Good to NOT be undefeated at this point?

[brdmaverick]

They felt no greater pressure than if they were 15-1.
Many players have said undefeated was never even mentioned.

You're crazy if you think they didn't feel additional pressure.

Sure, in interviews throughout the season I'm sure they wanted everyone to believe they didn't feel the pressure. It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't publicly discussed, but they definitely felt it.

Why take my word for it, though........here's Rodney Harrison's and Donte Stallworth's own words when comparing the record setting marks by the Warriors and Patriots........

“Coming off a championship (talking about the Warriors) gives them more peace,” said Harrison, now an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. “People know they’re not flukes. That takes a lot of pressure off them. Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down. The expectation from media and fans is to always play on that level. And with that, you’re going to get every team’s very best. It becomes a heck of a lot of pressure.”

“It’s not like a video game,” Stallworth said. “People believe you can get up for every game equally. We deal with the human mind, the human psyche. It does take a lot to get re-energized after such a big accomplishment. The endgame is supposed to be the Super Bowl or the NBA championship. But when you have going undefeated or breaking the (Chicago) Bulls’ record on your mind, it’s in your head. I have to believe that’s why Belichick didn’t want us to think about going 16-0.”

...and while Heath Evans himself says he did feel the pressure, he acknowledged that teammates did...

The pressure will feel different for different members of the Warriors. Heath Evans, a power running back and special teamer on the 2007 Patriots, has listened to more prominent teammates explain the anxiety of chasing a record. He never felt it, he said, because he was a role player and not a star. He expects the same principle will apply for Golden State.

Source.........
‘07 Patriots know the pressure on Warriors

 

[brdmaverick]

I simply refuse to believe that while the ball to Tyree was flying through the air Rodneys subconscious had enough time to produce a palpable extra pressure that made him not punch out the ball. Or that made Asante drop that INT. When you are playing for the SB (or in the playoffs in general) you feel the ultimate pressure to perform on every play.

Then I guess by Harrison's quote posted above you would consider them a mentally weak team (and that's fine).

I want to clarify that I'm not alluding to the loss in SB 42 as being the result of pressure. Pressure did not make Tyree catch the ball or Asante Samuel not catch it, but it is a factor. While I never root for a loss, it is nice to not have that additional pressure as a variable.

 

[luuked]

“Coming off a championship (talking about the Warriors) gives them more peace,” said Harrison, now an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. “People know they’re not flukes. That takes a lot of pressure off them. Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down. The expectation from media and fans is to always play on that level. And with that, you’re going to get every team’s very best. It becomes a heck of a lot of pressure.”

“It’s not like a video game,” Stallworth said. “People believe you can get up for every game equally. We deal with the human mind, the human psyche. It does take a lot to get re-energized after such a big accomplishment. The endgame is supposed to be the Super Bowl or the NBA championship. But when you have going undefeated or breaking the (Chicago) Bulls’ record on your mind, it’s in your head. I have to believe that’s why Belichick didn’t want us to think about going 16-0.”

Those quotes only make sense to me in the context of the regular season. Where you can actually sometimes get away with a suboptimal game or a half-assed effort because there is always next week. But once next week is not guaranteed anymore you have pressure to perform anyway.

But whatever.. who cares about this at this point anyway.. I dont care enough about it all to go on discussing it to be honest. That was 10 years ago..

 

[Ring 6]

You're crazy if you think they didn't feel additional pressure.

You haven’t paid attention to this team if you think they did.

Sure, in interviews throughout the season I'm sure they wanted everyone to believe they didn't feel the pressure. It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't publicly discussed, but they definitely felt it.

Matt light said it 3 months ago.

Why take my word for it, though........here's Rodney Harrison's and Donte Stallworth's own words when comparing the record setting marks by the Warriors and Patriots........

“Coming off a championship (talking about the Warriors) gives them more peace,” said Harrison, now an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. “People know they’re not flukes. That takes a lot of pressure off them. Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down. The expectation from media and fans is to always play on that level. And with that, you’re going to get every team’s very best. It becomes a heck of a lot of pressure.”

This isn’t about an undefeated season this is about competing for championships.

“It’s not like a video game,” Stallworth said. “People believe you can get up for every game equally. We deal with the human mind, the human psyche. It does take a lot to get re-energized after such a big accomplishment. The endgame is supposed to be the Super Bowl or the NBA championship. But when you have going undefeated or breaking the (Chicago) Bulls’ record on your mind, it’s in your head. I have to believe that’s why Belichick didn’t want us to think about going 16-0.”

So he says they aren’t even thinking about it.
This is the point. The patriots focus on ine gane at a time.
You can’t possibly believe they would have won the SB if they lost another game. You can’t possibly believe they felt more pressure than winning the SB.

...and while Heath Evans himself says he did feel the pressure, he acknowledged that teammates did...

The pressure will feel different for different members of the Warriors. Heath Evans, a power running back and special teamer on the 2007 Patriots, has listened to more prominent teammates explain the anxiety of chasing a record. He never felt it, he said, because he was a role player and not a star. He expects the same principle will apply for Golden State.

Source.........
‘07 Patriots know the pressure on Warriors

Of course pressure exists. Winning the Sb is the ultimate pressure. That is what they are talking about.

 

[Ring 6]

Then I guess by Harrison's quote posted above you would consider them a mentally weak team (and that's fine).

I want to clarify that I'm not alluding to the loss in SB 42 as being the result of pressure. Pressure did not make Tyree catch the ball or Asante Samuel not catch it, but it is a factor. While I never root for a loss, it is nice to not have that additional pressure as a variable.

So you think there was additional pressure, that it had no impact but that it is somehow a bad thing?
Makes no sense.

 

[brdmaverick]

That was 10 years ago..

Actually, I agree, that was an unforeseen direction of this thread that I wasn't anticipating.

I actually thought the thread would be a back and forth of "Despite pressure I want an opportunity for the undefeated season" vs. "I'm fine with how it is given that less distractions should help the team in the long run".

I honestly didn't think it would turn into a debate about whether or not the '07 team actually felt pressure. I just assumed we all understood that it did.

 

[Bruins29]

You dont want to lose ever even if its just for the ability to rest players at the last game of the season. Or even 2 games if you had a 14-0 record and had the HFA. Injuries have been the major reason for the issues in past playoff games.

Would a team back off from a perfect record at 14/15-0 with the HFA locked up is a different question.

 

[brdmaverick]

You haven’t paid attention to this team if you think they did.

You clearly didn't read the quotes if you think they didn't. Rodney Harrison...."Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down."

Matt light said it 3 months ago.

Said what?

This isn’t about an undefeated season this is about competing for championships.

The whole article and interview is in the context of chasing HISTORY, not just the championship. Read Harrison's quote again........
"Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down."

THAT RECORD and the whole article is referring to the pressures of chasing HISTORY while also chasing the a championship. So you are wrong, this has everything to do with Harrison's own experience chasing the historic undefeated season.

So he says they aren’t even thinking about it.
This is the point. The patriots focus on ine gane at a time.
You can’t possibly believe they would have won the SB if they lost another game. You can’t possibly believe they felt more pressure than winning the SB.

Despite Belichick's efforts these guys are human and it doesn't work that way.......

Note the part of .........
Still, the reality became unavoidable, the possibility too tantalizing. “Once December hit, it was like, ‘Let’s do it,’” Stallworth said.

That doesn't sound like a guy who's 'not thinking about it'.

Of course pressure exists. Winning the Sb is the ultimate pressure. That is what they are talking about.

no argument here

 

[brdmaverick]

Would a team back off from a perfect record at 14/15-0 with the HFA locked up is a different question.

That is an interesting spin off question. What's your take on that?

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

That is an interesting spin off question. What's your take on that?

Didn't Dungy announce his retirement after that season?

 

[Ring 6]

You clearly didn't read the quotes if you think they didn't. Rodney Harrison...."Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down."



Said what?


The whole article and interview is in the context of chasing HISTORY, not just the championship. Read Harrison's quote again........
"Pressure is real. Pursuing that record, wining all those games, it does have a tendency to wear you down."

THAT RECORD and the whole article is referring to the pressures of chasing HISTORY while also chasing the a championship. So you are wrong, this has everything to do with Harrison's own experience chasing the historic undefeated season.



Despite Belichick's efforts these guys are human and it doesn't work that way.......

Note the part of .........
Still, the reality became unavoidable, the possibility too tantalizing. “Once December hit, it was like, ‘Let’s do it,’” Stallworth said.

That doesn't sound like a guy who's 'not thinking about it'.



no argument here

You are asking players 10 years later pointedly how bad was that pressure.

Not to mention that pressure for a professional athlete is not a bad thing, and you will never convince me there was any difference in the SB because they were 18-0 QBs not 17-1.

So thus supposed pressure had no negative impact whatsoever.

 

[tasmlab]

It's not news that the Pats won a bunch of games. And they deserved to lose the two they lost based on their play.

The Rams and the Eagles have great stories this year. Remember how milquetoast Goff looked last year?

FWIW, all of the media Power ranking articles have Patriots as the #1 team in the league. It's not like the Pats are completely getting ignored.

I don't think the fans of the other 31 teams would nit pick a 10-2 record for their teams.

 

[brdmaverick]

Didn't Dungy announce his retirement after that season?

Whether you agree with his decision or not, you have to admit it did take guts for Dungy to do what he felt was right even though he knew there would be a lot second guessers.

Obviuosly Dungy didn't care about winning that game against the Jets (after all, he sent in the scrubs). So when you think about in 2009 the first meaningful game the Colts lost was the Super Bowl. So it was similar to us in 2007.

 

[brdmaverick]

Not to mention that pressure for a professional athlete is not a bad thing, and you will never convince me there was any difference in the SB because they were 18-0 QBs not 17-1.

...and on that we'll just have to disagree, but that's fine. As always I've at least appreciated our back and forth.

 

[IllegalContact]

12-0 is better than 10-2

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

quotes published the morning of the game:

“I think it’s the biggest game of all of our lives — my life, the entire team, our coaches,” said Tom Brady, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and the Patriots’ poster boy for perfection. “We’re going to be remembering this game for as long as we live, win or lose. We’re going to have great memories of this experience, or we’re going to look at it truly as a missed opportunity. There’s not too many teams in the history of the NFL — none, in fact — that have been 18-0 going into this game.”

"As far as the Super Bowl goes, yeah, this is the Super Bowl, but this is a special Super Bowl,” Junior Seau said. “We can hide from the fact that there’s going to be another Super Bowl, but this special day, this special week, we can do something that can be here forever.”

Moss was more stoic: “It’s the biggest game of my life because it’s the Super Bowl”

Pats playing for history | Picayune Item

As I remember, Seau was wearing a microphone on the field and made pregame comments about how they were "going to make history".

So... you can say that it was just another championship game. Some players maybe took it that way, and Belichick likely wanted all of them to take it that way, but there is some pretty direct evidence that some players were feeling at least a a little extra pressure due to being 18-0. Some people respond better to extra pressure and some do not.

Remember, the phony walk-through Tomase-gate was yet another distraction that day.

On balance I'd think the extra distractions and pressure hurt us a little, but there is no way to know.

 

[Ring 6]

...and on that we'll just have to disagree, but that's fine. As always I've at least appreciated our back and forth.

Just a question though. Do you think being 18-0 instead of 17-1 is why they lost the SB?

 

[sean10mm]

Maybe being 18-0 created some kind of subtle psychological issues for the team, but personally I think the bigger issue was that the 2007 team wasn't as good as the early season blowouts made it look. Those wins where they score 48, 49, 52 and 56 points skewed everyone's perceptions of what the team really was in the first place. After everyone got over the shock of that wide open passing attack, the video game blowouts went away, and the team looked suspiciously like any other good Brady-Belichick team from week 12 on through the playoffs.

 

[brdmaverick]

Just a question though. Do you think being 18-0 instead of 17-1 is why they lost the SB?

I think it was a factor, but perhaps not the deciding factor.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Nope still want 19-0, with Edelman and Hightower back next season, barring injuries I expect 19-0 next year, Edelman alone and we are 12-0 right now yes him alone changes everything, if he's close to 100 or near it next season, our offense will be what it would of been this year had he not tore his acl, so the team that was supposed to go break records and go 19-0 and out do '07 will be intact next season as long as the keys stay healthy

Need a few of these guys back to think about pulling that off


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