Revisiting the 2001 Patriots

[scott99]

It has some similarities. Inexperienced QB. Good Oline and running game. I think Mac has a lot more weapons than Brady had. On defense, you might say Bruschi and Hightower are a wash, Rookies Seymour and Barmore are a wash, Judon & McGinest have similarities. Van Noy and Vrabel. But I think the 2001 secondary is better.

It’s amazing how Belichick rebuilds a team. Not saying they will be world beaters this year, but Belichick is a master at building a team. This 2021 team has a lot of talent. I hope teams underestimate them.

 

[Redman443]

It has some similarities. Inexperienced QB. Good Oline and running game. I think Mac has a lot more weapons than Brady had. On defense, you might say Bruschi and Hightower are a wash, Rookies Seymour and Barmore are a wash, Judon & McGinest have similarities. Van Noy and Vrabel. But I think the 2001 secondary is better.

It’s amazing how Belichick rebuilds a team. Not saying they will be world beaters this year, but Belichick is a master at building a team. This 2021 team has a lot of talent. I hope teams underestimate them.

I honestly want 10 wins this year

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Belichick was close to making Brady the opening day starter in 2001 and he said he regrets not doing so

It was so painfully obvious to me. The gap between Bledsoe and Brady was bigger than Newton and Jones. People just look at passing yards. Eason likewise threw for a lot of yards. Meant nothing.

Sorry but Bledsoe later pouting and the army of family, media and some teammates thundering about how unfair it was was nauseating.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

First to JR f'ing Redmond twice.
Then Troy Bingo Brown.
And lastly to Jermaine f'ing Wiggins.
All with no timeouts.

epic.

 

[PittPatriot]

Some of the little yet big things I remember:

- I was as frustrated with Terry Glenn (RIP) when he was here as anybody. But without him that sd comeback doesn’t happen. Then we are 1-4, things are much different and that’s probably the season tbh. He earned his ring despite his behavior.

- There was a crazy chain of events….

Terry Glenn had the makings of the perfect receiver for our system. he was basically a more talented version of Deion Branch…but just too many mental issues.
that San Diego game was the only meaningful game he played that season. He was in active for most of it.
He caught TB12’s first career TD pass. Wow.
I think the Patriots did not give him a SB ring that year.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

First to JR f'ing Redmond twice.
Then Troy Bingo Brown.
And lastly to Jermaine f'ing Wiggins.
All with no timeouts.

epic.

Tom had already shown he had it, several times during the season. He bounced back from rough outings in Miami and Denver, and made clutch plays in games where not everything was clicking. Once he became the starter, he was in an excellent environment to grow and learn. Having Belichick for his coach was instrumental in his development.

 

[Sicilian]

It has some similarities. Inexperienced QB. Good Oline and running game. I think Mac has a lot more weapons than Brady had. On defense, you might say Bruschi and Hightower are a wash, Rookies Seymour and Barmore are a wash, Judon & McGinest have similarities. Van Noy and Vrabel. But I think the 2001 secondary is better.

It’s amazing how Belichick rebuilds a team. Not saying they will be world beaters this year, but Belichick is a master at building a team. This 2021 team has a lot of talent. I hope teams underestimate them.

I think once Gilmore is back, the secondaries are pretty comparable. I wouldn't put Barmore anywhere close to Seymour yet though, so the 01 DL is superior to me. Linebackers are good comps though.

Definitely better weapons for Mac than Tom had in 01, but the game is also really different, so not quite apples to apples.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Terry Glenn had the makings of the perfect receiver for our system. he was basically a more talented version of Deion Branch…but just too many mental issues.
that San Diego game was the only meaningful game he played that season. He was in active for most of it.
He caught TB12’s first career TD pass. Wow.
I think the Patriots did not give him a SB ring that year.

I remember it as him getting a ring, but your guess is as good as mine on that!

Sad though after such a promising rookie year

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I think once Gilmore is back, the secondaries are pretty comparable. I wouldn't put Barmore anywhere close to Seymour yet though, so the 01 DL is superior to me. Linebackers are good comps though.

Definitely better weapons for Mac than Tom had in 01, but the game is also really different, so not quite apples to apples.

Seymour could play NT, DT, DE.
Barmore played 68% of his snaps in obvious pass only downs in college. Very different players.
Also no Gilmore is a massive loss on defense.
Finally Brady was in Year2 , a big difference from being a green rookie.

.

 

[1960Pats]

Week 17, Jan 6 at Panthers (3:54)
Patriots vs Panthers 2001 Week 17

-My son (the non sports fan) and I went to that game. It was a drizzly day with an empty stadium except for us and many thousands of other Pats fans. I've never encountered any others who were there though.
-We took over the lower section of the Pats side between the 30 yard lines and were celebrating with the team at the end.
-We even watched the scoreboard and were chanting the Jets chant as we pulled for them to beat the Raiduhs, which they did to give us the Snow Bowl game.
-After the game we all assembled in the concession area and got louder and louder as more fans came down from the seats.
-To this day I tell my son (40 in a week btw) that he was the extra fan they needed to get them over the SB hump. It's an incredible memory that I'll always cherish.

 

[1960Pats]

"I'd be pretty happy with 9-7."

RobertWeathers
September, 2001

You were confident that they'd be better than 2000. Good.

After I came back from Charlotte in 2001 and before the playoffs started I was in a bar arguing with a friend over the Pats chances in the playoffs. I can still hear him saying "yeah, they may make the SB but there's no way they're beating the Rams." I still give him sh!t when I see him.

 

[1960Pats]

I would never limit our possibilities.

Belichick is still head and shoulders above the other coaches.

Each year is unique. I concede nothing.

You would think that a fan of the Pats would know better than to count them out.

Bill sees every year as a new beginning. If form holds true he'll have them playing much better at the end of the season than the beginning.

No matter what happens though, we're so far ahead of the game that the Pats could lose a lot and the smile of winning would still be hard to erase.

 

[1960Pats]

It truly was an incredible season. Just so many amazing wins down the stretch. 9 in a row, but they won in so many different ways. Close wins, blowouts, just every way imaginable.

SB 36, I remember thinking when Otis Smith ran into his own guy during an interception return thinking, man, if he didn’t do that, it was going to be a pick six, and would’ve sealed the game. Considering the time in the game it happened. We got a field goal out of that. TD would’ve gave us 21 points instead of 17. So it was one of those plays that comes back to haunt you, but luckily it didn’t.

I distinctly remember Madden saying they should play for OT, but I was afraid we’d lose in OT. That drive down the field for that OT field goal was heart stopping. I couldn’t believe they were doing that. That throw to Brown (and the catch), to get them close, was special, what a bullet and what a catch.

When they were lining up for the FG, I was thinking, he can make this. When the kick went through, I swear to you, I didn’t scream in happiness right away. I was kinda in shock. I think it took a few seconds to register that we had won. Of course, being a fan since 1975, I was looking for possible flags, because you know, the Patriots. Despite 2 SB appearances prior to the dynasty, the Pats were basically irrelevant, basically they were like the Detroit Lions, no respect was given, and none was earned. I would watch football during the 1970s, and always wish the Pats had someone like Terry Bradshaw or Roger Staubach, or a team like the Steelers or Cowboys, and in the 1980s like the 49ers. Who knew the Pats would surpass them all.

We've been blessed for sure.

 

[1960Pats]

Yup, terrible hit. The Steelers are the only team i know thats knocked 2 starting qbs out of playoff games with low hits, within a few years of each other.

They're as cheap as a team can be.

 

[RobertWeathers]

You were confident that they'd be better than 2000. Good.

After I came back from Charlotte in 2001 and before the playoffs started I was in a bar arguing with a friend over the Pats chances in the playoffs. I can still hear him saying "yeah, they may make the SB but there's no way they're beating the Rams." I still give him sh!t when I see him.

Yea I did feel better about them. I though they improved on the talent level but obviously not enough to be a contender.

Glad I was wrong.

 

[sb1]

"I don't agree with what the Patriots are doing right here. I would play for overtime. If I had good field position I wouldn't but in this field position I'd play for overtime."

"And more importantly than getting the first down he got out of bounds and stopped the clock... and now I kinda like what the Patriots are doing!"

"The Rams are getting a little too loose I think with their defense when they had them backed up you'd think they would have pressured him a little more"

"This is amazing... I'll admit when I was a coach I wouldn't think this is something they should have done but they have the guts they have a young quarterback, they were backed up inside their own 20, they had no timeouts and they're calling these plays... and not only calling these plays they're making these plays! At some point when you're in the Super Bowl you have to let it all hang out and I'll say this that Charlie Weis and this Patriot team they're letting it all hang out..."

"What Tom Brady just did...gives me goosebumps"

- John Madden

 

[sb1]

After AV's kick went through I never noticed the Rams player on the sidelines yelling damn! lol

 

[1960Pats]

Yea I did feel better about them. I though they improved on the talent level but obviously not enough to be a contender.

Glad I was wrong.

Even though I preferred him over Bledsoe, I didn't see the GOAT coming.

Bill picked up a lot of FAs that turned out to be keys to their success.

Let's hope that we get a repeat of that 20 years later.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

So, they have a bunch of Patriot’s games from that 2001 season on YouTube. And was watching Brady’s first NFL start vs the Colts. Pats were 0-2 coming into the game, facing the AFC East 2-0 division leading Colts (yes you youngsters, they used to be in our division). It was a season ender if they lose that game. Pats KILLED the Colts.

A 24 year old Tom Brady didn’t do anything spectacular in that game, though he did make some nice throws that would’ve made Pat’s fans back then go, “hmmm”.

Next game, the Pats laid an egg, played horribly vs the Dolphins and lost an ugly game. 1-3 record. This coming off an 5-11 record. Things look dismal. Lost our high priced Pro Bowl QB, Brady looks ordinary to bad, our season looks doomed.

Heading into a game vs the Chargers, with a 1-3 record, and with a basically inexperienced QB. Heading towards 1-4. But this would be Brady’s coming out party. It was his first NFL come from behind masterpiece, first of many, and truly a show of what kind of QB Brady would become. It was his only 300 yard game that season, but was just a brilliant comeback. I think the Pats were behind 10 in the 4th quarter, and Brady brought them back to tie late, and drove them down the field in OT for the game winning FG (sounds familiar).

They would win the next game, to go 3-3, things are looking up. But then the Pats, once again laid an egg. Brady throws 5 INTs after a brilliant game the week before. We lose to Denver, the Broncos owned the Pats back then.

They win the next 2 games to go 5-4, but then lose the next game vs the Rams, but quite differently, this loss, they played a Super Bowl contender, the team with the best record, blow for blow. It was a game that gave the Patriots a ton of confidence in themselves.

They would not lose another game that season. They would go 9-0 the rest of the way, including the playoffs and the SB.

Just an incredible season. This was an 0-2 and 1-3 team. I couldn’t find any info about if they are the only 1-3 team to ever win a SB. I know there were a few 0-2 teams have won SBs.

But think about it, 1-3, and losing game 5 by 10 points in the 4th quarter, with basically a rookie QB, who had shown some promise, but statistically at that point, had shown nothing. Brady saved that season with that brilliant come from behind win.

1-3, and then 13-2 the rest of the way, unbelievable. And what’s more unbelievable is, they went on to win SB 36, with a basically average roster, so Belichick really deserves a lot of credit as well.

0-2, then 1-3, and then 5-5, then 9-0 wow.

Can’t believe that was 20 years ago.

terry glenn made impossible catches in that chargers game. He is by far the most talented WR the Patriots have drafted in past 25 years

 

[RobertWeathers]

Even though I preferred him over Bledsoe, I didn't see the GOAT coming.

Bill picked up a lot of FAs that turned out to be keys to their success.

Let's hope that we get a repeat of that 20 years later.

I have no memory of Tom in 2000.

I do remember thinking Tom looked good in preseason. Nothing beyond that really.

I was done with Bledsoe in 2000. Patting the ball...Locking in on receivers.....