aluminum seats
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2006
- Messages
- 11,465
- Reaction score
- 12,582
Painful loss. It sucks that this team can be so strong throughout the year, and never be out of a game, only to lose by 15 at home to end their season.
The loss of Talib can’t be overstated. I watched last year’s AFC Championship again this week, and was surprised by how well the defense held up, with all those inferior names on defense. And the way this game started, I thought: here we go. This defense comes of age today. Then he limped off, and you knew he wasn’t coming back, and you knew the Ravens would realize that in the second half.
So, the Pats had to score a bushel, and needed Brady to be sharp to do it. Oh well. Not that he was awful, but we’ve seen him better. And the mental mistake at the end of the first half was just huge.
Having said that, I don’t agree with the “Brady choking” line. I think sometimes the Pats’ ability to adjust to losing guys is held against then. Losing Gronkowski was an ENORMOUS loss, and it finally reared its head. The Ravens and the Giants are the two defenses that give Brady & the Pats fits, so of course they keep playing them.
But ultimately, the playoffs are a small sample size. A dropped pass, a mental mistake, an in-game injury, whatever. This stuff happens at the wrong time, it’s over.
This is why I think the obsessive bottom line mentality that exists is so wrongheaded. Brady and the Patriots give us this incredible gift every year of sustained effort and excellence, that unfortunately hasn’t ended the way we’d like lately. But it’s still AMAZING. Put it this way: neither Eli Manning nor Tom Brady won the Super Bowl this year. But if you then think they had the same season ultimately, you should get your head examined.
That’s why the Francesas of the world, who (whatever their motives are) were putting out the “it doesn’t matter what Belichick and Brady do, they can’t beat Montana, etc.” because they lost Super Bowls, are so incredibly idiotic. ALL of this stuff is really hard. Just getting to where they are every year is truly something to marvel at.
I do agree with some others that it would be great for the Pats to not always be carrying this mantel of greatness/favorites all the time. They struggled for parts of this season, the Ravens beat them already, they had some big injuries…then they come into the rematch with Baltimore at 9.5 point favorites. Are you kidding me? Mentally, the endless expectation that you SHOULD win is hard as hell. The Pats are always in a position where winning is more of a relief than a celebration for them. Not easy.
Beyond that, it’s not like there’s a ton of things that will gnaw at me. The turnovers, always, but they were mostly weird. Again, it sucks how different a game can unfold depending on the score—but as Pats’ fans, we’ve been the beneficiaries of those kinds of scores much more than the reverse.
And that drop. I’ve been one of the vocal sign Welker at any cost (pretty much) crowd, and I stand by that. But man oh man, did that drop hurt. I thought coming out of half time the first score would be huge—which it always is, but even more in this case. And the Pats stopped the Ravens on their first drive, and the Pats were driving….I mean, what a lethal one-two punch Brady and Welker provided. A TD at the end of the half and a score on that second half drive, and the Pats are up 13-17 points. That creates a different game the rest of the way. Damn damn damn. Anyway.
My final thought. There are flaws in Brady, in Belichick, in everyone. And I have to say, as a fan, I REALLY wanted this one. So it sucks.
But I can’t wait for the offseason/team-building part of the season to start. I will pull for Brady and Belichick to get #4. And #5. I will hope that they finally get to play a couple of games in the playoffs with a healthy team. And if I could pick any team to be a fan of today, this is the one I’d choose.
The loss of Talib can’t be overstated. I watched last year’s AFC Championship again this week, and was surprised by how well the defense held up, with all those inferior names on defense. And the way this game started, I thought: here we go. This defense comes of age today. Then he limped off, and you knew he wasn’t coming back, and you knew the Ravens would realize that in the second half.
So, the Pats had to score a bushel, and needed Brady to be sharp to do it. Oh well. Not that he was awful, but we’ve seen him better. And the mental mistake at the end of the first half was just huge.
Having said that, I don’t agree with the “Brady choking” line. I think sometimes the Pats’ ability to adjust to losing guys is held against then. Losing Gronkowski was an ENORMOUS loss, and it finally reared its head. The Ravens and the Giants are the two defenses that give Brady & the Pats fits, so of course they keep playing them.
But ultimately, the playoffs are a small sample size. A dropped pass, a mental mistake, an in-game injury, whatever. This stuff happens at the wrong time, it’s over.
This is why I think the obsessive bottom line mentality that exists is so wrongheaded. Brady and the Patriots give us this incredible gift every year of sustained effort and excellence, that unfortunately hasn’t ended the way we’d like lately. But it’s still AMAZING. Put it this way: neither Eli Manning nor Tom Brady won the Super Bowl this year. But if you then think they had the same season ultimately, you should get your head examined.
That’s why the Francesas of the world, who (whatever their motives are) were putting out the “it doesn’t matter what Belichick and Brady do, they can’t beat Montana, etc.” because they lost Super Bowls, are so incredibly idiotic. ALL of this stuff is really hard. Just getting to where they are every year is truly something to marvel at.
I do agree with some others that it would be great for the Pats to not always be carrying this mantel of greatness/favorites all the time. They struggled for parts of this season, the Ravens beat them already, they had some big injuries…then they come into the rematch with Baltimore at 9.5 point favorites. Are you kidding me? Mentally, the endless expectation that you SHOULD win is hard as hell. The Pats are always in a position where winning is more of a relief than a celebration for them. Not easy.
Beyond that, it’s not like there’s a ton of things that will gnaw at me. The turnovers, always, but they were mostly weird. Again, it sucks how different a game can unfold depending on the score—but as Pats’ fans, we’ve been the beneficiaries of those kinds of scores much more than the reverse.
And that drop. I’ve been one of the vocal sign Welker at any cost (pretty much) crowd, and I stand by that. But man oh man, did that drop hurt. I thought coming out of half time the first score would be huge—which it always is, but even more in this case. And the Pats stopped the Ravens on their first drive, and the Pats were driving….I mean, what a lethal one-two punch Brady and Welker provided. A TD at the end of the half and a score on that second half drive, and the Pats are up 13-17 points. That creates a different game the rest of the way. Damn damn damn. Anyway.
My final thought. There are flaws in Brady, in Belichick, in everyone. And I have to say, as a fan, I REALLY wanted this one. So it sucks.
But I can’t wait for the offseason/team-building part of the season to start. I will pull for Brady and Belichick to get #4. And #5. I will hope that they finally get to play a couple of games in the playoffs with a healthy team. And if I could pick any team to be a fan of today, this is the one I’d choose.
