19-0

[Archeryaddict12]

If ...

Gronk comes back healthy. Vince comes back strong. They can protect Brady up the middle. Ridley cures his fumble-itis. Chandler Jones becomes the sack machine we hope he's going to be. Revis is as advertised. McDaniels and Patricia raise their games. Brady and KT get in sync. Amendola stays healthy.

Then, sure, why not?

Dobson will be the best wr we have with Edelman second IMO. Dobson was gaining toms trust last season until he injured his foot.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Dobson will be the best wr we have with Edelman second IMO. Dobson was gaining toms trust last season until he injured his foot.

Dobson and Vereen are in my "believe-it-when-I-see-it" category.

 

[supafly]

Dobson and Vereen are in my "believe-it-when-I-see-it" category.

I can understand why you may feel that way, although I think we've seen enough from Vereen to realize his potential much more than Dobson. Aaron Dobson obviously has great talent, but at this point in time we don't know how that will equate to production.

 

[Ivan]

I am not sure how this became a WR thread but i am glad it did. Imo Amendola will be their best WR this season but overall they will be a very balanced unit.

 

[TatupuMoose]

19-0 book it, I will post pics of my **** if I'm wrong.

Hey Brett! How's it going down in Mississippi? Still coaching high school kids, and harassing reporters?

 

[Uncle Rico]

19-0 is cursed....

Polian thought the same thing, didn't he? You could also say 14-2 is cursed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Indianapolis_Colts_season

 

[signbabybrady]

Polian thought the same thing, didn't he? You could also say 14-2 is cursed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Indianapolis_Colts_season

I would say 14-2 works just fine for us.

 

[joepatsfan]

Polian thought the same thing, didn't he? You could also say 14-2 is cursed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Indianapolis_Colts_season

We won two superbowls with a 14-2 record. I'll take that any day over 16-0

 

[Uncle Rico]

I would say 14-2 works just fine for us.

It certainly does*. Just like a perfect regular season didn't curse the '72 Dolphins.

*(except in 2010)

We won two superbowls with a 14-2 record. I'll take that any day over 16-0

Absolutely, on both counts. But we're talking about 19-0, and to say that such a pursuit is "cursed" seems kind of silly to me. My point was that Polian intentionally avoided going for 19-0 in '09, citing the '07 Patriots in much the same way you did, and that strategy didn't work either. One thing the last decade or so has proven is that teams can win — or lose — Super Bowls with a pretty broad range of records and regular season success. So why not not go for the best you can?

For the record, I don't expect this team to go 19-0. But I certainly expect them to try to win all their games, regardless of record at game time.

 

[mmasterkillah]

We have a talented enough team to win every game.

That doesn't mean much, though. **** happens in sports.

I hope we win every single game, but I'm desperate for things to fall our way in the playoffs.

 

[Uncle Rico]

... **** happens in sports.....

I see the (still somewhat new) format is less strict on profanity. Does that mean we can now talk freely about former Patriot Jimmy Hitchcock?

Post-post Edit: Well how about.

 

[joepatsfan]

, on both counts. But we're talking about 19-0, and to say that such a pursuit is "cursed" seems kind of silly to me. My point was that Polian intentionally avoided going for 19-0 in '09, citing the '07 Patriots in much the same way you did, and that strategy didn't work either. One thing the last decade or so has proven is that teams can win — or lose — Super Bowls with a pretty broad range of records and regular season success. So why not not go for the best you can?
For the record, I don't expect this team to go 19-0. But I certainly expect them to try to win all their games, regardless of record at game time.

I don't expect them to go 19-0 either, but I have a legitimate feeling that if the Patriots were 15-0 heading into Week 17, they would air on the side of resting the starters. If they did somehow get to 15-0 they would still try to win but I doubt we would see the starter for a full 60.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

Since Chuck Noll just passed away last night, I will ask this question:

Would you rather have 4 SB victories or be like Noll's mentor Don Shula and have 2 SB victories, one of them a perfect season?

Different people will have different answers, but I'd bet the consensus is what Noll's Steelers did that decade was greater than Shula's Dolphins.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

A perfect season is thinkable simply because football does not play near the games baseball, basketball, or hockey plays. But it's at the very edge of what humans can do - like climbing Everest without bottled oxygen.

Years ago, color commentator Don Meredith nailed it that the circumstances have to be just right for a perfect season. I'll mention only one - defense. The 1973 Dolphins had a great defense in an era that emphasized it. If the Patriots had a little more of their defense during 2001-2004, they would have been 19-0.

I realize how serious this thread has been.

 

[supafly]

A perfect season is thinkable simply because football does not play near the games baseball, basketball, or hockey plays. But it's at the very edge of what humans can do - like climbing Everest without bottled oxygen.

Years ago, color commentator Don Meredith nailed it that the circumstances have to be just right for a perfect season. I'll mention only one - defense. The 1973 Dolphins had a great defense in an era that emphasized it. If the Patriots had a little more of their defense during 2001-2004, they would have been 19-0.

I realize how serious this thread has been.

Hell, they should've been 19-0 in 2007 had it not been for several aspects that all went the NYG way, including a once in a lifetime helmet catch, and a referee who "started to blow the whistle" for an in the grasp sack call on Manning.

Add in 2-3 dropped INTs in the last quarter, a pretty stupid blitz call on the final TD that left an injured Hobbs one on one with Burress, and the decision to go for it on 4th and 13 instead of choosing to try a 51 yard FG attempt within Ghost's range, and the whole thing was quite an unfortunate situation.

I am 100% convinced that our 2007 team was much better than MIA's 17-0 season in 1972, but sadly my opinion doesn't count for anything.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

I am 100% convinced that our 2007 team was much better than MIA's 17-0 season in 1972, but sadly my opinion doesn't count for anything.

The game changed a lot over 30 years and so did the competition....there were 26 teams, but now there are 32.

So I am NOT saying the 1973 Dolphins are better than the 2007 Patriots. Different circumstances.

 

[supafly]

The game changed a lot over 30 years and so did the competition....there were 26 teams, but now there are 32.

So I am NOT saying the 1973 Dolphins are better than the 2007 Patriots. Different circumstances.

Definitely many different circumstances to compare. For starters, the '72 Dolphins had a very low strength of schedule, and were quite ordinary in many categories.

The '07 Pats were very balanced not only in their record setting offense with 37 ppg, but their defense was also 4th in points allowed, giving up 17 per game. It was unfortunate that they lost in the last 30 seconds of the game, but it is what it is. As a fan many of us are very proud of such an awesome season, but saddened/disappointed by the odd circumstances in how it ended.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

^ yes, until the final minute they could have been 19-0.

I'm convinced Eli had an out-of-body experience. How else could he beat NE in a way only Peyton could dream of?

 

[supafly]

^ yes, until the final minute they could have been 19-0.

I'm convinced Eli had an out-of-body experience. How else could he beat NE in a way only Peyton could dream of?

The majority of SB winners needed some luck along the way, and I think ours had simply run out.

I highly disagree with those that point to the NYG "super tough" defense as stopping us, etc. We had seen plenty of super tough defenses during that season, and were up 14-10 with a minute or so remaining.

I just think they played well enough to win and got some breaks, and sometimes it's just that simple.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

^ do you think Coughlin was with Belichick enough to get in his head?

Of course, that works both ways.