2003/4-esque performance

[Buchanty]

i think we get to high with the wins and to low with the looses

Couldn't agree more - we are either on the road to Miami or Perdition, and my concern is that its not just us fans, sometimes its the players as well, at least the younger ones.

I am not totally on board with the OP on the other hand as I don't remember the team getting as low spirited in 2003/04 as they did the first half today. Thank goodness for Welker as the team on the field in the first 30 minutes more resembled a team from pre-Bledsoe days. 5 dropped passes - yikes, we cant sniff the playoffs with miscues like that. Veterans and youngsters were playing like they had just lost their lunch money. Then the hit on Welker and life was breathed back into the team as he jumped up and egged on the crowd.

Thankfully the second half reprieved the team. Again I dont remember being in such a low spot in 2003/4.

Still I am glad it was the Panthers and not a more challenging team, as they made us look almost competent in the second half. I think this is a good result and I also feel that the first half really was the nadir of the season. The loss to NO was bad, the one to Miami worse, the Wednesday sending home worse still and the first half - hopefully the bottom. The second half might just might be the turning point. One thing is for sure BB will be delighted to get the team to winning in the second half and showing a lot of fight in the 4th quarter.

We are not there yet, we might not even be on the road to being there, but this might be the beginning of an ever improving team and a run to a long post season. I certainly hope so as even with the 2nd half performance we wouldn't last long in the playoffs. Better communication all round still looks to be the top requirement - oh and a pass rush that plays more than half a quarter.

Medals for Welker, LoMo, Sanders and Green

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Couldn't agree more - we are either on the road to Miami or Perdition, and my concern is that its not just us fans, sometimes its the players as well, at least the younger ones.

I am not totally on board with the OP on the other hand as I don't remember the team getting as low spirited in 2003/04 as they did the first half today. Thank goodness for Welker as the team on the field in the first 30 minutes more resembled a team from pre-Bledsoe days. 5 dropped passes - yikes, we cant sniff the playoffs with miscues like that. Veterans and youngsters were playing like they had just lost their lunch money. Then the hit on Welker and life was breathed back into the team as he jumped up and egged on the crowd.

Thankfully the second half reprieved the team. Again I dont remember being in such a low spot in 2003/4.

Still I am glad it was the Panthers and not a more challenging team, as they made us look almost competent in the second half. I think this is a good result and I also feel that the first half really was the nadir of the season. The loss to NO was bad, the one to Miami worse, the Wednesday sending home worse still and the first half - hopefully the bottom. The second half might just might be the turning point. One thing is for sure BB will be delighted to get the team to winning in the second half and showing a lot of fight in the 4th quarter.

We are not there yet, we might not even be on the road to being there, but this might be the beginning of an ever improving team and a run to a long post season. I certainly hope so as even with the 2nd half performance we wouldn't last long in the playoffs. Better communication all round still looks to be the top requirement - oh and a pass rush that plays more than half a quarter.

Medals for Welker, LoMo, Sanders and Green

In 2009, we have a young defense. 2003-4 had the core defense in the prime of their careers.

In 2003-4, brady wasn't coming of of knee surgery.

It's fascinating to see that posters forget the doom and gloom from losses in Miami 2004 and 2006.

The positive flip side for a poor 2009 would be a huge exudos of the bandwagon fans leaving.

If that happens, maybe this once great site can escape the clowndom that it has become.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

its more of a mix of the 2002 and 2005 season's

 

[Tunescribe]

Just an aside-

Don't those seasons seem so far away right now? It feels like it's been forever since the Pats won a Super Bowl. I was listening to some NFL Films music tonight, and all I could think of was that February 2004 to June 2005 era when this team was the pinnacle of professional sports.

I remember a thread maybe a year or two ago, when people were asking when this team would truly make its fall from grace. There was a general agreement that we probably wouldn't be able to see it happening, as it would be gradual, but looking back over the decline we'd be able to tell.

Right now, even with the Pats win today, that's the feeling I have; that the Patriots just haven't been the same since their peak level as a franchise in early 2005. That was nearly four years ago. The parades, the t-shirts, the DVDs, the rings, the Lombardi's - all of that is just Hall of Fame nostalgia right now. (Good thing there's a Hall of Fame for that now, too...) It's ancient history.

I own those DVDs but don't watch them because despite cherishing those times I dislike living in the past. The problem is, I don't like the attitude of this team, which has gone sour minus Rodney, Vrabel, Bruschi, McGinest and full-time Seau. Sometimes it seems the only players who really care about winning are Brady, Welker and Faulk. I think losing Pioli has hurt BB's formula for getting true competitors who buy into the program.