Never forget the 2008 season

The Patriots missed the playoffs with an 11-5 record in 2008. This Sunday night, a 6 win team can make the playoffs in the NFC (at best 7 win). A 9 win team as well in the AFC.

AFC:

In fact, four (of 6) AFC teams will make it even if they end up with 9 or 10 wins. A fifth one can be 11-5 and make it in that case. In other words, the 2008 team could have the HFA alongside the 2014 team.

NFC:

Every NFC playoff team that loses in Week 17 will have the same or worse record than the 2008 Patriots, as well. That could be the entire NFC squad finishing 11-5 or worse.

NFL:

With a few losses expected in week 17 from each playoff contender in each conference, especially if they’re playing each other, only 4-6 teams in the NFL will finish with a better record than the 2008 Patriots.

The 2008 Patriots, a likely top 5 team in 2014 alongside this year's Pats.

Thank you, Patriots, for working hard that season and doing better this year. Keep it up!

I often wonder how that team would of made out in the playoffs. They really seemed to be playing well near the end of the season. Damn Favre playing like crap against the Dolphins that day...

Yes I would have liked for them to have the chance to make the playoffs. Probably would have won a game or two. They were rolling in December.

Also, on an unrelated note, R.I.P to the 2010 pats. They were 07 dominant in those last 8 games. Never seen a team with so much momentum flame out like that.

New England Pride said:

Yes I would have liked for them to have the chance to make the playoffs. Probably would have won a game or two. They were rolling in December.

Also, on an unrelated note, R.I.P to the 2010 pats. They were 07 dominant in those last 8 games. Never seen a team with so much momentum flame out like that.

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It's a major reason I'm tempering expectations and just enjoying the ride.

102 Pat said:

I often wonder how that team would of made out in the playoffs. They really seemed to be playing well near the end of the season. Damn Favre playing like crap against the Dolphins that day...

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1. The 2008 team with Brady would have rivaled 2003, 2004 and 2007. It was really the last great run of the old guard.

2. That team lost not only Brady for the entire season, but Rodney for most of it as well. Though he wasn't the 2003-2004 Rodney, that team lost 2 captains and the leaders of both the offense and defense.

3. Despite all of that, the 2008 team was still playing at an extremely high level at the end of the season. They finished 5-1 down the stretch and outscored opponents 191-115 (an average of 32-19). The last 3 games they outscored opponents 109-33 (an average of 36-11). They were as hot as any team in the NFL at the end of the season.

I think that team could have done a lot of damage. That team with Brady and Rodney wins the SB.

2008 team wasn't nearly as good as 03, 04, 07 that's crazy. Pass defense was baaaad. 08 deltha o Neal still gives me nightmares. Could have made a run like 2011 pats though. I thought AD was actually balling that year before he got hurt.

Froob said:

2008 team wasn't nearly as good as 03, 04, 07 that's crazy. Pass defense was baaaad. 08 deltha o Neal still gives me nightmares. Could have made a run like 2011 pats though. I thought AD was actually balling that year before he got hurt.

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Rodney would have helped settle down the secondary. The 2004 team won with Earthwind Moreland and Randall Gay at CB. I think that with Brady and Rodney, the 2008 team would have held their own.

mayoclinic said:

Rodney would have helped settle down the secondary. The 2004 team won with Earthwind Moreland and Randall Gay at CB. I think that with Brady and Rodney, the 2008 team would have held their own.

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It's possible. Rodney was pretty injury prone so it would have been luck for him to play two straight seasons. We own Pittsburgh and creamed Arizona already. Seymour had a huge season as I recall. And with a healthy AD (who I think people here really underrate he wasn't what we expected but he was a really good player for a year and a half and was toast when he came back in 09). Brady getting hurt sucked because he was still not quite himself til 2010.

New England Pride said:

Yes I would have liked for them to have the chance to make the playoffs. Probably would have won a game or two. They were rolling in December.

Also, on an unrelated note, R.I.P to the 2010 pats. They were 07 dominant in those last 8 games. Never seen a team with so much momentum flame out like that.

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Tell me about it. That team was playing as good as I've ever seen a Pats team play before. To get bounced by the Jets is second only to the two SB losses (maybe the AFCCG vs the Colts too). It was soul crushing.

I really think that 2008 team could have won the Super Bowl w/Tom Brady. Remember when we eviscerated the Cardinals late in the season, who then went on to the SB?

PatSunday said:

The Patriots missed the playoffs with an 11-5 record in 2008. This Sunday night, a 6 win team can make the playoffs in the NFC (at best 7 win). A 9 win team as well in the AFC.

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Alternatively, how great would it be to see the 7-9 Saints do some damage in the playoffs, only to get obliterated in the super bowl?

2008 was an anomaly for sure. When Brady went down, I think a lot of people gave up on that season then and there. Am I happy about missing the playoffs? No. But in a way, it was ironically fitting.

I've always disliked the criticism of the 07 and 08 drafts. The roster was so full of veterans going 16-0 and such, it would be hard for a rookie to break through.

102 Pat said:

I often wonder how that team would of made out in the playoffs. They really seemed to be playing well near the end of the season. Damn Favre playing like crap against the Dolphins that day...

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I'll always remember CBS (or whoever) showing Favre's pre-game pep to the team just before kick off: "Let's play our game...whatever that is." Truly inspiring words.

tasmlab said:

I've always disliked the criticism of the 07 and 08 drafts. The roster was so full of veterans going 16-0 and such, it would be hard for a rookie to break through.

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As I've said this before, 2007 was just an anomaly all around.

And anyone criticizing 2008 . . . Jerod Mayo and Matt Slater.

Between them a DROY title, six Pro Bowls, and three first team All-Pro appearances. 'Nuff said.

Shame Meriweather didn't have his head screwed on right, he had a lot of talent. Was really clutch too.

2008? I barely remember 2014.

We skip the 2008 team when we talk about the playoff win/loss records or Tom Brady's statistics for obvious reasons.

And yet, an 11-5 regular season with a young backup quarterback is about as good as it gets for any team in the NFL, usually good enough to keep any coach's job and go to the playoffs. We even had the same record in 2001 with Brady!

We feasted on a historically soft schedule. I think 9 of our 11 wins were teams that finished 500 or worst

102 Pat said:

I often wonder how that team would of made out in the playoffs. They really seemed to be playing well near the end of the season. Damn Favre playing like crap against the Dolphins that day...

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Beaten in the Wild Card round.

I kinda hated that season because it robbed Brady of one year as he was peaking on his prime. I could even argue it robbed him of TWO prime seasons because he clearly wasn't the same for at least ~ 10 games into the 2009 season. In fact, he wasn't really playing that well until the Sunday night massacre @Pittsburgh.

For all that Brady has accomplished already, I can only imagine what more accolades he would have if he had never tore his ACL.

As the 10-6 and 9-7 Giants painfully showed us, Regular Season records go into the shredder after week 17. Or, to paraphrase BB, no one hands you a trophy for winning the regular season.