Re: First impressions....
How many times do I have to say the same things?
1.) The team didn't play well today by this season's standards.
2.) I didn't expect the team to always play as well as they had.
3.) I felt that this team was good enough to beat Cleveland even it it played poorly.
4.) I'm almost thrilled with the way this worked out because BB will have plenty to hammer the team about even though they won.
5.) People who think the team played poorly and has real problems to resolve aren't being irrational, whether or not I agree with them.
6.) Your argument that this was a "top notch" performance was refuted by the team's starting quarterback, the team's broadcast crew and the team's head coach. In fact, since you insist on acting as if I'm wrong, let's get the words of BB himself, from Reiss:
Brad, I didn't start my posts in this thread as a rebuttle to you. I started them as a rebuttal to the person who called fans "chicken little trolls" because they didn't like the way the Patriots played today.
I really don't care about your opinion in that context, because it's clear that your response was just knee jerk rather than thoughtful, and began by comparing me to Felger. The notion that you should be acting hurt or offended because I'm 'degrading' your posts is simply ridiculous given that you were the first one to be 'degrading'. So, since you can't seem to take what you dish out, and since you can't seem to deal with what's actually in front of you, feel free to take it up with BB, Brady, the broadcasting crew, etc., rather than continuing further with me.
Okay, Deus, there was no degradation on my part, simply an observation I made while reading your comments, more specifically this one:
If you think the Patriots of this week were good enough to beat Dallas or Indianapolis, you haven't been watching football this season. The Indianapolis Colts that buried the Buccaneers today would have carved up this week's Patriots just as easily.
Heaping undue praise on opponents + being overly critical of the Patriots + claiming others who see the situation positively are homers or "koolaid drinkers" = Mike Felger
Now, as the coach of this football team, Bill Belichick is supposed to be critical of his team; he coaches for perfection. Even the last few weeks Belichick's responses would make outsiders think his team lost every game. Belichick has a reason for ignoring the good and focusing on the bad, you have no reason other than to attempt to prove your "rationality."
I think the team will be better next week, but it's not irrational for others to disagree given the poor performance in all phases of the game that was witnessed today.
If you would take a step back and assess this game without your expectations, you would realize that this game was anything but "poor." Yes, there were many aspects that could improve (namely red zone offense, and some aspects of the passing game), but they were anything but terrible or poor.
What the koolaid people are going to simply have to accept is that this team is going to be measured against the Colts, the Cowboys, the previous Patriots Super Bowl teams and the all-time great NFL teams by a lot of people, and not just by some Patriots fans that you don't think have sufficient team spirit. Like it or not, what was seen today was simply not good enough for people using that sort of lens while looking at this team.
It is fair to assume these teams are going to be compared to the all-time greats, but many of the "koolaid drinkers" you make reference to also realize that a game like this from the Patriots teams of old would also be considered a success, as I have said before. In that regard, yes, yes this game was "top notch."
I do think that this discussion here stems from both of us slightly exaggerating the other's posts, namely the descriptions of the game as poor and top notch. Do I think this game was perfection? No. Do I think a 17 point win is really good? Yes.
My issue with your posts is that you seem to feel that taking veiled jabs at someone's intellectual capacity or acumen is furthering your argument, and I've seen this from you many times. It's unnecessary and really ruins any sort of discussion on these boards.