Honorary Captain for the AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: ADAM VINATIERI

Actual Pats Fan · Jan 24, 2026

AQPE said:
That’s OK I remember it just fine. Not a fan of Sullivan at all but Fairbanks was in the wrong on that one from my perspective and for me it was egregious enough to negate him as a Pats HOFer. I feel the same about Parcells, I don’t like that he was installed after what he pulled but The Scatback has his own agenda.

Willie McDonough was very close with both Kraft & Parcells, and he got Orthwein to interview Bill for the job. Will chronicled the unfortunate timeline of the deteriorating relationship between Robert and Bill. Bill has said in retrospect he'd like to have handled it differently, but in real time Kraft backed him into a corner. Parcells tried to stay here. All the Pats players are adamant that Tuna was fully engaged for the Super Bowl. Afterwards, I can't condemn him for trying to win with the Jets.

Triumph · Jan 24, 2026

Actual Pats Fan said:
Willie McDonough was very close with both Kraft & Parcells, and he got Orthwein to interview Bill for the job. Will chronicled the unfortunate timeline of the deteriorating relationship between Robert and Bill. Bill has said in retrospect he'd like to have handled it differently, but in real time Kraft backed him into a corner. Parcells tried to stay here. All the Pats players are adamant that Tuna was fully engaged for the Super Bowl. Afterwards, I can't condemn him for trying to win with the Jets.

Are you sure that Parcells was fully engaged for the Super Bowl?

BB was quoted that Parcells put himself before the team and winning that game and how wrong that was. Kraft claimed that Tuna was setting up his next job with the Jets on his dime calling from the Pats hotel in New Orleans. Kraft had the phone records.

The whole controversy really made the Packers players angry because prior to the game all the media could talk about was the Patriots drama. And, that was classic Parcells always sucking up all the oxygen in the room.

Triumph · Jan 24, 2026

During the Pats vs Giants week leading up to SB46, I was hanging around all the festivities downtown Indy and looking for a ticket. It was nearing dusk and I decided to call it a day. So, I made my way back to my vehicle parked on an Indy back street for free. I don't don't mind walking. Anyway, I'm meandering around from black to block and I turn the corner and there is AV loading his family up in his Escalade - wife and kids. He parked for free too. So, he turns and sees me dressed in Pats gear and the look on his face was sheer horror. He was a Colt then and I know that he does not want to deal with fans or enemies, but just go home.

I crossed to to opposite sidewalk without uttering a word or making a gesture (hello and not FU) and respected his privacy.

Actual Pats Fan · Jan 24, 2026

Triumph said:
Are you sure that Parcells was fully engaged for the Super Bowl?

Yes. I believe his players and coaches. Unfortunately, subtracting the Jets story from the equation would not, I believe, have done anything to get Parcells and/or Perkins to have an epiphany and see that handing the ball off to C-Mart would control the game, gain yards and enable winning, instead of what they chose, namely riding Bledsoe down to defeat.

Triumph said:
BB was quoted that Parcells put himself before the team and winning that game and how wrong that was.

Google Search

Triumph said:
The whole controversy really made the Packers players angry because prior to the game all the media could talk about was the Patriots drama.

This can work both ways, while potentially antagonizing the Packers and making them feel disrespected, it can also serve as a distraction, and an inferiority complex can hinder a team's focus.

Triumph said:
And, that was classic Parcells always sucking up all the oxygen in the room.

Which, by all accounts, made him one of the best coaches of his generation, if not all time. By taking all the heat, he took it off his players and coaches. As I said before, it took me many years to come around on Tuna, primarily due to his association with the Giants, whom I detest.

Actual Pats Fan · Jan 24, 2026

Foxypats · Jan 24, 2026

Unpopular opinion I am sure, I would have preferred Ghost!!!
Sure, AV had great kicks , but anyone that leaves the Pats and goes to a bitter rival like the Colts is not a Patriot anymore . Besides he was longer with them . Maybe it’s petty but oh well…

Mayeniac · Jan 24, 2026

Foxypats said:
Unpopular opinion I am sure, I would have preferred Ghost!!!
Sure, AV had great kicks , but anyone that leaves the Pats and goes to a bitter rival like the Colts is not a Patriot anymore . Besides he was longer with them . Maybe it’s petty but oh well…

Do the Raiders qualify as a rival?

Foxypats · Jan 24, 2026

Mayeniac said:
Do the Raiders qualify as a rival?

No

mike_usagisan · Jan 24, 2026

Hyped said:
I love me some Vinateri, but he was a Colt longer than he was a Patriot…..

He may have been there longer, but he’ll almost exclusively be remembered for what he did as a Pat.

Mayeniac · Jan 24, 2026

Foxypats said:
No

Sullivan and Long disagree

1960Pats · Jan 24, 2026

Mayeniac said:
Do the Raiders qualify as a rival?

No. I put a 25 year curse on them in 2001. They did make it to a SB the next season but got their doors blown off by their ex-coach. They've been lousy ever since.

TheRainMaker · Jan 24, 2026

Triumph said:
During the Pats vs Giants week leading up to SB46, I was hanging around all the festivities downtown Indy and looking for a ticket. It was nearing dusk and I decided to call it a day. So, I made my way back to my vehicle parked on an Indy back street for free. I don't don't mind walking. Anyway, I'm meandering around from black to block and I turn the corner and there is AV loading his family up in his Escalade - wife and kids. He parked for free too. So, he turns and sees me dressed in Pats gear and the look on his face was sheer horror. He was a Colt then and I know that he does not want to deal with fans or enemies, but just go home.

I crossed to to opposite sidewalk without uttering a word or making a gesture (hello and not FU) and respected his privacy.

When I would hang out in LA, you'll see celebrities all over the place. I rarely care to say hi or talk to them because what's the point? And I absolutely wouldn't talk to them if they were with their families. I walked and sat near Leonardo Dicaprio and his posse (including Tobey Mcguire) at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Randy Jackson (American Idol) stood next to me at a valet at the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Was in the restroom at a Lakers game with the Goo Goo Dolls. When I was 16, I walked right passed Carmen Electra at the Lakers game in 1999. I really wanted to say something. Lol. Saw Terrell Owens at a restaurant. Saw TJ Houshmanzadah at grocery store. By the way, he's a big dude and can see why DB's had a hard time tackling him. He's listed at 6'1", be he looks my height about 6'3". These are just a few of my encounters where I could've easily said something, but didn't feel the need to.

The only NFL player I've spoken to was Julius Jones at the Dallas Galleria mall back in 2004. My friend was a Cowboys fan and we wanted to know if he was going to play on MNF against the Eagles. He was really nice and let us know he's playing and that the Cowboys were going to announce it at the last minute. Cool stuff.

Actual Pats Fan · Jan 24, 2026

Foxypats said:
Unpopular opinion I am sure, I would have preferred Ghost!!!
Sure, AV had great kicks , but anyone that leaves the Pats and goes to a bitter rival like the Colts is not a Patriot anymore . Besides he was longer with them . Maybe it’s petty but oh well…

Adam wanted to stay here, he openly said he'd accept the franchise tag, and Bill didn't want to pay him. Dungy couldn't believe it, Colts snapped him right up and Adam was instrumental in them beating us and winning the Super Bowl, on and off the field.

Then, as the years passed, Bill would not let Ghost kick with the game on the line.

WhatJustHappened · Jan 24, 2026

Yeah ..ah...yeah... whatever

captain stone · Jan 24, 2026

Mayeniac said:
Do the Raiders qualify as a rival?

Foxypats said:
No

Not anymore; but for about 30 years they sure were.

irishfanatic · Jan 25, 2026

It has been quite a while since this saw light of day

DarrylS · Jan 25, 2026

AQPE said:
Speaking for myself here but I’d be a very hard no on Fairbanks. He was out looking for another job with his team on their way to the playoffs and along the way had his minions throwing plenty of shade on our community. As much as Sullivan was a crap owner I didn’t blame him for his reaction to what ol’ Chuck pulled there. I wasn’t thrilled to see Parcells get in either and certainly not before Julius Adam’s or Tatupu.

Then there was the way they treated Darryl Stingley when after he was paralyzed they refused to honor his contract... The impact of the Sullivan's crap moves took the oxygen out of Fairbanks... those teams had a lot of potential with different ownership things might have been much different.

AQPE · Jan 25, 2026

DarrylS said:
Then there was the way they treated Darryl Stingley when after he was paralyzed they refused to honor his contract... The impact of the Sullivan's crap moves took the oxygen out of Fairbanks... those teams had a lot of potential with different ownership things might have been much different.

Again I’m not defending the Sullivan BS and don’t necessarily blame Fairbanks for wanting to leave but for me he disqualified himself as a Patriots Hall of Famer by not giving his entire focus to the team he was leading towards the playoffs. He wanted to leave for Colorado immediately and not even finish out the season. Plus I don’t appreciate the things that were said about my/our community after his departure.

NFL Mystique · Jan 25, 2026

Foxypats said:
Unpopular opinion I am sure, I would have preferred Ghost!!!
Sure, AV had great kicks , but anyone that leaves the Pats and goes to a bitter rival like the Colts is not a Patriot anymore . Besides he was longer with them . Maybe it’s petty but oh well…

Probably had more XP and fg's missed in four postseasons (2015-2018) than Vinatieri had in his entire postseasons career. His XP miss in 2015 had the Patriots chasing the game instead of playing tied. His misses in SB 52 had the Patriots down eight on the final offensive possession vs maybe three or five. I'm not saying he was the top reason for those losses. But he was a reason.

I understand the longevity factor. But Vinatieri made the toughest kick in postseason history (40 some odd yards) vs the Raiders in the snow. Not to mention the SB game winners.

NFL Mystique · Jan 25, 2026

1960Pats said:
No. I put a 25 year curse on them in 2001. They did make it to a SB the next season but got their doors blown off by their ex-coach. They've been lousy ever since.

HC could not even bother to change the game plan. TB knew every play that was coming. Truly bizarre. Even weirder was the center going MIA before the game.

Looking back though, I don't think it would have mattered if they changed the game plan. It was a mismatch.

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