Nobody.
You can legitimately claim they caught some breaks along the way - like the tuck rule, or Drew Bledsoe's ankle injury which forced the team to play Tom Brady and ride him all the way to their first of three Lombardi trophies.
You can also cite the spygate scandal, and wonder how much of their success came from Bill Belicheat's subtle skunkworks operation before it was busted.
(Note: They haven't won a Lombardi since Roger Goodell shut it down. Just sayin'...)
This is a team that lost Brady in Week 1 to a knee injury two years ago, and still went 11-5 and still missed the playoffs. They then traded Cassell for a 2nd round draft pick, re-inserted Brady the next year, and didn't miss a beat when it comes to winning.
This is a franchise that acquires toxic WR Randy Moss, molds him into a model citizen, gets crazy production from him, then trades him suddenly for a HIGHER draft pick than they used to get him.
All of that said, the point to be learned from Sunday's disastrous crash-and-burn from a dominant 14-2 season is this: dominance in the NFL, is just as fragile as every other team's struggling.
To get an edge, to keep an edge, and to actually WIN a championship, takes MANY seasons of excellence. It is like animals that lay thousands of eggs in hopes that just a few spawn.
You can't just hope to have a great season ONE year, and then "win it all." Too many bad things can happen. The margins are too thin.
Here, look at the Patriots wikipedia snapshot of their last decade. Some sick, sick numbers!
Yet notice too, how close it all came to being for naught!
Three Super Bowl victories, but by only 3 points each. Some close playoff calls along the way, the crushing collapse against the Colts on the road in 2006.
And now, this inexplicable pants fart of an effort against a Jet team that they crushed just a few weeks ago.
Is the Patriots "dynasty" over, people are wondering? I doubt it. In fact, I'll put them down for 10 wins next year as a "base". However their chances of winning another Super Bowl, are just fickle and uncertain as any of the 12 teams who make the playoffs every year.
To get an edge, to keep an edge, and to actually WIN a championship, takes MANY seasons of excellence. It is like animals that lay thousands of eggs in hopes that just a few spawn.
ReplyDeleteYou can't just hope to have a great season ONE year, and then "win it all." Too many bad things can happen. The margins are too thin.
Not sure whether this was your intent, but the analysis, combined with the Patriots' statistical recap, does not paint a pretty picture for the Redskins and the fans of the 'maroon and black'. Sure, a team could stumble into the Super Bowl and win a championship, but that is hardly sustainable or a model that you want to intentionally pursue.
You correctly point out that the Patriots develop talent and leverage the NFL draft to replenish their roster, similar to what the Steelers and other consistently good teams do year in and year out. Unfortunately, getting to this point does not happen overnight which leaves Redskins' fans to wonder when/if this will be part of our future.
Huge Pats fan and probably not the most objective, but if you wanna play the just sayin’ game re Spygate, you also have to play it with the Broncos playoff loss in ’05 (hose-job PI call) and they actually MADE that much-maligned first down last year against the Colts on 4th Down. (I talked to a Colts fan @ the Skins tailgate this year, who admitted it.)
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, what the Pats are missing now is the hunger and underdog mentality they had when they started their run — you can say they won by 3 all you want, but they were 14-pt Dogs against the Rams in ’02.
The other thing is the strong defensive leadership that championship teams really need, from guys like Bruschi (who should be a Hall of Famer IMO) and Vrabel, et. al. They’ve got a good D crew in tow now but need a player or two to really step up as vets and make sure they clamp down. Of all the dreadful mistakes Sunday, the worst to see were missed tackles and freakin’ Braylon Edwards dragging not one but two defenders across the line; this would have NEVER happened under Tedy’s watch.
- Stike
Your defense of the Patriots is pretty much dead-on and exactly why it's tough to criticize QBs like Dan Marino, Warren Moon, and Jim Kelly for not winning a title or QBs like Manning and Favre who 'only won 1'. Winning a Super Bowl takes more than just one person's effort or a talented team- there's quite a bit of luck involved as well. To win a title shows that you were both good and fortunate. Winning multiples is damn impressive. I don't think the hoodie is less of a coach or Brady is less of a QB because they've lost their last 3 playoff games- in fact, it's just the opposite- they are among the best in their profession, and their recent skid only goes to show just how tough it really is to win the big one in the NFL.
ReplyDelete"Drew Bledsoe's ankle injury"? Didn't Bledsoe bleed into his chest after being leveled by a Jets linebacker? What crazy revionist history are you pulling?
ReplyDeleteHey Stikedc . . . . I'm the Colts fan you were talking to and I was just fuckin with you because I was afraid you were about to cry!
ReplyDeleteOh that's funny Beezer! You're gf gave me her #, btw.
ReplyDeletePatriots have 3 of the top 33 picks this year. They are playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers. (The Skins are playing tic-tac-toe and DS keeps saying "we'll be the 'O's")
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