Question for Those Who Don't Care About a Perfect Season...

[Patsman]

The funny thing about the perfect season is that if we do lose either one of these next two, most people will probably just write it off as taking it easy with everything needed(homefield) in check. It will have no effect on overall opinion of this team. Winning these next two games is pure semantics and just finalize the 16-0 on a technical level - but they really don't matter. At the end of it all, we've won all the games we needed to in order to secure home field in the playoffs and that's what matters. Right now, it's just a numbers thing.

 

[Satchboogie3]

I think it's important we win these next 2 games. I have to agree with coach here. 1 loss can very easily turn into 2 or 3. Since we will have a bye-week, it makes no sense to start resting guys. It's better to keep the momentum and try to keep getting better. Now is not the time to ease off the gas pedal. They can do that in February.

 

[Bostonian1962]

"If they don't win it all, by definition they won't be perfect."

Not exactly. If they lose either one or both of their next two games, but win every game in the playoffs, they won't be perfect, but will be Super Bowl champs.

I personally care very little about them going perfect. I say very little, because I wouldn't have cared at all if it weren't for Shula and his asterisk talk. Now I'd love for the Pats to go perfect to shut those Miami girls up.

 

[elandadem]

A perfect season would include the SB... You are stating the obvious. The SB is what matters, a perfect season would be better.... OK. Thats not really an opinion, thats a fact, unless your an idiot.

Can you actually read English or did you use an online translator to translate my statement into your native tongue (whatever that may be)?

Try using an apostrophe when creating a contraction; it may make you appear more articulate.

 

[mgteich]

QUESTIONS
1) What are the priorities as we go to play the fins?
2) What are you willing to do or sacrifice in this game, if it will make winning playoff games more likely? Would you be willing to play Bruschi and Seau for only one quarter. Would you be willing to sit Green and Sanders? How important is this game?

I suggested that I would rather be 13-1 than 14-0 at this point. This would remove any conflict. The focus would be on the playoffs. If players the starters for three quarters is right, then we would do that. If sitting half the starters for the Miami game is right, we would do that. The coaches best understand how to get the team ready for the playoffs.

But we are 14-0. Now, it seems that this game is much more important than it would have been. Perhaps if we were 13-1, we would pull the starters for the 4th quarter. Would we do that now? Or would we do things differently.

I think that the team would act differently if we are undefeated. The players on the field will (and should) always have winning as their highest priority. It is up to the coaches to decide who is playing.

=================
And for me, it would absolutely suck if we finished the season undefeated (16-0), and then lose in the playoffs or the Super Bowl. It would suck even more two players were injured and unavailable because they played in the last two games, rather than sitting out. And yes, I understand that finishing the season would put us in a very small group, and in the record books forever. It is a record cannot be beaten. It is a record that can only be tied.

But in the end, for me, this team is about dynasty, about playoffs and Super Bowls. This is a dynasty of the decade, of ten seasons (2000-2009). We have three more seasons. We are already among the best ever. We have the opportunity to remove all doubt. And being undefeated in the regular season is ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT, just as the record for most passing yards and others are irrelevant.
================

Let me put this another way. Let us say the score is 14-14 after three quarters, and we receive the punt. And now you see Cassell, Evans, Eckel, Jackson, Stach and Washington come on the field? In a preseason game, you wouldn't care. If we were 13-1, it wouldn't matter. We would trust Bill. We would trust his plans for the playoffs.

This might have happened if we were 13-1. At 14-0, I think the situation is changed. Personally, I don't think it should be, but we are what we are, undefeated.

 

[Deus Irae]

QUESTIONS
1) What are the priorities as we go to play the fins?
2) What are you willing to do or sacrifice in this game, if it will make winning playoff games more likely? Would you be willing to play Bruschi and Seau for only one quarter. Would you be willing to sit Green and Sanders? How important is this game?

I suggested that I would rather be 13-1 than 14-0 at this point. This would remove any conflict. The focus would be on the playoffs. If players the starters for three quarters is right, then we would do that. If sitting half the starters for the Miami game is right, we would do that. The coaches best understand how to get the team ready for the playoffs.

But we are 14-0. Now, it seems that this game is much more important than it would have been. Perhaps if we were 13-1, we would pull the starters for the 4th quarter. Would we do that now? Or would we do things differently.

I think that the team would act differently if we are undefeated. The players on the field will (and should) always have winning as their highest priority. It is up to the coaches to decide who is playing.

=================
And for me, it would absolutely suck if we finished the season undefeated (16-0), and then lose in the playoffs or the Super Bowl. It would suck even more two players were injured and unavailable because they played in the last two games, rather than sitting out. And yes, I understand that finishing the season would put us in a very small group, and in the record books forever. It is a record cannot be beaten. It is a record that can only be tied.

But in the end, for me, this team is about dynasty, about playoffs and Super Bowls. This is a dynasty of the decade, of ten seasons (2000-2009). We have three more seasons. We are already among the best ever. We have the opportunity to remove all doubt. And being undefeated in the regular season is ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT, just as the record for most passing yards and others are irrelevant.
================

Let me put this another way. Let us say the score is 14-14 after three quarters, and we receive the punt. And now you see Cassell, Evans, Eckel, Jackson, Stach and Washington come on the field? In a preseason game, you wouldn't care. If we were 13-1, it wouldn't matter. We would trust Bill. We would trust his plans for the playoffs.

This might have happened if we were 13-1. At 14-0, I think the situation is changed. Personally, I don't think it should be, but we are what we are, undefeated.

You do realize that your entire premise is wrong, don't you? If New England was 13-1, they'd have only a 1 game lead over the Colts and would be playing full out in order to secure home field advantage. The question of 'resting' players in your scenario only applies to the Giants game. The reality is that for people who believe in resting the players, the 14-0 record is a far better thing than 13-1 would have been. It gives BB the option of resting players for 2 games if he chooses, rather than just one.


P.S. Most of us do trust Bill. It's you that doesn't seem to do so at this point.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Also............ does anyone have any documentable reason (that can't be countered-argued) that losing 1 of the next 2 will somehow "better" prepare us to win the big game. Or visca-versa, that winning the next 2 will somehow diminish our chances at winning the SB.


I just don't see it either way. But that's why I'm asking.

the answer is no. there is no documentable evidence. in fact, the only evidence we have is that it's gone both ways. the Bears went 13-0 in 1934 and then lost to the 8-5 Giants in the NFL Championship Game; 38 years later the 1972 Dolphins ran the table; now, 35 years after that we might have the same situation (interesting, i'd never noticed that nearly the same number of years have passed between these sets of occurances)

i think those of us (real fans, not trolls looking for a fight) who are concerned come at this from different perspectives. personally, i think the normal course of an nfl season is to go through a couple of peaks and valleys. it doesn't have to be as extreme as the last two years where people had written the colts d off last season and they certainly had written the steelers off the season before.

so, while there is no documentable evidence, i am concerned that the constant buildup of expectations, certainly since the Indy game, is going to wear the team down physically and psychically and that this could lead to a problem in the playoffs at the worst possible time.

do i hope i'm wrong? you can bet on it.

if the patriots pull it off, should they lay claim to the mantra as the greatest team of all time? there is no doubt in my mind that they should, since the achievement is almost inconceivable to the point that it has some of us loyal fans wondering if it's even possible post cap, post free agency, in a 19 game season.

 

[bbabin]

Personally, I regard myself as a full out Patriots FAN (fanatic). Of course I want them to be the best, most dominant team ever. I want them to play their best game every week and have 10 perfect seasons in a row. Winning the superbowl is part of the perfect season as mentioned by the original poster. I also don't understand why anyone wouldn't want the patriots to win it all. I think they are the best team and should be regarded as that.

I'm always confused by the posters here who say things like:

"Let's take it one game at a time,"

"It's too early to think about the draft,"

etc.

We are just fans, we are not on the team and we can get greedy and get our hopes up and want our team to break every record and win every game and win the superbowl x years in a row. I really don't understand the problem with this.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Also............ does anyone have any documentable reason (that can't be countered-argued) that losing 1 of the next 2 will somehow "better" prepare us to win the big game.

I don't see anyone who has said that here. I think the only point being made is that if our coach were to decide that doing something now that might jeopardize our chances in the next couple of games would increase our chances in the playoffs, there is no disappointment. For me, I wouldn't care if it increased our chances only incrementally.

I'd like to think that if Belichick thought resting Brady in the second half of either game would be a good idea, for example, he'd do it, even if the game were tight.

I also know that every play a player plays is one more chance to be injured. If there were some imaginary point at which it could be known at what point our big-time players played enough to "stay sharp," or whatever, I'd be fine with them coming out after that.

I'm not trying to play coach here. I think Belichick knows what is best for the team. I'm just saying I'd like to think he's not letting distractions like 16-0 get in the way of making the best decisions possible for the real goal.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

I want them to play their best game every week and have 10 perfect seasons in a row.

Does it bother you if they lose preseason games?

It doesn't bother me. Sure, I'd love them to win them, but if they lose, as they did this year, I just assume it's part of the trip the real goal.

I view the next two weeks as glorified preseason games.

If the coach thinks it's in the team's long term interest to make sure all starters play as long and as hard to win them, and to create two more weeks of game tape showing possible plays, so be it. He knows what he's doing.

Let's ask the question a more simple way.

We're down by 8 with 2 seconds left against the Giants. Touchdown. Time to try the two point conversion. Belichick has a super sneaky, virtually guaranteed to work play that the team has practiced every week all year. He has 90 percent confidence that it will work. He also knows that once he runs it, he can't really ever run it again. He has a 50 percent confidence that his second best play will work.

Which one do you want him to run?

This one is a no brainer for me. I get the sense it's not for many other people on this board. I think this, at the end of the day, is what's really being debated here.

 

[mcbee]

This question isn't meant in a hostile way, I'm really just curious. I've seen folks here periodically mention that they don't care about/don't feel that a perfect season really matters, etc. My question is: why does a Super Bowl matter then? I mean, if you think about it, none of this stuff really "matters," right? Plenty of people don't follow sports at all.

For those of us that do, though, something like your team winning Super Bowl is kind of a big deal. You feel joy, vindication...."your" team won something permanent, and lasting. But if that matters, doesn't something as amazing and historic as a perfect season matter too? Or really, matter more? SOME team HAS to win the championship every year, in every sport. It has to happen. No team has to be perfect, of course. In fact, some thought it might never happen again--and it still hasn't happened. But if it does, that's a big deal.

So to those who don't care--what's the distinction you're drawing? Note that I'm not asking this to those who say the pursuit of the perfect season might harm the Pats' chances of winning it all. If they don't win it all, by definition they won't be perfect. The question is directed to those who just don't think a perfect season matters: why not?

In some sense, I think you should be beaten.

I don't understand why you don't understand.

A "perfect season" while winning the SB is great.

A "perfect regular season" while losing the SB is bad and worthless.

An "imperfect season" while losing games in the season and winning the SB is great.

An "imperfect season" while losing the SB is bad.

When people say that a "perfect season" is something they dont' care about, they are talking about a perfect season in and of itself. If the Pats don't win the SB, then going undefeated during the regular season is meaningless.


A perfect season where they WIN the SB is

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

16-0 is worthless if the pats don't win the superbowl.

It immediately goes from a great achievement to a huge embarrassment. that is why

I don't understand how people don't get this. The superbowl win means everything, everything else is less important.

bingo, that's all you'd hear all offseason... it would be cheating and being undefeated and losing in the playoffs.

 

[Satchboogie3]

I think the problem here is the misuse of the term "perfect season". A perfect season, or undefeated season, means we win every game we play. The only way to have a perfect season is to win all 19 games. Thats it. If we go 16-0 and lose in the playoffs, it wasn't a perfect or undefeated season...

 

[onegameatatime]

It's not clear to me that the Pats need to make a choice. yes, playing everybody risks injuries, but not playing people risks readiness and edge. In the past, BB has played his starters most of the way through games. I especially remember a game against the 49ers where TB played 3 quarters.

I heard Parcells talk about this and he thought you do not coach to avoid injuries, you coach to win every game. If a player is a gameday decision, I could see resting him, but otherwise, go for the wins.

 

[aluminum seats]

Some good responses here--I think it's an interesting topic, because it gets to why we're fans in the first place. Why do we care? I'm going to respond to a couple of posters, but first I want to clarify something that I think most got but a few still didn't. I never talked about "16-0" or a perfect "regular" season--this is about a PERFECT SEASON. That means win 'em all, Super Bowl included.

I'll address some specific things, but a question raised by more than one poster I'll get to now: if the Pats lose to the Giants (nobody brings up the Dolphins--no offense, Miami) would I be disappointed? Some say they would not be at all. I would, and I can't imagine how you'd feel otherwise.

 

[aluminum seats]

Because you have a shot at undefeated every season. Once a Superbowl run ends you can never get it back.

If this team goes 16-1, the season will be the single most disappointing/devastating blow in franchise history. If they go 17-2 and win the Superbowl, the championship will overshadow what might have been - at least for rational honest to god fans. Sure, the bandwaggoners will begin to kvetch, probably within minutes of the win, but that's because they are never really truly satisfied with anything this team does. Don't kid yourself, if they go 19-0 they will still find something or things to biatch about within 24 hours...

In fact if they go undefeated this year and win the Superbowl, the bandwaggoners will expect that to be the new gold standard, which will really suck here...

The goal for each NFL team and it's fans at the beginning of the season is winning the Lombardi. Anything else they manage to do individually or collectively is just gravy. Too many here are all caught up in fanboy bragging rights, and they have lost sight of what the goal is and who achieves that goal. It's the players, and they do it to win a championship as a team - we fans are just lucky to be along for the ride, and should be as humble as this team and grateful for all they have done and continue to do that makes us feel so special some of us have lost sight of the goal...

The first line here doesn't make any sense--just like you have a chance at an undefeated season every year, you have a chance at the Super Bowl. It's just that the chance at undefeated comes along FAR less often.

As to "fanboy bragging rights" I think another poster got it right--that doesn't mean much one way or the other. ALL rooting for sports teams can be reduced to that, including winning Super Bowls. You root for a team, you want them to do well. I guess that makes us all "fanboys."

 

[aluminum seats]

Personally, I regard myself as a full out Patriots FAN (fanatic). Of course I want them to be the best, most dominant team ever. I want them to play their best game every week and have 10 perfect seasons in a row. Winning the superbowl is part of the perfect season as mentioned by the original poster. I also don't understand why anyone wouldn't want the patriots to win it all. I think they are the best team and should be regarded as that.

I'm always confused by the posters here who say things like:

"Let's take it one game at a time,"

"It's too early to think about the draft,"

etc.

We are just fans, we are not on the team and we can get greedy and get our hopes up and want our team to break every record and win every game and win the superbowl x years in a row. I really don't understand the problem with this.

I pretty much agree with every word of this.

This is what I mean--just like we root for Super Bowls, we should root for the perfect season. If we're fans, that's what we want! We want dominance, excellence, on as grand a scale we can have it.

 

[jct]

This question isn't meant in a hostile way, I'm really just curious. I've seen folks here periodically mention that they don't care about/don't feel that a perfect season really matters, etc. My question is: why does a Super Bowl matter then? I mean, if you think about it, none of this stuff really "matters," right? Plenty of people don't follow sports at all.

For those of us that do, though, something like your team winning Super Bowl is kind of a big deal. You feel joy, vindication...."your" team won something permanent, and lasting. But if that matters, doesn't something as amazing and historic as a perfect season matter too? Or really, matter more? SOME team HAS to win the championship every year, in every sport. It has to happen. No team has to be perfect, of course. In fact, some thought it might never happen again--and it still hasn't happened. But if it does, that's a big deal.

So to those who don't care--what's the distinction you're drawing? Note that I'm not asking this to those who say the pursuit of the perfect season might harm the Pats' chances of winning it all. If they don't win it all, by definition they won't be perfect. The question is directed to those who just don't think a perfect season matters: why not?

Great Question, I really like the way you looked at it.
I agree.

 

[NEGIRLPATSFAN]

Money...........lots And Lots Of Money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It Is Capitolism At Its Finast!