What I recall about 2003 was how injured we were by week 4. I vividly remember thinking that if we could just go .500 until week 10 or 12, then we could get our guys back healthy again and make a late push. Of course, instead we didn't lose again for over a year. Being a Pats fan is fun.They were actually 4-0 against league MVP's if you count regular and post-season.
I loved that 2003 team. That was when they were at peak defense. That was also when the AFC was at its peak level of dominance over the NFC, and the Patriots were Alpha- Dominator. The Patriots played a brutal schedule yet still went 14-2. They pitched 3 shut-outs at home that year.
Other highlights in no particular order were:
Sweeping the the Dolphins in two memorable games. The 1st in week 7 in Miami on that bomb to Troy Brown in OT (that place was, and still is to some extent a house of horrors for New England), and the 2nd was a shut-out during a blizzard at Gillette that caused this iconic snow celebration.
They also clinched the division.
In week 14.
Which is crazy.
The Dolphins were really good that year at 10-6 yet didn't qualify for the playoffs. Like I said above, the AFC was really friggin' good in 2003.
Beating those God Damn Broncos in Mile High. The game with the intentional safety. The defense needed a 3 and out after that, and back in aught 3, you just knew that they were going to get it, and they got it. They took the lead when Brady threw a gorgeous 18 yard TD pass to David Givens with 30 seconds to go. Either Givens was going to catch it or no-one was, the ball was placed perfectly. Deltha O'Neal never had a chance.
David Givens was not a fast man by NFL standards, but he caught EVERYTHING that season. His hands were football magnets.
Sweeping the Jets, including a 5 interception effort on the road in the Meadowlands. The biggest moment of that game happened on the sidelines of course...
38-34 vs. the Colts in Indy. Even though they gave up 34, we were in the beginning stages of the "Belichick is in Manning's head" era. This game is likely best remembered for Willie McGinest doing his best Al Czervik impersonation to buy the defense some time as the Colts were gashing the exhausted Patriots on a drive late in the 4th.
But after a miraculous recovery, made the final play on a tungsten-carbide strong goal line stand that finished the game.
38-30 over Tennessee at Gillette. This was big, because it was coming off of their loss to the Redskins(!!?!) in week 4. Of course they wouldn't lose again until they faced Pittsburgh in late October 2004, but this was a .500 team heading into this game with many question marks, and injuries piling up. Ty Law took a 65 yard interception to the shack late in the 4th giving them a lead they wouldn't give up.
Ty Law was without question the best cornerback in the league that season. The Law, as written in 2003, stated that half of the field was off limits to opposing passing games that season (OK, that was cheesy).
AFC Divisional Round, the Antarctic playoff match-up with Tennessee. Adam Vinatieri just barely cleared the crossbar on what would have been just about any other kicker's most memorable career field goal, but this was like 3rd or 4th best for him. It was an 11 below wind chill and that football must have felt like kicking an oblong shot-put. He put it through from 46 yards.
AFCCG The owning of Manning. They had his giant-ass head confused as hell all game long. It was so wonderful to watch him whine, gesticulate, and completely fall apart.
This was especially impressive considering he was riding into Foxboro with a nearly perfect post-season QB passer rating. The Colts were on such an offensive roll that they in fact didn't even have to attempt a punt while strafing the Broncos and then the Chiefs the two weeks prior.
Superbowl XXXVIII, we know how that one turned out.
So, two things.
1. I obviously have a little bit of time on my hands at work.
2. The 2003 team dragged nearly all of their opponents into their chamber of torture of great defense and timely plays. God I loved that version of the Patriots.
That 2003 team was one of my all time favorites. And, yes, the string of injuries they had at the start of the season was brutal. They lost their high-profile free agent signing, Rosevelt Colvin, to a season ending hip injury 2nd game of the season. Before you knew it, they had guys like Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Asante Samuel, and Dan Koppen playing major roles, all rookies from a draft that Borges once again badly panned.
If he doesn't make that kick, Tennessee gets great field position and has a good chance to tie or take the lead.
In my memory I tend to conflate that kick with some of the Vinatieri's other kicks and tend to forget how much time there was left. Tennessee actually took the kickoff and marched right down the field to the Patriots 33 in 4 four plays -- right on the verge of field goal range. But Tennessee took two big penalties back to back -- grounding and holding -- and that effectively ended the game. I don't remember who got the pressure. Willie had two huge sacks to help stall Tennessee drives late in the game so I wouldn't be surprised if it was Willie.
I didn't actually get to see that game live. Before that game was scheduled for Saturday night, I had promised my wife that we'd have dinner and see a movie to celebrate a significant work accomplishment she had achieved. She offered to let me out of it, but it was one of those moments where you realize that maybe someone is saying something but not really meaning it. I wonder if I would do the same today.
Anyway, I have a clear memory of turning on the car radio to ESPN radio after the movie and having to wait until the update, which they did every 20 minutes, rolled around. I think the game had been 7-7 when the movie started. I think it took about 5 minutes to get the result. We sat in the parking lot, because I didn't want to be driving when I heard the result. I remember being surprised that there were only 31 points scored, given that both teams had scored so quick to start the game. Anyway, different times for sure. I remember when watching the game after on tape or tivo, after I knew the result, being surprised that it really ended up 17-14. That was a bizarre thing -- watching and wondering, when you know the result, how on earth is it going to end up that way.
Edit: Now my mind is playing tricks on me. I think maybe I might be confusing things and that the game actually was late in the fourth quarter. Ah, who cares. The Patriots won it.
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Good article, but this:
Look, picking Eagles to win, fine, sure. But to be "sure" they're going to win? Come on dude.
I’m thinking either Kundun, or Empire Strikes Back training scene.
Safe journey, and safe return...we’re on to Minnneapolis.
There is no try, only do or do not...your job.
(Edit: how is this not a T-shirt I can buy?)
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More really good work by
Sally Jenkins, this time on Bill Belichick --
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/31/bill-belichick-what-works-new-england-patriots/
Sally Jenkins, this time on Bill Belichick --
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/01/31/bill-belichick-what-works-new-england-patriots/
DeShaun Watson saying the highlight of his year was going "toe to toe with Tom Brady"
Around 0:55
"And that last drive I think it was a two minute drive at the end of the game, I'm sitting there with Tom Savage and I'm like 'Yo, have you ever been in a situation where you've seen it on TV and you never thought it was going to happen to you, but you feel like it's about to happen to you?' "
Around 0:55
"And that last drive I think it was a two minute drive at the end of the game, I'm sitting there with Tom Savage and I'm like 'Yo, have you ever been in a situation where you've seen it on TV and you never thought it was going to happen to you, but you feel like it's about to happen to you?' "
Well, going toe to toe with TB12 is quite a feat, but man, talk like that would get him benched if he played for Bill Belichick.
That's odd, because I just checked Pro Football Reference and there was never a season in Cleveland with BB where the Browns were 2-7 at any point.
Great article, but I think it goes beyond Bill being a tough and detail oriented coach. I think a lot of football programs (at all levels) actively hurt themselves because there's such a strong mindset in promoting strength and explosiveness. I remember my old strength books, such as the one by Dr. Squat (first guy to squat over 1000 pounds), arguing against having football players run "to make a man out of them." They felt it was just making them slow and weak, and that view has become mainstream. I went to a very affluent high school and at the time their gym was filled with a hodgepodge of nautilus and free weights, but the squat machines were an afterthought and there wasn't even a power rack, let alone a place to do a power clean. I revisited the school recently and and the center of the weight room features a dozen beautiful Olympic lifting platforms with bumper plates. And on the wall is all the current lifting dogma warning players not to do sets of more than 3 reps.
Yes, it's a high school so they're behind the times, but I think conversely Belichick is ahead of the times. If you're going to do 60+ seven second sprints then you can't train like a powerlifter.
This is going to bust one well entrenched narrative about one speaker in particular
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/02/03/many-hall-of-fame-players-call-tom-brady-the-best-ever/
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/02/03/many-hall-of-fame-players-call-tom-brady-the-best-ever/
He said this after the Superbowl last year.
Two days ago, he was calling the Patriots cheaters, unlike other successful teams throughout history. Shannon Sharpe played on the 1996-1998 Broncos, the biggest cheaters in modern team sports history. Imagine a team nowadays getting an extra 42 million over the cap.
When he did the thing about Brady doing ‘my greatness has to do with this [points at head] and this [points below bottom of screen]...’ I assumed he was pointing at his crotch.
I feel like even if TB12 doesn’t have the most impressive dick at the combine, he surely must use it really really well.
Beautiful piece by Ron Borges on Scar:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/ron_borges/2018/02/borges_dante_scarnecchia_still_passionate_about_teaching
There is hope he will be back.
Life imitating art. Scar during the week of practice before Jax, during which Borges said he exploded:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/ron_borges/2018/02/borges_dante_scarnecchia_still_passionate_about_teaching
There is hope he will be back.
Life imitating art. Scar during the week of practice before Jax, during which Borges said he exploded:
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He can’t wear a conference championship ring. LOL, he kind of calls it a “participation ring”. If he sent me one, I’d wear it.
I was thinking this morning, when Tom Brady was a rookie, less than 50% of households had the internet, and even less than that had cell phones (camera's in cell phones wouldn't happen until like 3 years later). That's how long this Dynasty has reigned.
When I worked in MiLB, Shag Crawford was the pitching coach. He wore his 1986 AL Champs ring a lot.
It kind of pissed me off.
Good, and I kind of have a cutoff with movies: old is pre-cell phones. If there is scene where someone has to get to a phone away from home, and they look for phone booth, so that’s old. We go back that far.
They’ll be back. They’ll lose talent on the field this offseason and suffer brain drain in the coaching staff. But this incredible run did not end last night.
Whether or not Josh is back, he did a helluva job. No Gronk vs Jax and no Cooks last night. Hats off.
I mentioned this last night, but Tom Brady’s career stats in the Super Bowl (attempts, completions, yardage and TDs) have to be on a short list of modern records that will never be broken. In each category his career totals are more than the #2 and #3 guy on the list combined. He now has the #1 and #2 yardage games in SB history.
Doesn’t make me feel any better about last night, but it’s another testament to how amazing this run has been.
Doesn’t make me feel any better about last night, but it’s another testament to how amazing this run has been.
Some people were worried about Tom Brady heading into the playoffs, after ending the season with a few subpar games in a row. I openly worried in this forum about him in the AFCCG. But look at his numbers during the playoffs:
Opp (Defensive ranks): Stats
vs Ten (#17 pts, #13 yds): 35-53, 337 yds, 3 td, 0 int
vs Jax (#2 pts, #2 yds): 26-38, 290 yds, 2 td, 0 int
vs Phi (#4 pts, #4 yds): 28-48, 505 yds, 3 td, 0 int
TOT: 89-139 (64.0%), 1,132 yds (8.1 ypa), 8 td, 0 int
I mean, the dude is 40 years old and he just absolutely SHREDDED three playoff defenses.
Opp (Defensive ranks): Stats
vs Ten (#17 pts, #13 yds): 35-53, 337 yds, 3 td, 0 int
vs Jax (#2 pts, #2 yds): 26-38, 290 yds, 2 td, 0 int
vs Phi (#4 pts, #4 yds): 28-48, 505 yds, 3 td, 0 int
TOT: 89-139 (64.0%), 1,132 yds (8.1 ypa), 8 td, 0 int
I mean, the dude is 40 years old and he just absolutely SHREDDED three playoff defenses.
Tom Brady is so great, it's getting beyond comprehension. Can't wait to watch him destroy the league with Edelman back for next season.
That's all I have.
That's all I have.
Seriously, this is why I think I did not take the loss too hard.
At this point, I am all about protecting the legacies, and this game just enhanced his. He was insane and probably would have won the game if not for one lucky swipe.
Brady
Edelman
Gronk
Cooks
Amendola
Put a slightly improved defense on the field to allow those weapons to work.
Edelman
Gronk
Cooks
Amendola
Put a slightly improved defense on the field to allow those weapons to work.
I'm REALLY excited to see an offense with Lewis, Edelman, Gronk, Cooks all healthy at the same time. They are going to score a fuckload of points if they get 12-14 games out of each of those four.
Defense was historically bad in the Super Bowl, and they still almost won.
Hope for fully revamped defense to allow renewed domination in 2018.
Hope for fully revamped defense to allow renewed domination in 2018.
Yeah, it is hard not to be pretty optimistic about next year too. As I said at the end of the game, "well, I wonder who we get in the AFCCG next year." Maybe a little over confident, but I like the Pats chances.
As much as a gut punch/crash landing it is... for me, as a fan, it’s a little bit cleansing. All the conspiracy theories, all the b.s., the obsession with the relationships, the coach, the QB... I’m frankly glad it’s over. Of course, some of that’ll come back to a degree next season, but it won’t be so “31 teams versus the Patriots.” At least until #6 is hoisted in 363 days.
It is a bit cleansing. The animosity is just over the top. Hopefully we have reached the peak of the anti-Patriots rage.
It would be great if my 11 year old could be a fan of a great team, not a team that cheats.
We took a hit as far as being head and shoulders above everyone else in the league. Especially from a coaching standpoint, that took a huge hit last night.
But Tom's legacy really grew. Everyone thought he would go win the game despite everything because the 2nd half was perfect football on offense until the sack. Undisputed GOAT at this point. That is something to celebrate, no matter what the final total of rings is at this point.
But Tom's legacy really grew. Everyone thought he would go win the game despite everything because the 2nd half was perfect football on offense until the sack. Undisputed GOAT at this point. That is something to celebrate, no matter what the final total of rings is at this point.
Being in a Philly section, the fear of Brady in the 4th quarter was palpable. And if not for the strip sack, he probably gets it done with the way he had been going.
It's a shame the D sucked so badly, the Pats ended up losing, and there's a Malcolm Butler controversy -- because it takes the spotlight away from what TB and the offense did. Over 600 yards against a highly rated defense, moving up and down the field almost at will, and without Cooks and Edelman. That performance was magnificent -- one of the best we've ever seen.
No, they weren't perfect, but they were pretty damn close. If Josh McD does walk away, he can do so with head held high. That was a virtuoso performance by his offense.
No, they weren't perfect, but they were pretty damn close. If Josh McD does walk away, he can do so with head held high. That was a virtuoso performance by his offense.
Being able to tell people in Eagles gear "congrats on the first, it's the sweetest one" takes a little bit out of the sting out.
I'm with you, though I do wonder (echoing SN's thoughts n another thread) how much we can improve on D in the offseason. It is amazing when you can almost write a trip to the AFC CG in ink for this team next year.