A thank you to the team and coaches

I was just thinking about the negativity on this board last night after the Patriots beat a talented SD team by two touchdowns; about all the angry rants against the defensive players and coaches, and concerns that they're overusing players on offense...when Tom Brady came on the radio.

Brady was discussing all the different players on boths sides of the ball who made big plays last night. He talked about how tremendously satisfying it was to drive home last night, knowing that the whole team -- coaches and players -- all contributed to a big win.

Then I picked up the newspaper and read some words from Bill "there were some good things, there were some not-so-good things" Belichick:

"'I’m really proud of our football team today,' Belichick said. 'We had a lot of guys step up. It was a good team win all the way around; we had good plays in all three phases of the game. We played hard for 60 minutes, and that [Chargers] team is a good football team. It’s good to win.’'"

It struck me that fans, watching at home, can lose track of just how big an accomplishment it is to win an NFL football game. It's easy to measure your team's performance against an ideal, and thus come up dissatisfied no matter the score, and no matter how talented the opponent. But the ideal is unachievable...and the goal is to win. (Heck, the 2001 Patriots ranked 19th in the league in total offense, and 24th in total defense!) And especially given the truncated offseason and the huge personnel and scheme changes on defense, this is a pretty impressive start.

So I just wanted to say that was an awesome win. As a fan, I plan to savor it. Thanks, guys.

Agreed 100%.

I'll admit the nit-picking and negativity on the board does annoy me at times, especially coming on the back of what most rational people would regard as a good win over a very tough opponent.

Then I think to myself, that i'm generally very happy being a fan of this team, and these players - thats its perenially spoiled whiners who have the worse deal - nothing ever sates them.

Its been said numerous times, but Patriots fans will look back on this era in 7-8 years time with a whole new appreciation and some envy) on what alot of us take for granted.

Negativity? On this board? Inconceivable!