Agree or Disagree

[richpats]

Personally, I'm tired of the Pats flushing great opportunities down the toilet. Some here say fans are spoiled for expecting Super Bowl wins but those are the same people that expect us to be in the hunt every year. These opportunities won't last forever and one year we won't even be in a position to suffer a major meltdown. So while we still have our chances to win it all, just rise to the occasion and not let some upstart walk away with the trophy.

 

[dtbrks]

This great team has a finite window of opportunity. We may never see this again. ANYTHING but a SB victory would be disappointing.

I have to somewhat agree. There is only so much more time with Brady as our QB and it would be nice to win a couple more before he retires.

That being said, they don't have to win for me. the ending to last year was hard and heartbreaking that I can't imagine anything worse or more painful for me as a fan.

 

[JMarr]

The Pats should already be owners of 5 rings. We have possibly the greatest QB and Coach in the history of the game and the most solid roster in the league top to bottom. Are you kidding? I would be majorly disappointed if we don't win it all this year, even given the difficulty of achieving this goal given that the playoffs are a single elimination tournament.

 

[captain stone]

IMO, you can ignore everything else, and the 2008 Pats season, TO ME, boils down to this:

Success= Winning the SB

anything else is an unsuccessful 2008

I'm not trying to say they are a bunch of faliures if they dont win the SB.

I'm saying anything else that happens along the way is fine by me if the end result is winning the SB, and nothing else that happens would overcome not winning the SB.

I really believe the Patriots in 2008 are supposed to win the SB, and anything less would be a disappointment to me.
I realize that is setting the bar (unfairly) high but thats where it is to me.

I completely agree: it's SB or Bust. The opportunity this organization has before it does not occur very often in our lifetimes.

Last season's accomplishments, esp. all of those useless, ego-driven "records" mean absolutely nothing to me. We should have witnessed history; instead, we witnessed a loss of historical proportions.

If there were a God, we would have won 5 of the last 7 SBs, unprecedented in NFL history, incl. the last 2 over the 2 teams which defeated us in our only other 2 SB appearences. Yes, I mean that GB should've beat Elly & the jints.

The time to celebrate just being in the Tournament can wait until Belichick & Brady have retired; now's the time to make hay while the sun still shines on us.

 

[PatsFan37]

I could not disagree more. I love watching these twenty-first century Patriots, seeing these guys scrap for every play, run and hit hard to the last second of the game. It's great when they win, it's disappointing when they lose, but I love every snap.

A failed season is when they sign thugs like the Bengals, turn the team over to a horrific coach, or if they go on strike over the collective bargaining agreement. A failed season is when the players truly do hate their coach, and the coach quits in the middle of the season. A failed season is when the star quarterback is sent to prison before the first game.

When these Patriots were slammed with the biggest and most unfair penalties ever assessed by the league, they struck back with the first 16-game perfect season. In that season that so many consider a failure, they achieved unprecedented success.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Vince Wilfork, Rodney Harrison. Scott Pioli. Robert and Jonathan Kraft. I don't think these guys know how to deliver a failed season.

And that is why I root for this team.

 

[Frezo]

Of course the players and coaches cannot think ahead, but we can, it has no impact if we do.

I prefer to focus on only the next game. Being overly concerned about February in September makes the season go by too fast. Looking at all of the other games as mere bumps in the road toward the ultimate goal is akin to eating only the brown M&Ms. I eat all of the M&Ms and let them melt too.

 

[JoePats]

Assuming the team is healthy, I would agree, especially when you consider the last three playoff losses.

1) Horrible game in Denver when we had a 420-180 yard advantage, and as it turned out would have hosted the AFCG the next week.
2) Horrible loss in Indy giving up over 300 yards in the 2nd half and would have got to play Rex Grossman for a Super Bowl.
3) Last year.

So yes, on the surface, I agree, but you have to see how things play out.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I'm sure 99.9% of people on this board will crucify me for this but:

After the Pats loaded up their team with Moss, Welker, Stallworth and Thomas, I expected them to easily win the superbowl. Anything else would be a failure. However, I don't expect them to win the superbowl this year. I didn't agree with their offseason moves in the free agency period in March and I don't agree with them now. They tried to go the cheap route and sign stop gaps like Bryant and Webster but failed miserably. In fact, who know that Lewis Sanders of all people would survive out of those three. Tank Williams does what he does best; get's injured. Also, there are too many questions to be answered from Tom Brady's real health to the offensive line. Sorry, but I won't be surprised when an opposing team walks right down the field for the 3rd year in row to score the winning touchdown to end the Pats season. Nobody fears the Pats anymore and their not clutch like they used to be. I really think the Pats half a**ed it this offseason like they did in '05. So in conclusion, it's up to you to believe whether or not it's superbowl or bust. I clearly won't be disappointed because I don't think they will be able to put the clamps down on opposing offenses when it matters most.

*That 1st round pick that was taken away for Bill Belicheck's stupidity would have really helped that backfield with another DB. I think most of us would feel good about the defense if they would have grabbed a DB in the first round had their pick not forefited.

 

[spacecrime]

But we have to realize that we no longer have a "DYNASTY" here.

Give it a rest.

 

[spacecrime]

I'm surprised at how many people would consider a season where we lost in the playoffs to be a success. Personally, I was bitterly disappointed each of the last three years.

I don't see how people can say a successful season for the Pats is merely making the playoffs. How can you not care if we win the superbowl or not, but be satisfied with making the playoffs.

Ugh!

 

[fgssand]

IMO, you can ignore everything else, and the 2008 Pats season, TO ME, boils down to this:

Success= Winning the SB

anything else is an unsuccessful 2008

I'm not trying to say they are a bunch of faliures if they dont win the SB.

I'm saying anything else that happens along the way is fine by me if the end result is winning the SB, and nothing else that happens would overcome not winning the SB.

I really believe the Patriots in 2008 are supposed to win the SB, and anything less would be a disappointment to me.
I realize that is setting the bar (unfairly) high but thats where it is to me.

AGREE 100% - but it is the same for 31 other teams - there is only one winner.

Winning isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing.

What's really nice is to be in the position, year in an year out to make it happen.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I'm sure 99.9% of people on this board will crucify me for this but:

After the Pats loaded up their team with Moss, Welker, Stallworth and Thomas, I expected them to easily win the superbowl. Anything else would be a failure. However, I don't expect them to win the superbowl this year. I didn't agree with their offseason moves in the free agency period in March and I don't agree with them now. They tried to go the cheap route and sign stop gaps like Bryant and Webster but failed miserably. In fact, who know that Lewis Sanders of all people would survive out of those three. Tank Williams does what he does best; get's injured. Also, there are too many questions to be answered from Tom Brady's real health to the offensive line. Sorry, but I won't be surprised when an opposing team walks right down the field for the 3rd year in row to score the winning touchdown to end the Pats season. Nobody fears the Pats anymore and their not clutch like they used to be. I really think the Pats half a**ed it this offseason like they did in '05. So in conclusion, it's up to you to believe whether or not it's superbowl or bust. I clearly won't be disappointed because I don't think they will be able to put the clamps down on opposing offenses when it matters most.

*That 1st round pick that was taken away for Bill Belicheck's stupidity would have really helped that backfield with another DB. I think most of us would feel good about the defense if they would have grabbed a DB in the first round had their pick not forefited.

Newsflash - nobody gives a **** what you think... In a perfect world they lose when you expect a win and win when you write them off because you're just a misaerable mindless provocateur here to post for deperately needed attention. Lots of that here lately.

As for me I'm with Bill. While the ultimate goal is always to win it all no season is necesarily a failure because you didn't. Only one team wins it all every season, but one does every season. Few have ever completed a perfect regular season let alone won 18 games in a row.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that many in this thread still get it. Sad to see that Andy isn't one of them. Few fan bases are ever as fortunate as we have been over a 7 year stretch. Being legitimately competitive for a decade and winning 3 Superbowls was once a pipe dream for a Pat's fan... Now anything short of a Superbowl victory is failure? Expecting them to win or predicting them to win is somewhat arrogant. Being disappointed if they don't is human nature. But declaring that anything short of winning it all represents failure is the definition of a frontrunner fan.

This is why we fight each other here. No one enjoys the season or the game anymore. It's become a means to an end. Every missed play or yard allowed becomes a cause for alarm. If we win by 3 we should have won by 33...

Pitino was right... a jerk, but right. A fellowship of the miserable who somehow believe that beats the hell out of being a homer.

 

[Frezo]

AGREE 100% - but it is the same for 31 other teams - there is only one winner.

Winning isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing.

What's really nice is to be in the position, year in an year out to make it happen.

I'll bet that you would agree that the most depressing time to be a Pats fan was the period of indecisiveness regarding the move to St. Louis. For me it was excruciating. Losing the SB is a drag, but the thought of losing the team was unthinkable.

 

[jmt57]

Maybe I'm just an old frt, but having gone through the pre-Foxboro years when the concept of having an opportunity to go the the Super Bowl was incredibly unrealistic, in the long run I am not disappointed by a season that does not end in a Super Bowl victory. That doesn't mean that the end of last season was not depressing, it's just that given enough time, I'm not going to be disappointed. Not now, but somewhere down the road I will be able to look at 16-0 as a great accomplishment.

The best analogy I have is the Ben Dreith - Raider game year. At the time, and for some time after, I was angry and disappointed. But after that I was able to look back and remember the entire season, and as a whole it was fantastic to be a fan for that incredible ride; it was a great season with great memories even if our team that should have won the SB was denied.

Though my expectations are higher I also try to remember that injuries, bouncing balls, blown calls and lucky plays can happen - and every NFL team has a 3% chance to win this years Super Bowl, and that on average I should expect to see my favorite team win three championships in 80 years.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Andy, I think this post illustrates perfectly how absolutely spoiled we are as Pats fans.

That being said, I think Bill would agree with you that anything other than a SB win is a failure.

Actually, going by the Patriots' mission statement "We are building [a] team that consistently competes for championships," I'd take a slightly different view: a team that wins the Super Bowl is an absolute success; a team that fails to make the playoffs is an absolute failure. Making the playoffs, but not winning the SB, is a relative success.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Newsflash - nobody gives a **** what you think... In a perfect world they lose when you expect a win and win when you write them off because you're just a misaerable mindless provocateur here to post for deperately needed attention. Lots of that here lately.

Apparently you do or else you wouldn't have wasted your time going off on me. You must be really affended by my opinions. If I wanted so much attention don't you think I would start these threads. Well, as you can see, I don't. So I don't know where your getting that I'm an attention seeker. I'm glad your with Bill and agree with every little move he makes. Sorry I disagree with that organization from time to time, that is just how I am. When you agree with everything the Pats do and think that it is the right way, don't you think that is a little arrogant? It makes you sound like a robot, kool-aid drinker, lemming or whatever. I'm entitled to my opinion and I don't care that you don't care. It does not hurt my feelings that your a "VIP" member and I'm not . I will tell you how it is and when things are down I don't expect to hold hands and sing ""Kumbaya" to make Joker happy . Sorry I don't think their that good this year. Does that make me a non fan? They just have too many question marks and didn't do enough to make their team better.

 

[Patjew]

I agree, Andy.

There was a time when I was happy with an 8-8 season. That time will come again. But as the window of opportunity with this group (particularly Brady) is narrowing, I want as many championships as possible now and I'm disappointed with anything less.

 

[Deus Irae]

This team was on the brink of becoming known as the greatest team in NFL history last season. Why would anything but avenging that Super Bowl loss be considered a success?

 

[Joker]

I'm not "affended" by your opinions,Snarkives...morons don't offend me

 

[Joker]

and BTW, sing "coombaya" all you want ,Snarkives...as long as you don't break out Joan Baez singing "KUMBAYA"....idiot