Dear Pats Fans,
Congratulations on beating the Jets yesterday as expected.
Sometimes things do go according to plan. As noted from the beginning of this thread, since mid-November I have wanted nothing less than for our Bolts to face your team in the Divisional round of the play-offs. And now the stage is set.
For the record, let there be no doubt that this want does not reflect any disrespect for your team. Rather it reflects great respect (and part envy) for the past tremendous accomplishments of your team and the fact that as our Bolts seek to take the same road to historical greatness your team has traveled this decade, that journey starts with competing and winning against this decade's best NFL team....The New England Patriots.
Of course, this week will be an agonizing slow week for both Bolts Fans and Pats Fans as we await in eager anticipation for our Sunday showdown. And so there is no better way to pass it than by talking a little smack......
Welcome to San Diego Pats Fans......Your Final Destination!
Caryl
Dangerous time of year to face Patriots
Jim Trotter
San Diego Union Tribune
January 8, 2007
FOXBORO, Mass. – The New England Patriots were favored in their playoff game against the New York Jets, yet the distinction came coated with a layer of vulnerability.
The Pats still had Bill Belichick on the sideline, Tom Brady behind center and Richard Seymour on the defensive line, but they were without kicker Adam Vinatieri, linebacker Willie McGinest and wide receivers Deion Branch and David Givens, regulars who were allowed to leave via free agency or trades before the season.
And now the Jets were coming to town after beating the Patriots 17-14 in New England in the teams' most recent meeting, in November. The talk was that maybe Eric Mangini, New York's head coach and a former Patriots assistant, had the goods on Belichick, who for much of the season refused to identify Mangini by name.
How foolish.
On a clear, crisp January afternoon, the Patriots reminded us why they're the most dangerous team in the postseason. Not why they're the best team. Just the most dangerous.
Their 37-16 thumping of the Jets – which advanced them into a second-round matchup against the top-seeded Chargers – was confirmation that, as long as they have the aforementioned Big Three, they will be the club that opponents least want to face in the playoffs. Jets wideout Laveranues Coles said exactly that during the week, pointing out that it had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with respect. When a team wins three Super Bowls in five seasons, a certain nobility is associated with it.
Yesterday, Brady took the field with a group of receivers that is mostly anonymous to anyone outside the Patriots locker room or the players' families. Most of them, such as Chargers castoff Reche Caldwell, would be No. 2s or 3s on other teams.
But the Patriots have a way of taking other teams' unwanteds and turning them into productive performers. Raise your hand if you ever thought Caldwell would lead any team in receptions – and I'm not talking about a Madden game.
Regardless of where a player has been, he knows where he is expected to go once he signs with the Patriots. And that's deep in the playoffs.
“We have a bunch of players who have come up over the years and trained to prepare for moments like this,” Brady said. “It is about being focused, about working hard to prepare and not being overwhelmed by the situation. There is something in you that you just figure you can handle it.
“I am glad that we have the Tedy Bruschis and the Mike Vrabels and the Rosevelt Colvins and Richard Seymours, and you incorporate new guys into the mix like Jabar (Gaffney) and Reche that have been so excited to get to this moment. It is very rewarding when it pays off. It is very rewarding when you lose to a team at home, really get outplayed, and then you come back and beat them by 21 points.”
For the Patriots, the regular season is a means to an end. They use it as a chess board, thinking two moves ahead, using September and October to position themselves for checkmates in January and February.
Under Belichick, the Patriots are 11-1 in the postseason, the loss a year ago at Denver in the divisional round. They were underdogs in that game, just as they are (5½ points) for their game Sunday at San Diego, which has won two in a row against them, including a 41-17 whipping last season.
There are proud players on the Patriots defense who have not forgotten that game. You could tell yesterday, not by what they said, but by the look in their eyes when reminded that Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson has averaged 5.6 yards a carry and run for 425 yards and five scores in three career meetings.
From Bruschi to Seymour to Vince Wilfork, there was a gleam in their eyes. The questions seemed to make them feel as if they were being doubted. It is a perception they relish – and one for which they threw verbal logs on the fire.
“They beat us up and down the field,” cornerback Asante Samuel said of last season's loss to the Chargers. “It was kind of like an NFL team vs. a college team.”
Samuel's words were coated not only with sincerity, but anticipation. This is the time of year for which the Patriots play. What happened last season, let alone last week, doesn't matter. These are the playoffs, and there is no team more dangerous. Better? Perhaps. But not as dangerous.
