't going to let New England 's winning streak end with a tie. He rebounded from a miss off the right upright in regulation and a block early in overtime to hit a 28-yarder with 41 seconds. The Patriots escaped Houston with a 23-20 victory, extending their winning streak to seven and establishing their best 11-game start at 9-2."
Brady: 2 INTs & a fumble loss
Fans will remember this as the single ugliest win of all in the 21 game streak
Patriots 38, Colts 34
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031130_NE@IND
"McGinest's game-saving tackle typified the Patriots' charmed season....
But Manning valiantly rallied the Colts from a 21-point deficit for the second time this season. He converted Brady's first interception into a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne. Three plays later, Brady was picked off again. On the next play, Manning threw a 26-yard strike to Marvin Harrison to make it 31-24 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. "
Once again, another ugly game (particularly the 2nd half) we pulled out simply because we were tougher down the stretch.
Patriots 21, Jets 17
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031220_NE@NYJ
"The New England Patriots won their 11th straight game in typical fashion Saturday night: They pulled out yet another close game thanks to their defense."
Won in part thanks to picking off Pennington 5 times
"Any given Sunday", as cliched as it has become, is the truth. The true test of a winner is not their margin of victory, but how they are able to grind out victories.
With the exception of the Jets game, so far, the identity of this Patriots team is very similar to the 2003 team which provided all the heart-pounding close calls that made the season so exciting to watch, yet also so nerve-wracking.
We rarely blew teams out, and found a lot of victories either just by holding on or coming from behind.
The 2004 Pats completely spoiled us as fans. Now, if we don't win dominantly, we aren't happy. Yesterday wasn't a great win by any stretch, but it was a win, and just to refresh a few memories, here are a few similar victories from 03, it's been sometime since I've watched the 03 DVD, so I'm going to sit down and do that, but for now, some quick recaps...
Patriots 17, Giants 6
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031012_NYG@NE
"The New England Patriots proved that statistics don't win football games -- defense and perseverance does. Outgained 199-29 in a first half in which they had just one first down, the Patriots rallied behind Tom Brady and Kevin Faulk and beat the New York Giants 17-6 on Sunday."
Scary stat of the game -
Brady: 8/21 for 112 yards
Patriots 19, Dolphins 13
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031019_NE@MIA
"The New England Patriots needed two missed field goals and their longest pass play of the season to finally win in the Miami heat...The Dolphins (4-2) had two chances to win the game. But Olindo Mare missed a pair of field-goal attempts on the infield dirt. The NFL's second most accurate kicker of all time had one blocked near the end of regulation and missed one wide right in overtime -- both on dirt."
Scary stat of the game -
Patriots: 59 net yards rushing
Patriots 9, Browns 3
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031026_CLE@NE
"The Patriots won without a touchdown because Couch and Holcomb struggled. Couch went 7 for 11 for 40 yards, while Holcomb was 15 for 25 for 115 yards."
Patriots 30, Broncos 26
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031103_NE@DEN
"It came after coach Bill Belichick's call for a deliberate safety with his team, trailing 24-23, backed up on their own 1 on fourth down with 2:49 left."
Patriots 12, Cowboys 0
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031116_DAL@NE
"The Patriots, helped by two long passes by a mostly ineffective Tom Brady and 10 penalties against the Cowboys, had enough offense to win their sixth consecutive game and give Belichick a 3-2 career record over Parcells."
Brady: 15/34 for 212 yards
Patriots 23, Texans 20
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031123_NE@HOU
"For all his misfortune, Adam Vinatieri wasn't going to let New England 's winning streak end with a tie. He rebounded from a miss off the right upright in regulation and a block early in overtime to hit a 28-yarder with 41 seconds. The Patriots escaped Houston with a 23-20 victory, extending their winning streak to seven and establishing their best 11-game start at 9-2."
Brady: 2 INTs & a fumble loss
Fans will remember this as the single ugliest win of all in the 21 game streak
Patriots 38, Colts 34
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031130_NE@IND
"McGinest's game-saving tackle typified the Patriots' charmed season....
But Manning valiantly rallied the Colts from a 21-point deficit for the second time this season. He converted Brady's first interception into a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne. Three plays later, Brady was picked off again. On the next play, Manning threw a 26-yard strike to Marvin Harrison to make it 31-24 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. "
Once again, another ugly game (particularly the 2nd half) we pulled out simply because we were tougher down the stretch.
Patriots 21, Jets 17
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20031220_NE@NYJ
"The New England Patriots won their 11th straight game in typical fashion Saturday night: They pulled out yet another close game thanks to their defense."
Won in part thanks to picking off Pennington 5 times
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