Never forget the 2008 season

brdmaverick · Dec 26, 2014

To really twist the knife, the 11-5 Pats were sitting at home watching the 8-8 Chargers not only play in a playoff game but HOST one.

festy1986 · Dec 26, 2014

Would of been better to lose all those games and take advantage of a top 5 pick.

I mean we went the while season without brady and missed the playoffs anyway. Top 5 pick had more value than those 11 wins and no playoffs.

Jlaff · Dec 26, 2014

Love reopening old wounds, great to be fuming with that neverending hate for Pollard on Christmas!

everlong · Dec 26, 2014

The 2008 team is highly overrated and would have gotten smoked in the playoffs without Brady. They faced the AFC and NFC west that year. SD at 8-8 won the division and smoked the Pats by 20. Arizona did come here and get smoked but it was in the snow and they clearly couldn't handle it but did make the SB with their 9-7 record. The Steelers also crushed the Pats that season. Cassel simply couldn't handle the better pressure defense of the Steelers and Chargers which Brady had done well against the year before, not as well in the playoffs but I still think that was partially his leg causing him to not to be able to move around the pocket.

Kontradiction · Dec 26, 2014

everlong said:
The 2008 team is highly overrated and would have gotten smoked in the playoffs without Brady. They faced the AFC and NFC west that year. SD at 8-8 won the division and smoked the Pats by 20. Arizona did come here and get smoked but it was in the snow and they clearly couldn't handle it but did make the SB with their 9-7 record. The Steelers also crushed the Pats that season. Cassel simply couldn't handle the better pressure defense of the Steelers and Chargers which Brady had done well against the year before, not as well in the playoffs but I still think that was partially his leg causing him to not to be able to move around the pocket.

I agree. That team was either long in the tooth or painfully unathletic at key positions on offense and defense and had a deficiency at quarterback. It's a team that I have trouble seeing getting through the Ravens, Titans, or Steelers that year just because of how good and how physical those defenses were. The Titans/Ravens game was a bloodbath. One of the more physical games I have ever seen. I don't see that Pats team making it out of a game like that, especially without Rodney.

1960Pats · Dec 26, 2014

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.

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 like that the screwing this year will go to one of the"historic" NFL teams from Detroit or Philly. And to make it even better, it could be a 6-9-1 team that does it. Maybe that will help get the NFL do something about it in the future. I wonder why they did it in the first place?

makoute · Dec 26, 2014

brdmaverick said:
To really twist the knife, the 11-5 Pats were sitting at home watching the 8-8 Chargers not only play in a playoff game but HOST one.

And then had to watch them get a higher draft pick on top of that.

Kontradiction · Dec 26, 2014

makoute said:
And then had to watch them get a higher draft pick on top of that.

Yeah but at least we got to watch them knock the Colts out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Oswlek · Dec 26, 2014

everlong said:
The 2008 team is highly overrated and would have gotten smoked in the playoffs without Brady. They faced the AFC and NFC west that year. SD at 8-8 won the division and smoked the Pats by 20. Arizona did come here and get smoked but it was in the snow and they clearly couldn't handle it but did make the SB with their 9-7 record. The Steelers also crushed the Pats that season. Cassel simply couldn't handle the better pressure defense of the Steelers and Chargers which Brady had done well against the year before, not as well in the playoffs but I still think that was partially his leg causing him to not to be able to move around the pocket.

2008's 11-5 record is overrated, but their playoff chances weren't. They would almost certainly have won a wildcard round game and would have given Pitt a run for their money. They weren't the same team that lost to SD and the Pitt game was two Moss drops away from being 20-10 NE at halftime, or perhaps even 24-10.

If you want to make the case that they wouldn't have stacked up, it isn't Matt you should be looking at, but the defense.

All that said, I don't see why I should lament that team's exclusion from the playoffs. They could easily have knocked SD out themselves and the only win over an AFC playoff team was over Miami. They locked the door on themselves.

meatface · Dec 26, 2014

Oswlek said:
2008's 11-5 record is overrated, but their playoff chances weren't. They would almost certainly have won a wildcard round game and would have given Pitt a run for their money. They weren't the same team that lost to SD and the Pitt game was two Moss drops away from being 20-10 NE at halftime, or perhaps even 24-10.

If you want to make the case that they wouldn't have stacked up, it isn't Matt you should be looking at, but the defense.

All that said, I don't see why I should lament that team's exclusion from the playoffs. They could easily have knocked SD out themselves and the only win over an AFC playoff team was over Miami. They locked the door on themselves.

Thats what makes the Brady injury suck so bad, there was nobody in the AFC that could have stopped the Patriots that year if Brady was at the helm.

Joey007 · Dec 26, 2014

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.

Something was wrong about that team though..

That was a heavily flawed team that could not rush the passer by any means, had no vertical passing game, a very suspect O-line, and really a lack of play makers on the entire defense aside from Devin McCourty.

Yet we still went 14-2 and looked dominant at that in the last half of the year. That team lived and breathed off of mistake free, ultra-efficient football.

brdmaverick · Dec 26, 2014

Oswlek said:
2008's 11-5 record is overrated, but their playoff chances weren't.

They would almost certainly have won a wildcard round game and would have given Pitt a run for their money. They weren't the same team that lost to SD and the Pitt game was two Moss drops away from being 20-10 NE at halftime, or perhaps even 24-10.

If you want to make the case that they wouldn't have stacked up, it isn't Matt you should be looking at, but the defense.

All that said, I don't see why I should lament that team's exclusion from the playoffs. They could easily have knocked SD out themselves and the only win over an AFC playoff team was over Miami. They locked the door on themselves.

The bottom lines is that one team got into the playoffs with a far inferior record. Many wanted to put an asterisk on the Pats 13-3 record of 2011 just becuase they did not beat a team with a winning record.

RobertWeathers · Dec 26, 2014

meatface said:
Thats what makes the Brady injury suck so bad, there was nobody in the AFC that could have stopped the Patriots that year if Brady was at the helm.

The 2008 Pats secondary was awful. Asante was gone, Seymour packed it in once he was told he wasn't getting an extension, Thomas got hurt and Rodney, Vrabes, Seau, Bruschi were all north of 33 years old.

They weren't getting past the Steelers- even with Brady.

everlong · Dec 26, 2014

Oswlek said:
If you want to make the case that they wouldn't have stacked up, it isn't Matt you should be looking at, but the defense.

He was awful against the better defenses and the Steeler's game was in NE so traveling to Pitt it would have been ugly. Maybe they beat Miami in round three but that's about it.

Oswlek · Dec 26, 2014

everlong said:
He was awful against the better defenses and the Steeler's game was in NE so traveling to Pitt it would have been ugly. Maybe they beat Miami in round three but that's about it.

Matt's passer rating per game in the second half of 2008 was 89.8, 103.4, 114, 39.4, 84.3 108, 116.1 and 105.2. His struggles "against better defenses" is mostly just issues while he ramped up.

Yes, the Pitt game was ugly, but Matt wasn't why they lost and Pitt's pass rush didn't bother him much in the first half. It wasn't until special teams and turnovers gave Pitt the lead they needed to put their rush on full force. The game was closer than the final score and Matt's performance was better than the numbers indicate. That team could absolutely have gone into Pitt and won.

everlong · Dec 26, 2014

Ironically the one other good year he had in KC he played nearly the same schedule drawing a still weak NFC west and playing in the AFC west. He did well against the weak teams and was awful against the contenders. Those passer ratings were against some crap teams plus Arizona in the snow.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan/2010.htm

Oswlek · Dec 26, 2014

everlong said:
Those passer ratings were against some crap teams plus Arizona in the snow.

So, you don't think his early season struggles has anything to do with the fact that he hadn't played in a game for 8 years? Or that his latter season success had anything to do with getting more comfortable? It's all just a matter of who he played?

everlong · Dec 26, 2014

Oswlek said:
So, you don't think his early season struggles has anything to do with the fact that he hadn't played in a game for 8 years? Or that his latter season success had anything to do with getting more comfortable? It's all just a matter of who he played?

I think he would have played better against the lesser teams if he had more game action but we've seen his ceiling. The 2010 easy schedule with the Chiefs reinforces that. If he got a starting job with a favorable schedule I believe he would repeat the good season but still struggle against the good teams. In 2010 at home vs Baltimore in the playoffs he was 9/18 for 70 yards and 3 interceptions vs Baltimore. That's how 2008 would have played out in my opinion. Now Brady has certainly had mixed results vs the Ravens but nothing like that even in 09 with zero supporting cast it wasn't that bad........and it was pretty awful.

Oswlek · Dec 26, 2014

everlong said:
In 2010 at home vs Baltimore in the playoffs he was 9/18 for 70 yards and 3 interceptions vs Baltimore. That's how 2008 would have played out in my opinion

That seems like a stretch. The offense around Matt was substantially better in 2008 than it was in 2010.

everlong · Dec 26, 2014

Oswlek said:
That seems like a stretch. The offense around Matt was substantially better in 2008 than it was in 2010.

Thomas Jones and Jamal Charles rushed for close to 2300 yards. Dwayne Bowe was a 1200 yard receiver. McCluster and Moeaki were decent secondary options. There OL was at least as good as the Pats 08 version with guys like Albert, Waters and Lilja. They certainly didn't have the top end talent of Moss and Welker but that team had talent.

Never forget the 2008 season

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