Throw Back Thursdays: G.O.A.T.

[Actual Pats Fan]

I actually think that the Patriots worst-to-first 2001 season has ruined coaches around the league since it happened. After all, until teams like the Pats had quick turn arounds I'd say owners were more patient with their coaches (given them ample time to turn it around).

We did the same thing in 1976...lots of similarities.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

This guy's YouTube account is like PatsPorn central. Look at all the 01 highlights for example:

The end of the Miami game is the happiest I've seen Bill Belichick...it's among my favorite Patriots moments ever, even though it wasn't a Super Bowl or anything...

BTW, I didn't know that today, Mike V. ('70) and his idiot QB ('76) share a birthday

 

[Mike the Brit]

The Miami game was fantastic.

Fiedler made some great throws, but it didn't matter. New England could run it when they needed to (3rd and 2, 3rd and 1 -- Antowain behind Mark Edwards) and Miami couldn't. That was the difference. The front seven were ferocious, determined, solid, and Charlie Weis called a great game. In a way, it was a perfect Patriots game. No wonder BB was happy at the end.

 

[zoostation]

Some thoughts on what I saw that I had long forgotten.:

1. Terry Glenn was REALLY very good. Too bad that never worked out. Suspended for the year by BB, he got back only because an arbitor ruled in his favor. With little practice and he was great in this game. Then a few games later he gets booted for good. I wonder if he ever got a ring? We don't win that game without him.

She was very good...but a pure head case. AB x 10. She never got a ring and it really hurt her feelings. Her best year was her rookie season when she had 90 receptions. Kraft thought about it, but never put a ring on her finger. He's a meanie !

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Is it fair to say that Terry Glenn was the first big name guy to get in BB's doghouse.

And 'She' also was originally in Parcell's.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Looking at Brady then, I'm reminded of BB saying recently that Brady wasn't Brady for the first few years. Arm strength? Accuracy? Deep ball? Mobility? Ability to throw on the run? Not really any of the above.

So it's not surprising so many people thought he was just a place-holder for Drew's return. What did he have? Well, he didn't turn the ball over.

BB said recently that what Brady brings to the team above all is that he doesn't put them into bad plays. We can't prove it, of course, but that good decision-making -- not being a risky gunslinger -- must have been there from the start.

The one thing Michigan fans knew about Brady was his calm under pressure and resiliency. He survived Coach Carr trying to bench him at every opportunity, Drew Henson, local fans booing him because they wanted Henson, and still led the team to a great year thanks to a lot of great comebacks. In fact, he would be nicknamed Captain Comeback for so many big late game efforts.

Those two traits were probably not obvious at first, but played a huge part early on as he learned and developed other parts of his game. He may not have been the GOAT on day one, but that same trademark ice water in his veins was always there, even before he got to New England.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

The one thing Michigan fans knew about Brady was his calm under pressure and resiliency. He survived Coach Carr trying to bench him at every opportunity, Drew Henson, local fans booing.

Yup and I'm sure he got his experience dealing with weather in Michigan being from Cali he traded in his surf board for a sled.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

2. Doug Flutie was STILL a very good QB at age 39. He made a lot of great plays that game.

What Could Have Been:

Had Raymond Berry not been a complete, total, inexcusable moron, the New England Patriots could have made a serious run at history had they simply kept and utilized Doug Flutie. Against the coaches' plans and without the HC's support, the Pats were serious contenders down the stretch in 1988, and Flutie's best athletic and professional years were ahead of him, and wound up being displayed (or, wasted, if you will) north of the border. And he was still effective thirteen years later.

A Football Life marathon in progress now; just had to rant.

Also: Dan Pastorini won more legitimate, real Super Bowl titles than Ken Stabler.

I believe the Raiders gave him a ring after 1980.

Same goes for **** Vermeil over John Madden.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

This was the first and only NFL game I ever attended. Became a Patriot fan that afternoon.

IIRC, Flutie got the biggest applause of anybody, despite being on the other team.

Raymond Berry, before the next-to-last game of the 1988 season: "We're making a change, because we need our offense to be more explosive going into the playoffs."

Doug Flutie: "To get into the playoffs, you first have to WIN the game..."

Me: "Explosive...like, Super Bowl XX, right?"

Final score: Denver 21, New England 10.