Re: Tell us your ONE favorite Offensive and Defensive Patriots play in the Belichick
I'm trying to remember the recent INT where one of the veteran defenders had to hold onto the rookie to pull him back so he could block for him... I can see the play in my head but can't remember the players (was Rodney the veteran?)
But overall I'm going to go back to an inauspicious game in 2002 where the Pats were fighting for a playoff spot - they needed a win - and they needed the Jets to lose - to make the playoffs. They were coming from way behind and had to have everything break right to be able to win the game.
It'd be tough to pick out just one defensive and offensive play from that game - but I've always felt that THAT game - even more so than anything in the 2001 season - showed that if the team put their minds to it they could win ANY game they put their minds to
Many fans want to forget about that season because we didn't make the playoffs and look at it as a speedbump in the "dynasty"
For me its exactly the opposite, as that's when they really found their "refuse to lose" mentality that they carried through to the 2005 Super Bowl and beyond.
As you will recall the Patriots backs were against the wall, needing a win against the Fins (and a loss by the Jets against Green Bay) to get into the playoffs. It was the last game of the regular season.
The Patriots fell behind 24-13 with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter when Miami's Olindo Mare kicked a 28-yard field goal.
11 points down in a must win game with less than 5 minutes to go and the playoffs on the line?
No problem.
The Patriots held Miami, and eventually made it 24-21 on Brady's 3-yard pass to Troy Brown and a 2-point conversion pass to Christian Fauria with 2:46 left.
The Patriots kicked off deep rather than try an onside kick (a shrewed coaching decision), then forced a Dolphins punt, which traveled only 23 yards.
Taking over at Miami's 34-yard line, they moved close enough for Vinatieri's 43-yarder to tie it up and send it into overtime. (Which interestingly may have been the last time Adam V. attempted a 40 yard plus FG!)
At this point, everyone - including the Dolphins - sensed the Pats were a team of destiny, and Mare choked as his kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Pats the ball at their 40.
After an incompletion, Kevin Faulk ran 15 yards then caught Brady's pass for a 20-yard gain to the Miami 25. With a third-and-9 at the 24, Brady threw a 7-yard pass to Brown, and Vinatieri trotted on for the win.
The Patriots finished 9-7, in a three way tie for first place in the AFC East that the Jets won in a tie-breaker that season - not bad but it was the last time the Patriots would let another team control their destiny in getting into the playoffs.
I think the Patriots really found themselves as a team that year, shedding the perception of many that they won the 2001 SB based on good luck and good calls - and was really the main turning point in what everyone now recognizes as a football dynasty.
So I'll take any one of many offensive or defensive plays in that final 5 minutes of that game in that "lost" season as my favorites.
