It's probably been posted, but it finally feels like we got our version of the team that got hot at the right time, like a bunch of other title teams in (somewhat) recent years - the Giants in 2011, Ravens in 2012, etc. And it's awesome.
That's my brother in law. OL coach with the Bengals for 20+ years. Fired by the Cowboys this past season after the bye week. Small world.Don't know if this has been posted yet but here's a nice break down of formations and adjustments during the game.
Kind of like the Red Sox this year.. just seemed like a buzz saw from minute one of the playoffs. Obviously some issues in the second half of the KC game, but for the most part the Defense was immense. This is the year as well that the teams we faced had a major player out or two on each team... Gordon wasn't 100%, Hunt with the suspension totally changed KC (even with Williams, Ware was also hurt), and Gurley and Kupp for the Rams.It's probably been posted, but it finally feels like we got our version of the team that got hot at the right time, like a bunch of other title teams in (somewhat) recent years - the Giants in 2011, Ravens in 2012, etc. And it's awesome.
Actually not like the Red Sox at all, right? The Red Sox were a machine all the way through the season. Best record and rolled to a World Series win. How many of us felt great about the pats chances? After Miami and Pitt? Not me. My expectations were an all time low. Hopeful but not confident at all. They waited until the playoffs to play their best ball.Kind of like the Red Sox this year.. just seemed like a buzz saw from minute one of the playoffs. Obviously some issues in the second half of the KC game, but for the most part the Defense was immense. This is the year as well that the teams we faced had a major player out or two on each team... Gordon wasn't 100%, Hunt with the suspension totally changed KC (even with Williams, Ware was also hurt), and Gurley and Kupp for the Rams.
Yep. We've basically had everything:It's probably been posted, but it finally feels like we got our version of the team that got hot at the right time, like a bunch of other title teams in (somewhat) recent years - the Giants in 2011, Ravens in 2012, etc. And it's awesome.
You could hear during the scrum at the end that they seemed to be asking both Edelman and Brady to 'do the commercial'.. so who knows when that was arranged.I would love to know the backstory to how this was arranged. I assume Disney has talks beforehand with all likely MVP candidates, but I wonder at what point they got a two-for-one?
Didn't mean to say the seasons were the same.. just that they were both buzz saws in the post season. Given all of the stressful post seasons we've had over the past two decades..the runs of these two teams were fairly stress free (other than KC overtime).Actually not like the Red Sox at all, right? The Red Sox were a machine all the way through the season. Best record and rolled to a World Series win. How many of us felt great about the pats chances? After Miami and Pitt? Not me. My expectations were an all time low. Hopeful but not confident at all. They waited until the playoffs to play their best ball.
I can't go there on "stress free". I was a nervous wreck until there was about 30 seconds left last night. And of course the 2nd half of KC was excrutiating.Didn't mean to say the seasons were the same.. just that they were both buzz saws in the post season. Given all of the stressful post seasons we've had over the past two decades..the runs of these two teams were fairly stress free (other than KC overtime).
+1 on this.I can't go there on "stress free". I was a nervous wreck until there was about 30 seconds left last night. And of course the 2nd half of KC was excrutiating.
Yes. More like the 2013 Red Sox, who looked like a completely different team heading into the playoffs.Actually not like the Red Sox at all, right? The Red Sox were a machine all the way through the season. Best record and rolled to a World Series win. How many of us felt great about the pats chances? After Miami and Pitt? Not me. My expectations were an all time low. Hopeful but not confident at all. They waited until the playoffs to play their best ball.
True.. ok. Relatively stress free? I admit I was really drunk during the KC second half..so somehow avoided that stress. Last night though it just never felt like the Rams were going to put a full drive together. I guess they could have lost on a fluke, but it felt like the Pats against Atlanta where they were moving the ball, more or less, but just couldn't score. Rams were better than Atlanta in both the secondary and rush D, but it still felt like the Pats were going to score. Last night I was in the beginnings of a cold though..so I probably was concentrating on that rather than being stressed out.I can't go there on "stress free". I was a nervous wreck until there was about 30 seconds left last night. And of course the 2nd half of KC was excrutiating.
Did you post this on Deadspin today? If not, there is some dude over there using your avatar!Saw this on Reddit: the Patriots were ranked 7th in DVOA at the end of the season. They beat the #1, #2, and #3 teams in the postseason en route to their 6th SB.
We also might remember this year's team as The Healthy Team that we so desperately pined for in 2012, 2013, 2015, etc. Not at the season's outset, of course, but they basically got healthier as the season went on, rather than the slow decimation that normally occurs.Yep. We've basically had everything:
- The upstart underdogs with the no-name kid at QB shock a dynasty in the making. (SB 36)
- Powerhouse teams that rolled through the season but had close Super Bowls. (SB 38, 39)
- Great teams that had to come back to win SBs. (SB 49, 51)
- Good team that played its best football at the end and got on a hot streak. (SB 53)
What we need is one season where we dominate during the regular season (14-2, 15-1, etc), and then just pulverize people throughout the playoffs and destroy an opponent in the Super Bowl.
Next year, please.
So true and so importantWe also might remember this year's team as The Healthy Team that we so desperately pined for in 2012, 2013, 2015, etc. Not at the season's outset, of course, but they basically got healthier as the season went on, rather than the slow decimation that normally occurs.
Yeah wow that’s crazy. My dad (fan since 73) was sitting there saying ‘we’re gonna blow this. We’re just not going to get it done..’+1 on this.
A couple co-workers were sending out emails this morning that "New England fans KNEW they were going to win"... my response was that any Pats fan who said they "knew" they were going to win before the last minute of the game was either a.) lying or 2.) insane.
Hoped? Of course. Thought they COULD win? Absolutely. KNEW? Bullshit.
Huh?Just wanted to bring something to everyone’s attention.
Bernard Pollard
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Pollard
Drafted in 06. Pats lose horrifically in the AFCCG.
Retires the year the Titans miss the playoffs in 2014. Pats win their first SB.
And we all know what has happened since.
We all know they would have lost that game.So the Patriots this season beat:
NFL MVP/Offensive POY - Mahommes X2
DPOY - Aaron Donald
DROY - Darius Leonard
Comeback POY- Luck
Coach of year - Matt Nagy (Bears)
Basically the only award winner they didn't beat was Saquon, of course they didn't play the NYG.
Really, if you sit down and think about it, that's beyond obnoxious. Ron Rivera winning twice since BB last won is comical. Him winning only 3 times over 18 years, when the Pats made 9 Super Bowls, means the award is utterly broken.Bill Belichick has only won coach of the year 3 times and only won it once in any of his 6 Super Bowl seasons (yes I am aware it is a regular season award). Somehow Ron Rivera has won it twice since the last time BB won it. I know these kinds of awards favor turnarounds so in that sense BB winning it three times when the Pats never have anything to turnaround is somewhat amazing in and of itself. But honestly the award should just be the Coach of the Year who isn’t Bill Belichick.
I got sucked in. Yeah that's me, the avatar gave it away.Did you post this on Deadspin today? If not, there is some dude over there using your avatar!
i think the question was more "Retires the year the Titans miss the playoffs in 2014. Pats win their first SB."Pollard was our kryptonite.
Nothing would be more fitting than naming it the BB Award.Really, if you sit down and think about it, that's beyond obnoxious. Ron Rivera winning twice since BB last won is comical. Him winning only 3 times over 18 years, when the Pats made 9 Super Bowls, means the award is utterly broken.
Since Atlanta, I've always assumed this ring was the last one for a long time and have savored every minute of it. Because one day the SB the Pats win will be the last one for a while.So anyone else feel little more subdued about this one? Maybe it's becoming (gasp) routine?.
Wingo agrees with you 10000%Some random points:
This Worst Super Bowl ever narrative can kiss my ass. It was a cliffhanger and chess match for all but the last few minutes, every play magnified, first downs made to feel like touchdowns, strong defensive execution and strategic adjustments by both teams. If you don't like the Pats, fine. Otherwise, go over to Inside the Pylon and learn more about the game. SB53 will gain a very attractive patina down the road. And opinions of it already serve as a good litmus test for football acumen.
As much as I hate to admit, Tony Romo did a decent job in general, particularly when decoding much the nuances. Still doesn't know when to STFU and was dead wrong a few times, but at least he mostly understands what's going on in the game. Imagine Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts stumbling through last night.
And I get the hate: We bend the rules and don't apologize. BB is a curmudgeon and TB too fake. Whatevs. But unless you believe the team is still actively operating outside of the rules, you really have to appreciate holding the NFC Champions and their #2 point scoring offense to a field goal (and no plays in the "Red Area"). Just because the defensive masterpiece was executed by people who's laundry you dislike, doesn't automatically make it any less of a masterpiece.
So anyone else feel little more subdued about this one? Maybe it's becoming (gasp) routine? Or maybe it hasn't sunk in because it kinda came out of nowhere in like 6 weeks? That Houston loss to Philly 2 days before Christmas all but locked up a critically important bye - an opportunity to heal and gameplan. I mean, a month an a half ago, this team was dead. What the hell just happened? Blinded by the Lombardis, indeed.
Their first SB since their last one.i think the question was more "Retires the year the Titans miss the playoffs in 2014. Pats win their first SB."
Pollard was our kryptonite.
i think the question was more "Retires the year the Titans miss the playoffs in 2014. Pats win their first SB."
Yeah I guess I get it now. Just oddly worded. And then followed up with ‘their first super bowl since their last one’...Their first SB since their last one.
When Pollard was in the NFL, the Pats never won a SB.
This is of course true. But hope remains that they'll do the right thing and name the award after him once he retires!Bill Belichick has only won coach of the year 3 times and only won it once in any of his 6 Super Bowl seasons (yes I am aware it is a regular season award). Somehow Ron Rivera has won it twice since the last time BB won it. I know these kinds of awards favor turnarounds so in that sense BB winning it three times when the Pats never have anything to turnaround is somewhat amazing in and of itself. But honestly the award should just be the Coach of the Year who isn’t Bill Belichick.
I have a feeling when he retires they'll name the damn thing after him. Either the AP award, the Sporting News award, or just some trophy the NFL creates for the occasion.Bill Belichick has only won coach of the year 3 times and only won it once in any of his 6 Super Bowl seasons (yes I am aware it is a regular season award). Somehow Ron Rivera has won it twice since the last time BB won it. I know these kinds of awards favor turnarounds so in that sense BB winning it three times when the Pats never have anything to turnaround is somewhat amazing in and of itself. But honestly the award should just be the Coach of the Year who isn’t Bill Belichick.
Because we didn't suffer enough having to watch it the first timeWhy the hell do they replay the halftime show on NFL Network????
The last two offensive drives are as good as it gets.I’ll admit, rewatching the first three quarters has been me pressing the fast forward button quite a lot, but the 4th Quarter is one of the most enjoyable experiences as a fan. The Gilmore pick, the TD drive, Ghost’s kick, the kneel down. Not the most exciting game, but that 4th quarter is pure Patriots porn.
Yep. And if the game had another quarter, the offense would have absolutely pummeled the Rams' defense. They had them figured out at that point. Obviously took a while, but they had them figured out.The last two offensive drives are as good as it gets.