Patriots special on NESN or Fox Boston..TOTALLY inaccurate....

[Pats726]

I was exhausted the last few nights..but on one of them,*Thurs, Fri) , I saw the start of a Patriot special...on the 3 Lombardis. There was Ryan, Curran and Reiss.. and others commenting on the great Patriot ride...but when they got to 02, they just mentioned how the team was "decimated by injuries"...
Huh?? There were 8 on IR that year...RB Womack, DB Rob Kelley were on IR at teh start...CB Leonard Myers started on PUP and ended up on IR...OL StephenN eal went on it almost halfway through the season and DB Ben Kelley did as well. Later in the year in before Game 14 it was LB Matt Chatham, before 15 it was S Otis Smith and before the last game it was TE Daniel Graham...those injuries were HARDLY words of decimation..and thie injury lists?? Not even close to the past few years..Did anyone see this special?? Who produced it...and?? How can they basically NOT get it right???

 

[sarge]

Between the 2002 to 2004 seasons, ironically 2002 was probably the Patriots healthiest with regard to the starters.

They just could not stop the run that whole season!

 

[Pats726]

Between the 2002 to 2004 seasons, ironically 2002 was probably the Patriots healthiest with regard to the starters.

They just could not stop the run that whole season!

Absolutely..which is why when I saw it and heard it I scratched my head...no mention of NON run stopping or the the team was a 4-3 team then..

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I think a much more accurate account would be that the team got very old very quickly that year, and all the B-level players (who we love and respect, of course!) that did so much in 2001 just didn't have any legs left in 2002.

Also, the B-level players we brought in thru free agency didn't work out, and the rookies we needed to step up didn't contribute in clutch situations.

We could not run the ball or stop the run.

 

[Richter]

I think a much more accurate account would be that the team got very old very quickly that year, and all the B-level players (who we love and respect, of course!) that did so much in 2001 just didn't have any legs left in 2002.

Also, the B-level players we brought in thru free agency didn't work out, and the rookies we needed to step up didn't contribute in clutch situations.

We could not run the ball or stop the run.

We couldn't run the ball all that well in 2003 either, didn't much matter. The defensive line fell apart that year, plain and simple. As well as Brady played, that could have been an 11 or 12 win team if the defensive line had been stout enough to stop the run consistently.

 

[Pats726]

Remember Steve Martin?? NOT the comedian..although some laughed at how poor he was...Just did not cut it that year...injuries?? THAt was what I was most disappointed in..that they blamed it on injuries..and there basically were fewer that year than in any of the last 5...

 

[belichickaholic]

Here's what I remember about 2002.

The D-line was terrible
Antwanne Smith disappeared
Lawyer disappeared

But I think I do remember Tedy being injured that year no? As we found out last year, losing Tedy is pretty significant.

I agree with your post though, 2002 was not about injuries.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

OTIS lost a step, T-Buck forgot how to tackle. Ty Law played thru an injury after the first Miami game. Victor Green was way slow.

Compton lost a step. Kenyetta Jones didn't work out any better than Greg Randall, who we traded.

Troy Brown was injuried during the Kansas City game. Donald Hayes had a learning disability. Branch missed a lot of games. Givens was playing OK but not great, as was Grambo.

 

[Brownfan80]

OTIS lost a step, T-Buck forgot how to tackle. Ty Law played thru an injury after the first Miami game. Victor Green was way slow.

Compton lost a step. Kenyetta Jones didn't work out any better than Greg Randall, who we traded.

Troy Brown was injuried during the Kansas City game. Donald Hayes had a learning disability. Branch missed a lot of games. Givens was playing OK but not great, as was Grambo.

People were also right about Tedy getting injured. He took a helmet or shoulderpad to the knee in the Thanksgiving game that season at Detroit and missed some games with a strained MCL from what I remember.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Tedy attempted to leap over a lineman and was cut block by the lineman's helmet directly into his knee, which spun him around in the air, and had him landing on his back.

Totally nasty hit and borderline illegal/unethical. But that's football.

What a friggin' interception Tedy had before that however! My god! Still one of his best all time plays. Looking sharp in the red throwback jersey!