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Parcells... damn, I keep making him singular... anyway, Parcells was checked out, and if he wasn't, you can't convince me of it. If you've ever been around a guy who's given his 2 weeks notice and is leaving for what he's convinced is a better job you get that. Yeahno, Parcells wasn't all in in 97. Then that ******** about "I said I'd bring a championship to New England, and that's what I did." Yeah I was so stoked for the Tony Eason Memorial Consolation Trophy (I mean the Lamar Hunt Trophy.)Back in the real world, Parcells brought the culture, and the winning. And he never got along with Kraft. From the start.
Everyone (except me) was mesmerized by Bledsoe's passing stats. He's better than Eason, who also could throw a ball.
Going into the Bayou in '97, I felt we would only win if we got lucky. In retrospect, I think the Parcells sideshow didn't have any effect on anything. Parcells & Perkins clearly felt they could just call a typical game and the fourth year kid was up to the mark (those passing stats WERE good). I think it was a failure of scouting the Packers, and a failure to realize that Curtis Martin WAS up to the mark, and they had to ride him.
Interestingly, I'm surprised Belichick apparently wasn't any kind of factor. So Drew's a bit better than Hostetler, but he'd been an HC for five years. Guess he was too busy (unsuccessfully) trying to figure out how to stop Andre "Bad Moon" Rison.
Makes no sense that local media takes points off Parcells' silly candidacy for the team HOF because of what he did to 'undermine' the Patriots when with the Jets. HE WAS WITH ANOTHER TEAM. OF COURSE HE'S NOT DOING US ANY FAVORS (although, he did ultimately acquiesce, and let Bill come here in exchange for a pick. He should GET points for that!).
And, the 2001 Patriots do not smell the playoffs with Drew. Would be lucky to go 8-8.
Granted, coaches don't win or lose the game when there's an appreciable gap in player talent.
And of course you didn't think NE had a prayer going into it in 97. No AFC team had won it since the Raiders in 84. The AFC and NFC for a while there were beginning to be considered different levels of play, like halfway to being the USFL. We were coming out of this rotation of Dallas-SanFran with GB sprinkled in almost making it... and with Washington and NYG sometimes swinging in and taking a couple with a few years between... it was an NFC boys club, and we were part of the Washington Generals to the NFC's Harlem Globetrotters.
You were processing all that at the same time. You really think it was impossible in 97? Well of course. Because 97's over. And beforehand, of course, because the AFC just didn't win super bowls. Then when GB went back the following year, wasn't Denver something like a 14-point dog?
Yeahbut they won it.
Remind you of anybody else? Hint hint 2002 hint hint.
Ok, offseason babbling. Gotta sit upright so my pills don't burn through my esophagus anyway.