The 03-04 Team vs The 04-05 Team

[Haterproof]

Which Pats team was the best?I would pick the 03 team in a very close call.The 03 team kicked A** with a very tough schedule.We''ll had 1 thing on our minds that season [which was winning our 2nd championship].

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

I'd say the '04 (SB39) team was better. The '03 team squeaked some games out (@Miami, @Denver, @Houston and @Indy) which made them a lot closer to 10-6 than 14-2...Brady had an MVP-caliber season that was the difference in those games, as was some timely defensive plays. OTOH, the '04 team was closer to 15-1 if it wasn't for that meltdown in Miami. The playoff run to SB39 was more impressive than the run to SB38. Heck, if co-MVP McNair didn't miss badly on some wide-open bombs, the '03 team might have went one-and-done. The '04 team throttled Mr. 49 Touchdowns Manning, then demolished top-defense 15-1 Pittsburgh on their turf before having a bit of a letdown vs. the Eagles, yet still won SB39 comfortably (10pt lead midway through the 4th). Considering the '04 Pats had such dominance *with a huge bullseye on their back every week* as defending champs, I'd give them the nod easily.

Regards,
Chris

 

[sarge]

04 team by alot.

As was already said, the 03 team squeaked by alot.

The 04 team smoked teams.

The Pats playoff games were damn near laughers by the end, smoking both the Colts and Steelers.

And the SB truly wasn't as close as the score looked.

Pats were up by 10 with less then 2, and probably would have been up by more had the offense not put on the breaks and went into shut down mode when up by ten.

The 04 team would have smoked the 03 team.



What is really funny is that the 04 Steelers were actually much better then the 05 Steelers.

The Pats just dropped off to much in 05

 

[miDeuce]

I'd have to agree that the 2004 team was the better one. The two AFC playoff games that no one picked them to win, the way they overcame injuries most especially in the secondary, it was a total team effort and one of the greatest teams of all time.

 

[Kdo5]

04. It was amazing to have Dillon come and pull out a 1600 yard season for us. Our offensive line played freakin tremendous in 04. We had the make shift secondary that pulled out the plays and didnt make big mistakes. 03 was an excellent team, the defense was amazing. Problably the best Pats secondary recently happened in 03. Poole and Wilson both came out, Poole had a great year in 03 so did Law...Harrison and Wilson. All four of them came up big.

 

[stinkypete]

The '04 team dominated all year long. During the first few weeks of the season, when everyone was still healthy, they had the best looking roster (on paper) this franchise has ever seen. They shut down Indy, blew out Pittsburgh at Heinz. That was clearly the best team.

Though there was something special about the '03 season that the '04 season didn't have. Week after week close games. A schedule that made us face something like 8, 10-win teams. The emergence of the defense, particularly the linebackers, and the addition of Rodney. The 31-0 bookends against Buffalo. Bruschi in the snow vs. Miami. That team was my favorite.

 

[PatsSox363804]

The 04 team was better:

2nd in points allowed and 4th in points scored, dominated the best offense and the best defense in the playoffs then beat the Eagles who were tied for the 2nd best defense, all of this without their starting corners. If not for a bad 5 minutes in Miami they are 15-1, I think their average victory margin that season was 11 points. The 03 team was great but they squeaked out alot of wins. Denver after the int safety and against a third string QB, McNair in the playoffs missing wide open receivers, Houston in Overtime, they should have easily put the Colts away in the playoffs and they let them hang around, simply put, they weren't as dominant a team in fact the only thing the 03 team has over the 04 team IMO is that SB 38 was a much more entertaining game than SB 39.

 

[RayClay]

The 03-04 team was better




For the antacid and Valium producers.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

04 was better. More talent 1-53 than 03.

Also, while 14-2 is impressive and back-to-back is even more so, the 04 record was the stronger of the two based on who they had played. In 03, they lost two road games early but to vastly inferior teams. They were rocky for the first month of the season. Win one, lose one.

The 04 team was flat out dominant from the start. If the Pats don't lose Ty Law, Corey Dillon, etc for the Pittsburgh game, that team is 15-1, hosting the AFC Championship game and possibly 16-0. The only game that they "lost at full strength" (a relative term given the secondary) was in Miami when they sort of let up and Miami kicked the door down, something that they have not really allowed themselves to do since.

After week one (a three point win) the next closest victory was 13-6 over the Jets in week 6. The had two more wins, at KC and vs Cinci, that were within a single posession; and really in neither of those games did it feel like the Pats were not in control. 14-2, with 10 wins coming by more than ten points is a dominant team with six games vs playoff teams. 5-1 vs playoff teams in the regular season, if you include the playoffs they were 8-1. 9-1 vs teams that finished .500 or better. No real comparison between the two years IMHO.


That being said, 03 was the season I will relish more. Not many picked them before the season, it had more "memorable moments" with the snow games, goal line stands, OT victories, games in horrible rain, etc. Every game had a storyline. In 04, after getting Dillon, the Pats were the favorite and the pressure is on. As a lot of players will tell you, it is hard to have fun when you are expected to win every game but this team found a way to almost do just that!

 

[sarge]

The 03-04 team was better




For the antacid and Valium producers.

Now THAT I agree with!

 

[Haterproof]

The only game we flat out lost in 03 was the opener against Buffalo.We could've beat Washington if Brady's pass to Graham was knocked away in the 4th quarter.We''ll know what happened to Buffalo for our last game of the regular season.

 

[3 to be 4]

the 2004 team was more dominant, winning by comfortable margins in more games, and as was said, when they faced their biggest tests, in St Louis after the Pittsburgh loss, in NY after the Miami loss, the playoff games , they were outstanding.
However, the 2003 had a more dominant defense, 3 shutouts, and few others under 10 points allowed. the Patriots offense with Dillon was the difference in 2004.
I have more of a sentimental feel for the 2003 team because they rescued New England from the Grady/Pedro disaster in NY. In fact, 4 days after that disaster, i was watching the Miami game at the Longhorn restaurant bar in Leominster. everybody was down. When Brady hit Brown to win the game it was like we were alive again. And as each week went on and we realized they the best team in football they were such a great feeling.
By 2004 it was more business as usual.

But nothing compares to winning the first Super Bowl. that changed EVERYTHING.

 

[Pats/Hokies Fan]

www.whatifsports.com
SimMatchup.

You can simulate a game between the two teams.

No matter which team was home or even if the game was in a neutral site the 04 team won.

I agree w/the simulation...the 04 team was better at closing out games due to Dillon's presence.

 

[godef]

04 team by alot.

As was already said, the 03 team squeaked by alot.

The 04 team smoked teams.

The Pats playoff games were damn near laughers by the end, smoking both the Colts and Steelers.

And the SB truly wasn't as close as the score looked.

Pats were up by 10 with less then 2, and probably would have been up by more had the offense not put on the breaks and went into shut down mode when up by ten.

The 04 team would have smoked the 03 team.



What is really funny is that the 04 Steelers were actually much better then the 05 Steelers.

The Pats just dropped off to much in 05

A lot of people don't realize that the '04 Pats led the league in point differential (ie. points scored vs points scored against), all the more remarkable in comparison to the 03 team when you consider the 03 team had those 3 shutouts.

 

[Aldogg]

The 04 season put the years back on my life the 03 teams squeakers took from me. From an entertainment standpoint, the 03 team had closer games, but the 04 team was flat out killing people. Just the playoff run from the 04 team shows that team dominance, spanking the best offense in the AFC then lighting up the best defense in the AFC then dominating Philly in every aspect except for blowing chunks in the huddle.

 

[Joe_n99]

Cool site

www.whatifsports.com
SimMatchup.

You can simulate a game between the two teams.

No matter which team was home or even if the game was in a neutral site the 04 team won.

I agree w/the simulation...the 04 team was better at closing out games due to Dillon's presence.

That whatif site is cool..
So, not to go off on too much of a tangent I ran 2005 pats vs 2004 pats and whoever is home team usuaully wins with a lot of close games .....

I wonder if the site takes injuries into account..I would have to agree that they would be pretty similar but without injuries would give a little more of an edge to 2005? Anyway cool fun thing to play with. THanks.