Help! I'm Severely Disillusioned

[WIPatriots]

Sorry, everyone, have to correct a misconception. The Giants did not have the better team (even with Brady's injury); they had the better game.

I think the spread was wrong. I think we were only 7 or 8 better than the Giants.

One thing I understand is that the Giants were better than us. I even think that if we played this game again they'd still win. One thing I don't understand is why they were better than us. I'm really at a loss.
A month ago I watched this team struggle to beat a lousy Bills team that we had destroyed a month earlier. Have we declined or have they improved? Something didn't feel right this past month but I never once thought that we weren't going to win the Superbowl.
I guess if I was completely honest with myself I might have fallen victim to the hype of being unbeaten. But how does that explain the Patriots?

In shorter terms, How are you guys explaining this?

 

[patsfan55]

I agree with this. When every player began talking about it being the biggest game of their lives I felt uneasy. Though it may have been the truth they never say it. But last week all of them were saying it. There was no more It's jsut a game like every other one we played.

But I can't blame it on that. Our o-line went to hell last night. It's The #1 reason we lost accompanied by the Giants excellent defense.

i agree as well
i couldnt believe my ears when i heard them actually talk about being undefeated
you didnt hear any talk about the winning streak during that 21 gamer, they kept preaching the "one game at a time" bit
where was that?!?

 

[Horace's Ivories]

We are the best team, the best team just doesn't always win. The Giants were the better team YESTERDAY, no question. Were they the better team overall? No. But all that matters is who plays better on Sunday, and the Giants out played us. It sucks.

I just dont think we can say that they are the best team. They easily could have been 14-2 in regular season and certainly 15-1 (ravens). The playoff wins were good but certainly not dominating. I was living in a 18-0 rationalizing fog. Thinking that the pats were saving their best for last. When it reality they were unfortunately revealed as mortal and not worthy of 19-0 in the first place.

 

[Rusty Coupe]

Every year there is talk about teams that just make it into the playoffs for the first time not having any playoff experience being at a disadvantage.

For all the post season success the Patriots have had, I think with everything going on with the 19-0, Belichick, and the constant media barrage of 'the greatest of all time' garbage that the Patriots didn't have any playoff experience of this kind. For that matter I'm not sure any team ever has.

Here's to a nice quiet 13-3 team palying strong going into the post-season next year.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

"WHY" is necessary, but not while you're "severely disillusioned." First step: get over it. Second step: analyze, in the cold light of day. There have always been aspects of the game that could be better. Sunday there were enough of them that we lost.

And I always like to say up-front: more accurately, the Giants won.

They played better. "What if" doesn't matter... "What if" we did thus and such, or this or that hadn't happened? Well then, they have a whole passel of "what ifs" themselves.

The Giants are better than the Patriots. Cope. Digest it. Understand that's exactly what this game means. The better team did win, because the Giants are the team that scored more points. That's the better team.

Now, moving forward, yeah it might be easier without the "Perfect" pressure, the media circus, la la la la...

Pointing out specific groupings? You can go after the O-line, and of course, Tom Terrific too. You can go after offensive playcalling. On a single-play-by-single-play basis, there were 2 plays where the D came within a hair of shutting down the Giants in the 4th, the almost-sack and the almost-interception. You can point to the not-field-goal call. Whatever.

You put yourself in a position to make those big plays, and then you make them. But more to the point, the Pats couldn't get ahead enough to make the drama unnecessary, because when it came down to who made those few big plays, we did not.

The Giants came out and took that game. They beat us up all night. We lost, and more to the point, they won.

Long story short, there's another team out there playing at a super bowl level, making plays, trying to change the outcome. And they did it.

Hats off to the Giants, let's get past the pity party, and let's bring these bastards back to atone in 08!

PFnV