Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

I know it hurts now, and it hurts bad. For me, this is worse than 07, because this year it was personnel. This year was for Mr Kraft and especially Mrs Kraft, and we came up just short. But after giving it a few hours to vent and gain some perspective, I am really proud of this team, and I am proud to call myself a Patriots fan.

Earlier in the year I questioned this teams character and heart. Well, they sure proved me wrong. They are tougher and a lot more resilient than I thought, and the way they battled through the season was fantastic. Obviously they didn't perform in the big game, but that doesn't take away from the great season they had. There were far too many individual performers this year to name, but this was a really special year for so many. Young and old, some cemented their legacies while others built theirs. This team has a lot of positives going foreward, and I it sucks that we have to wait until next season to see them again.

BB once again proved he is one of the greatest coaches in the NFL with what he was able to do with the amount of talent on this team. There is no doubt that they have been lacking in some areas all season, but BB was able to get the most out of the guys he had and do enough to be one of the two best teams in the game. I also wanted to say good luck to Bill O'Brien at Penn State. I think he has been very underrated this year and really added a lot to this team.

So thank you to all the players and the staff of the Patriots who made this such an enjoyable season. And thank you to all of you guys (and girls) here at PatsFans, because you too are a big part of my enjoyment of football season.

But most of all I wanted to say thank you to Mr Robert Kraft and his family who are without a doubt the heart and soul of this team. What this man was able to do while his wife was fighting for her life is truely inspirational. Without him, who knows what would have happened to football this season. He is truely a great owner, professional, but above all a great man. We all know Myra is gone, but I'm sure she is looking down and is as proud as I am of this team. She will always be a part of this franchise and we will always remember her. MHK.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

You're not from around here, are you?

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

Nicely said Wilfork. Not quite with you on BB, I think there's some genuine question marks now but agree wholeheartedly on Robert Kraft.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

It´s going to be difficult to be put this loss behind me, but in the end we have seen another exceptional season by the Patriots with yet another SB appearance and it´s a damn shame that many have grown so accustomed to that kind of success that they can´t appreciate it that much anymore.

It´s a tough pill to swallow again, but once BB and TB ride off into the sunset I have serious doubts about times like these ever coming again, where a SB loss is viewed as a failure. It just shows the level of excellence that has been standard at this franchise for more than a decade. I think we should have won that today, but I can still appreciate what this team achieved and I am confident that they will make another run at it next season and a few more after that.

I will take off a month or two of football and just when the Draft is around we´ll all be getting excited again because we know as long as BB and TB are here we have a shot, every season and every game. Enjoy the ride guys, who knows how long it will last and who knows what will come afterwards.

Also the NHL and NBA playoffs aren´t far away, Spring Training is starting, too. So a lot of distractions.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

It was a great year. Deep down, this team over achieved based on their talent and I tip my cap to the players and coaches for taking this team to the 58th minute of the SB. With a gimpy Gronk, this offense went from exceptional to ordinary....and that's what I saw. The '11 season was a scramble for all teams considering the compressed offseason. The organization should be applauded for pulling it together better than most teams and taking advantage of fortunate circumstances as they presented themselves. Neither the Giants nor the Patriots were the best teams in the NFL this year IMO, but organizationally, they held it together and their experienced leadership proved to be decisive factors.
Next year will be different. A full offseason and training camp will help all teams and the quality of football should improve. The Pats will have their work cut off for them. It will be very interesting to see how BB approaches this off season. Will he continue the +1 draft pick approach or spend his chips? Will he go the '07 route and load the team with impact vets? Regardless, there will be plenty of wins in the future....there always is as long as BB is on the sidelines and Brady is under center.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

Bottom line is if we can get to the superbowl with some of the shockingly terrible players that we have on our defence. Then if we improve in the offseason we should reach the big game again..

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

It was an awesome year, and I feel lucky I grew up outside boston to be a pats fan.

I'm sure the players feel worse about it than anybody on this board, which is too bad after all they've done.
I know we all want to win, and it was kind of a kick in the nuts yesterday, but as far as losses go I feel a lot. Better about it than I did the last 5 years -- this. Is nowhere near as bad for me as '07.

Anywaay, let's look fwd to gettin back there again next year.

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

Overall I'd say it was a good season. Maybe great. Sure, great. Why not? It was great reaching the Super Bowl. Losing it sucked. Losing to the Steelers sucked. Losing to Eli twice sucked. Every game seemed to be annoying and frustrating in some way. Offense would play like ****, or defense would play like ****, or both would play like **** for a half, or both would play like **** for the whole game. But in the end I watched the Pats win 15 games. I even went to the Dolphins game at Gillette. That was great to see them come back and win. Yet another crushing end to yet another season.

But ****, imagine being a Browns fan? Brutal.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

This was a great season. The Patriots went to the Super Bowl and came very close to winning. Anyone who fails to appreciate what it takes to get to the Super Bowl does't deserve to be a fan of this team. Please spend the next few years rooting for the Jacksonville Jaguars instead.

Re: Thank you Patriots for a Great Season
 

This was really the Super Bowl appearance that was never meant to be

1. Lockout - no offseason to prepare

2. Draft happened BEFORE free agency - not after. This flip flop makes for some major strategic team building problems. It can't be under-estimated.

3. The free agency period itself was brief and rushed

4. Limited offseason to bring together free agents, rookies, rehabbing veterans etc etc. and have them gel as a team.

All of this placed different teams at different disadvantages - but on the Patriots in particular you can see that players like Haynesworth and Ochocinco - key free agent pickups - just plain and simply didn't work.

Belichick was tinkering well into the season, cutting various players, reshuffling the deck - and frankly it's amazing he got as much out of that assembly of players that he did.

I knew the Patriots were underdogs going into this game even with a healthy Gronkowski - but no excuses - they were in the game into the final minute (and howabout that great strategic move by Belichick to let them score and get the ball back!)

So no complaints or excuses - but let's appreciate what a long shot they were to make it to 13-3 and the Super Bowl in the first place.