Sporting News' Take on 16-0 vs. 19-0

[bigjunk1]

There is a great piece written by Matt Crossman in Sporting News Magazine. The article can be read here:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=328422

My favorite line is:

"Think of it this way: Some team wins the Super Bowl every year. But nobody has ever gone 16-0 in the regular season. "

It kind of goes with my oppinion that regardless of what happens in the playoffs - and lord knows, I want them to win it all - that years from now people will still be looking back at 2007 with amazement that the Pats went a whole NFL regular season without being beat.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

It kind of goes with my oppinion that regardless of what happens in the playoffs - and lord knows, I want them to win it all - that years from now people will still be looking back at 2007 with amazement that the Pats went a whole NFL regular season without being beat.

It's an amazing accomplishment, to be sure.

But let's say we lose next week. How is our 16-1 a more amazing accomplishment than the Bears 18-1 in 1985. Or the 49ers 18-1 season. (I think there are a couple of others too, all of which culminated with super bowls.)

Seems like a pretty artificial distinction to say that not losing in the regular season is more impressive than not losing the in the playoffs.

16-0 won't mean "nothing" as some suggest if the Pats don't close the deal. But I'd take a 12-4 with a superbowl win over a 16-0 with a playoff loss every day of the week.

 

[richpats]

There's only one letter between 19-0 and 16-1:

Greatest Team to ever Win the Super Bowl
Greatest Team to Never Win the Super Bowl

 

[FrontSeven]

There is a great piece written by Matt Crossman in Sporting News Magazine. The article can be read here:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=328422

My favorite line is:

"Think of it this way: Some team wins the Super Bowl every year. But nobody has ever gone 16-0 in the regular season".

There's something wrong with that logic. Somebody *has* to win the SB. The tournament is designed to force a winner.

Conversely, if 16-0 were the objective, perhaps the Bears or the Skins or the Broncos would have approached their one loss in a different way (the way they'd play the SB.) 16-0 has never been the goal, so it's not fair to count how many teams did that when the teams are actually playing some late season games to save themselves for the playoffs and SB.

One thing that seems very hard about 16-0 is the length of time the team has to deal with the pressure, and how many decent teams smack them in the mouth in their personal SBs.

 

[Pats_AZ]

There's only one letter between 19-0 and 16-1:

Greatest Team to ever Win the Super Bowl
Greatest Team to Never Win the Super Bowl

well said!

 

[bigjunk1]

BB likes to talk about when the playoff's start everyone is 0-0. So regardless of whether the Pat's win it all, in the first season they went undefeated. The second - we will see.

I wasn't around in 72 when the Dolphins went 14-0, but I assume people were talking about their season as a great accomplishment and comparing it to the two Bears teams that finished the regular season without a loss. I would guess that after week 14, nobody was saying thath the Dolphin's season was a failure because they hadn't won yet in the playoffs.

In the upcoming NFL seasons people will be comparing any team that is off to a very good start to the Pats of 2007. Maybe as a side note they will say what they did or didn't do in the post-season. But the point to be exclaimed upon will be 16-0.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

There's only one letter between 19-0 and 16-1:

Greatest Team to ever Win the Super Bowl
Greatest Team to Never Win the Super Bowl

You should trademark this. Very well done.

Regards,
Chris

 

[reflexblue]

There is a great piece written by Matt Crossman in Sporting News Magazine. The article can be read here:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=328422

My favorite line is:

"Think of it this way: Some team wins the Super Bowl every year. But nobody has ever gone 16-0 in the regular season. "

It kind of goes with my oppinion that regardless of what happens in the playoffs - and lord knows, I want them to win it all - that years from now people will still be looking back at 2007 with amazement that the Pats went a whole NFL regular season without being beat.

I should write for some sports entity, I wrote almost the exact same line two days ago. Well maybe not write ...dictate. BIG Whoops he wrote it before me, Never mind.

 

[National Sports Advisors]

The Seattle Mariners won 116 games about 6 or 7 years ago in the regular season. Do you think ANYONE, including Seattle's own fans, give a rat's behind? Of course not! Fellas, even Bob Kraft has admitted that 16-0 will mean NOTHING if they don't win it all. In fact, Kraft said it would be a dissapointing season. That's the bottom line.

 

[National Sports Advisors]

If you date the hottest girl in town for 4 months but she loses her virginity to some other dude on a 1 night stand, than who do you think 100% of guys would rather be? Sure, you were the envy of the town for being able to have the hottest girl in town on your right arm for months, but it's all about closing the deal.

 

[brisby51]

There's only one letter between 19-0 and 16-1:

Greatest Team to ever Win the Super Bowl
Greatest Team to Never Win the Super Bowl

How can you say never when we have won three?

 

[richpats]

How can you say never when we have won three?

"Team" as in a particular season, not "Franchise".

 

[brisby51]

How can you say never to have won a superbowl when we have won three?

 

[brisby51]

Then it should be not won one instead of never won one.

 

[Bella*chick]

Brisby? Oh, man, that brings back some memories.

 

[brisby51]

Guess what my labs name is?

 

[richpats]

How can you say never to have won a superbowl when we have won three?

The 2001 Patriots won a Super Bowl.
The 2002 Patriots didn't win a Super Bowl, hence they NEVER won a Super Bowl.

Jeez, everybody else got it.

 

[brisby51]

I am not picking on you I just thought it sounded funny saying they never won a superbowl when you are talking about a single team in a single year.

 

[NEPatriot]

when NE's record is 19-0, this team will appear in the cover of every newspaper, sport illustrates, and NFL record for LIFE. The GREATEST TEAM EVER IN NFL.

we have less than 1 month to witness this fantastic event and I'm waiting for this event.