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Looking at the 8-2 record that this young, overhauled Patriots team has earned, a few thoughts come to mind:
The window is wide open. I can't be the only one who, after the playoff lost last year, looked at the team and thought maybe the window was closing; it's too bad, I thought, that we have to restock with all these rookies when we still have Brady and Moss in their prime. Well, guess what. Moss is gone (and past his prime), the rookies and fill-ins have been stellar, and the window is open. Wide open. With another big draft coming up.
Note to the rest of the NFL fans: Patriots aren't going anywhere. I thought of this leading up to the Colts game, how sick I am of them. And the Steelers. And the Chargers. And the Ravens. Well, imagine how sick the rest of the teams' fans are of the Patriots? They probably thought they would finally start to fade away. Well, 8-2 in a "rebuilding" year tells me -- Pats aren't going away.
Playmakers still make plays that still win games. This board is funny. After the game yesterday, I would have thought the Pats lost. A lot of people talk about almost blowing games and seem to think this team is nothing like its championship predecessors. Well, remember the 2003 regular season game, the one with the Willie McGinest stop of Edge at the goal line? Pats had a 31-10 lead at one point, and won, 38-31. That's right, the legendary D of Seymour, McGinest, Harrison, Bruschi, Vrabel, Law et al came within a few yards of blowing one against the Colts. But they're playmakers, and they made plays when it counted. This 2010 team has made plays to beat Baltimore, San Diego, Miami, Pittsburgh and the Colts - -the best in the league (with a rematch pending against another top-ranked team coming...) That's what those dynasty teams did - -make enough plays to beat the best. "This," said McGinest in '03, "is what championship teams are made of." There sure is room for improvement, but you have to be excited for the knack this D has.
Patriots vs. Colts, The Classics: Game 1, Nov. 30, 2003 - Projo Pats Blog
Before the season started, I compared this team potentially to the 1996 Pats. That team had a veteran quarterback and a few other older guys thrown in. It had some second- and third-year players who would form the cornerstone of the dynasty. And it had some rookies who contributed in a major way. It also went to the Super Bowl. The 2010 team is in the running to do the same, but there's a long way to go. Still, this young team of playmakers has given us plenty of reason to believe they can do it. They have re-opened the window, and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.
1996 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com
The window is wide open. I can't be the only one who, after the playoff lost last year, looked at the team and thought maybe the window was closing; it's too bad, I thought, that we have to restock with all these rookies when we still have Brady and Moss in their prime. Well, guess what. Moss is gone (and past his prime), the rookies and fill-ins have been stellar, and the window is open. Wide open. With another big draft coming up.
Note to the rest of the NFL fans: Patriots aren't going anywhere. I thought of this leading up to the Colts game, how sick I am of them. And the Steelers. And the Chargers. And the Ravens. Well, imagine how sick the rest of the teams' fans are of the Patriots? They probably thought they would finally start to fade away. Well, 8-2 in a "rebuilding" year tells me -- Pats aren't going away.
Playmakers still make plays that still win games. This board is funny. After the game yesterday, I would have thought the Pats lost. A lot of people talk about almost blowing games and seem to think this team is nothing like its championship predecessors. Well, remember the 2003 regular season game, the one with the Willie McGinest stop of Edge at the goal line? Pats had a 31-10 lead at one point, and won, 38-31. That's right, the legendary D of Seymour, McGinest, Harrison, Bruschi, Vrabel, Law et al came within a few yards of blowing one against the Colts. But they're playmakers, and they made plays when it counted. This 2010 team has made plays to beat Baltimore, San Diego, Miami, Pittsburgh and the Colts - -the best in the league (with a rematch pending against another top-ranked team coming...) That's what those dynasty teams did - -make enough plays to beat the best. "This," said McGinest in '03, "is what championship teams are made of." There sure is room for improvement, but you have to be excited for the knack this D has.
Patriots vs. Colts, The Classics: Game 1, Nov. 30, 2003 - Projo Pats Blog
Before the season started, I compared this team potentially to the 1996 Pats. That team had a veteran quarterback and a few other older guys thrown in. It had some second- and third-year players who would form the cornerstone of the dynasty. And it had some rookies who contributed in a major way. It also went to the Super Bowl. The 2010 team is in the running to do the same, but there's a long way to go. Still, this young team of playmakers has given us plenty of reason to believe they can do it. They have re-opened the window, and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.
1996 New England Patriots Statistics & Players | Pro-Football-Reference.com
