Better Decade

[sean10mm]

I feel like the 2007 team is overrated because of how the first half of the season went. The 10-0 run to start where they were nuking people with no resistance outside a decently close game vs. a then-undefeated Colts team skewed everyone's perceptions of the rest of the season. After the 56-10 blowout of the Bills the team cooled off a lot, looking suspiciously like a normal Patriots playoff team squeaking out some close wins over the next 9 games instead of a historically destructive football apocalypse.

 

[XLIX]

Just to follow up on this part of the discussion, a little tiny bit, just to note that when a loss happens is also a major influence. It might end up looking as if I'm bashing you in some way, so let me say in advance that no bashing, whatsoever, is intended, and that I'm just laying out a discussion point.

You are talking up that 2004 team as the Patriots best, and one of the best of all time. Yet, here's a different look at things:

1. That 2004 team was actually not the winningest team in the AFC that regular season. That title belonged to the 15-1 Steelers.
2. That 2004 team split the season with the Steelers, who had a better regular season record by virtue of the regular season victory, and both times the winning team won by 14 points. Had the win/loss been in reverse, Nobody would talk about that 2004 team as anything but a disappointment, and people would be listing that Steelers team among the most dominant in football history.
3. Now, to go along with that, and even ignoring the injury issues, imagine that 2007 team losing the last game of the regular season to the Giants, and then getting revenge by winning the SB, rather than those happening in the reverse.

When trying to argue who is better, the first person who starts playing the "what if?" game loses. And you're playing an awful lot of "what if?" in the above post.

 

[Nehalem]

When did all the injuries hit...reason I ask, I feel like teams had started to figure the patriots offense out that year, and even the conference championship game against the Chargers was a bit of a slog. But I don’t really remember when guys were going down.

Brady was 26-28 in the divisional round. And at least one of the incompletions hit faulk or welker in between the numbers.

 

[Nehalem]

I feel like the 2007 team is overrated because of how the first half of the season went. The 10-0 run to start where they were nuking people with no resistance outside a decently close game vs. a then-undefeated Colts team skewed everyone's perceptions of the rest of the season. After the 56-10 blowout of the Bills the team cooled off a lot, looking suspiciously like a normal Patriots playoff team squeaking out some close wins over the next 9 games instead of a historically destructive football apocalypse.

After the 56-10 blowout they had 2 close games. Then closed it out by

Blowing out the Steelers in Pittsburgh
Playing a low scoring game in snow vs NYJ
Beating up on the Dolphins so badly that they literally spent the 2nd half toying with them.
Putting up 38 points on the NYG away on a short week.

 

[sean10mm]

After the 56-10 blowout they had 2 close games. Then closed it out by

Blowing out the Steelers in Pittsburgh
Playing a low scoring game in snow vs NYJ
Beating up on the Dolphins so badly that they literally spent the 2nd half toying with them.
Putting up 38 points on the NYG away on a short week.

Uh they beat the Giants by... 3. Not exactly a great case for sustained dominance there.

 

[nabwong]

There is no way to prove this.

Neo will beat Mr Anderson

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Uh they beat the Giants by... 3. Not exactly a great case for sustained dominance there.

For the most part they took care of business with a few close games at the end against the Eagles, Ravens, and Giants. Something happened during the Giants game, where the team went into the post season and didn’t play as well as it could have against Jax, SD, and of course NYG. Almost as if the reality of being 16-0 set in and there was this enormous pressure or that they no longer felt invincible...

 

[Richard Camembert]

Just to follow up on this part of the discussion, a little tiny bit, just to note that when a loss happens is also a major influence. It might end up looking as if I'm bashing you in some way, so let me say in advance that no bashing, whatsoever, is intended, and that I'm just laying out a discussion point.

You are talking up that 2004 team as the Patriots best, and one of the best of all time. Yet, here's a different look at things:

1. That 2004 team was actually not the winningest team in the AFC that regular season. That title belonged to the 15-1 Steelers.
2. That 2004 team split the season with the Steelers, who had a better regular season record by virtue of the regular season victory, and both times the winning team won by 14 points. Had the win/loss been in reverse, Nobody would talk about that 2004 team as anything but a disappointment, and people would be listing that Steelers team among the most dominant in football history.
3. Now, to go along with that, and even ignoring the injury issues, imagine that 2007 team losing the last game of the regular season to the Giants, and then getting revenge by winning the SB, rather than those happening in the reverse.

Just a reminder: the 2003-4 team was involved in a record-setting 21-game winning streak, including the SB (never been done) and won consecutive SB as well (maybe done six times). They are one of the best of all time in terms of accomplishments. PIT was nasty that year too but couldn’t get the job done.

I still see the point, by many measures the FU tour team was superior, but 2004 weren’t chopped liver.