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After having a rather heated discussion yesterday with my father, in which we both conceded that the Patriots are complete toast come playoff time, it dawned on me that I know absolutely nothing. Although I watch the NFL religiously with the Sunday Ticket, check PFT about 30 times daily, and am borderline obsessed with the Patriots, I am just going to admit that I have no idea how everything will play out. That said, I am feeling good about the Patriots chances of winning it all this year for only one reason, and that's because everyone is writing them off, and they are flying under the radar for the first time in about ten years.
I'm sure most of us had Mark Sanchez beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road last year, right? And we had the Packers winning their last five games to sneak into the playoffs and then dominating the competition? How about the Saints beating the Colts the year before, or the Arizona Cardinals, after losing to Matt Cassel by 50 points making it to the SB? Of course, we all had the Giants upsetting the 18-0 Pats in '07, we knew the '06 Colts, with one of the worst defenses in the league, would suddenly put the clamps down and Peyton Manning would win a Super Bowl with 3 TDs and 7 INTs in the playoffs. And that year, of course, we knew that our #1 ranked defense would surrender 32 second half points to the Colts and our Reche Caldwell offense would score 35 and lose...we predicted that, right?
There seems to be only one common theme in the NFL, and that is that the most understimated units, whether on offense or defense, seem to suddenly turn it around and surprise all of the pundits, and the most predictably great units seem to falter under pressure. I'm not saying that I don't wish we had a great defense, but I'm saying that let's prepare to be surprised in the postseason. Last year we had one of the best Super Bowl contenders in recent memory "on paper" but where did that get us when the actual game was played?
I like the Pats chances. I don't know how they will do it, but I love that they are now known as "playoff chokers" with a terrible defense and that Brady is no longer a big game quarterback. For the first time in a long time, it almost seems like this team has nothing to lose, since no one has them winning the Super Bowl, and very few have them winning the AFC. They will play better when the playoffs come around and every expert out there has them surrendering 45 points in their predictions.
I'm sure most of us had Mark Sanchez beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road last year, right? And we had the Packers winning their last five games to sneak into the playoffs and then dominating the competition? How about the Saints beating the Colts the year before, or the Arizona Cardinals, after losing to Matt Cassel by 50 points making it to the SB? Of course, we all had the Giants upsetting the 18-0 Pats in '07, we knew the '06 Colts, with one of the worst defenses in the league, would suddenly put the clamps down and Peyton Manning would win a Super Bowl with 3 TDs and 7 INTs in the playoffs. And that year, of course, we knew that our #1 ranked defense would surrender 32 second half points to the Colts and our Reche Caldwell offense would score 35 and lose...we predicted that, right?
There seems to be only one common theme in the NFL, and that is that the most understimated units, whether on offense or defense, seem to suddenly turn it around and surprise all of the pundits, and the most predictably great units seem to falter under pressure. I'm not saying that I don't wish we had a great defense, but I'm saying that let's prepare to be surprised in the postseason. Last year we had one of the best Super Bowl contenders in recent memory "on paper" but where did that get us when the actual game was played?
I like the Pats chances. I don't know how they will do it, but I love that they are now known as "playoff chokers" with a terrible defense and that Brady is no longer a big game quarterback. For the first time in a long time, it almost seems like this team has nothing to lose, since no one has them winning the Super Bowl, and very few have them winning the AFC. They will play better when the playoffs come around and every expert out there has them surrendering 45 points in their predictions.