I agree with this. As I said in the post quoted, I could explain away the first two losses, but the Jet one really worried me. That was a game that NE should have won easily, not just because NE is a much better team than NY, but because it essentially would have ended the AFCE race.
I completely agree with this. I thought it was very 'off' that we couldn't pull that game out. That is a game that the past SB teams would have won. That particular game reminded me much more of 2002 than 2003 or 2004. And I don't mean in the way it was played, I mean from the fact that it was an important game that could have really salted the season away more or less, and the Patriots laid an egg. The 'great' teams of this era simply did not do that.
I thought NE looked pretty terrible this past week, but it didn't bother me all that much because every team has a down week or two against blah competition during a season. I will admit that I might think otherwise had NE lost, but I never really felt like they would. The Jet game, though, I knew NE was going to lose midway through the second quarter when NY scored their first TD.
I had the same feeling during the Jets game. I could feel the loss coming and I hated feeling it and then seeing it happen. I so wanted the Patriots to prove my doubting Thomas ass wrong, but they didn't.
I think that's what I was most shocked about.
Honestly, I didn't get to watch much of the Lions game because I was at a wedding, but the few parts I did catch I felt a sinking feeling. I was very relieved to hear that we'd won it.
I don't subscribe to the thought that the Chicago game was ugly. There were a few ugly plays, but NE thoroughly outclassed the Bears, IMHO. If not for a few dubious calls, NE wins that game by 2 TDs even factoring in 5 TOs.
The Bears game was a weird one. The offense looked lost half the time, but the defense played lights out for the most part. I guess you have to chalk that up to the Bears D, but still. I think you're right about the few blown calls though, those really changed the game and they were horrible calls. That defensive holding on Ellis was an absolute joke.
This is a very talented team, but they aren't as tight as their predecessors were at this stage of the game.
Absolutely right. I think games like the Bengal game show us that this team is capable of great things, but then the past few weeks show us that they've still not put it all together yet. They still have time to crank things up a bit before the playoffs, but at a time in the season where we're used to seeing the Pats play their best football, they're still fine-tuning. It'll be a nerve inducing playoff run, I'll tell you that much.
BTW, I was joking with the whole 2008 is great campaign, but seriously, being a Pats fan is a lot of fun right now, and NE is set up very nicely for the next few years. If NE hadn't won a few SBs in the last 5 years (and therefore, it looks like a downward progression when they don't dominate), most analysts would look at NEs roster, coaches and draft picks and conclude that they are one of the teams most likely to be the next dynasty.
That's very interesting and I'd have to agree with you. I hope like hell you're right. I'm not sure how realistic it is in the grand scheme of the NFL, but then nothing that this team has done since 2000 has been that realistic, yet we've watched it all unfold.
Go pats.
