The Hoodie
Let's make it 5!
We've experienced one of the most difficult losses this season, but, rightfully so, we forget what we came from this season.
It's difficult to do it at this time, because honestly i'm depressed just like the rest of you, but we've got toput the year into perspective and remember what we overcame.
Before the fire:
Many of you were predicting a 9-7, 10-6, 11-5 or even, dare I say, 12-4 team this year. I wasn't an active member of this forum so my predictions weren't documented, but I put this team around 11-5. People were dissappointed with the drafting of Devin McCourty, a CB from Rutgers University, because we all thought we could have used that pick to get an explosive OLB (such as Sergio Kindle). I personally felt we needed the most depth at WR, and could have made it worthwhile to draft a Golden Tate or Demaryius Thomas. Dez Bryant was available at our original pick but I didn't think he'd workout here. Then, hopes started getting up as we traded up to steal Rob Gronkowski from the Ravens, who had missed time because of back problems. The general thought would be that we'd end up with one of the dynamic TEs, Gronk or Hernandez. The fact that we were able to pick up both was icing on the cake. We also picked up Cunningham, Taylor Price, and Brandon Spikes, among others. We had a pretty solid draft.
After the draft I believe it was, we made some moves to our offense. We still didn't get rid of Maroney, but we added the hall of fame WR Torry Holt to the mix. The core of Holt, Welker, Moss and Edelman along with the two TEs looked fantastic on paper and I thought we had the best offense to date. Despite Holt was placed on IR and then released, we were looking at a good offense.
We entered a solid pre season despite a very dysmal victory over the Rams that had people questioning our credibility. Sergio Kindle, the man who most Patriot fans fell in love with, ended up missing his rookie year due to a freak accident at home. We had dodged a major bullet in that department and would rely on Cunningham to step up out of the rookies. We also brought on Gerrard Warren from the Browns. Going into our inital game vs Cincinatti, we looked solid but the defense was still a question that no one had an answer to. We lost our starting CB Leigh Bodden for the year and had to rely on Butler, which didn't seem too bad at the time. We needed answers, quick.
The fire:
The very first play against the dynamic Bengals, who had just signed Terrell Owens and released Antonio Bryant, was a pass to Owens that was broken up by rookie Devin McCourty. That play alone would be a symbol for this defense. It ended up symbolizing what this defense would become. The Patriots went to win that game, looking forward to the following game against the NYJ.
Darius Butler was entering a season of high expectations. He showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie year and many were only expecting improvement. That quickly changed during the week 2 performance against the Jets, in which he was beat by Braylon Edwards on nearly every play. The defensive play drew as much fire as the offensive play, in which star Jets CB Derelle Revis went down with an injury near the end of the 1st half. The offense would proceed to perform at their ultimate worst, which saw Brady force passes to Randy Moss, playing for his contract. That didn't end well. Oh yeah, Kevin Faulk went down that week too, but luckily we already signed Danny Woodhead from the Jets, presumably for some insight.
The point of that is was that the defense looked like they'd never change. They even looked like they'd be worse than last years, after watching Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bills come within a TD of beating them. Confidence had been drained, but not fully lost. They were stellar in the defeat of the Dolphins and finally showed potential.
I'm not about to give a full, detailed history on the season (though it looks that way), but the trade of Randy Moss is one of the most important things to happen to this team. It took a load off the offense and Tom Brady, who no longer had to deal with the burden of passing to him during a game where he was shut down. We would also see the departure of the dynamic, gunslinger-like offense of 07, marked by deep bombs to Moss, and if not available, short outs to Welker. The offense was predictable and often one sided. Before we knew it, we would finally get an offense based on developing the young talent. Randy Moss was a poor influence around an offense with lots of young, developing superstars. Also, we saw the return of Deion Branch in a trade with Seattle. Branch's career was essentially dead in Seattle and wasn't nearly as good as he was when he was a Patriot.
The offense changed, the defense changed. Before we knew it, we had turnovers by the defense. Devin McCourty, a rookie only expected to make contributions on ST, made his presence known with his performance. However, on the way to the top, there are some patches in the ground.
Turning Point:
I chose the Cleveland Browns game as a major turning point. At this point, this team looked much better than expected. We finally got the return of the offense we once knew prior to Moss' arrival, and we looked unstoppable on that side of the ball. We marched into Cleveland with that sense of confidence--we weren't about to let a team such as Cleveland, one that had been losing for some time now, to defeat us. The fact that Eric Mangini was their coach only gave us more reason to destroy them.
We all remember how it went. They destroyed us. This is the turning point of the season because, believe it or not, I think this is the best thing that happened to us this season. The loss made us humble, brought us down to earth, and made us human again. The team would be at full force after the loss. We were wiser, stronger, and better. We didn't lose a game for the rest of the season.
The defense developed a clutch identity, saving key games such as the Baltimore OT win, and the Manning INT. The defense was living up to it's bend but don't break personality. They were 1st in the AFC in turnovers. Brady wasn't throwing picks. All was going great.
And in the end..:
A 14-2 end to the season was far better than I expected in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year with all this young talent. I thought, if this was a rebuilding year, then next year should be phenomenal. Devin McCourty surprised everyone the most, leading rookies in picks. Kyle Arrington, the replacement for the disappointment that is Darius Butler, proved to be a solid one, and even got his own pick for 6 against GB. The defense developed an identity similar to that of the Saints of last year--creating turnovers when it mattered. The defense had the power to shift momentum and even control the game...especially during games that the offense did nothing in. They were able to bail out the offense, and usually wasn't the other way around.
Tom Brady had one of his best years. He only threw 4 INTs, and went for over 300 passes without throwing one. He was a lock-in for MVP and was at the top of his game. The weapons of offense, apart from Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate, were producing and giving people more reasons to be positive about the team. We were all surprised with how well we turned out. With the bye week in the playoffs and the best record in the league, I'm sure we were satisfied with how far we've gotten, but anything short of an SB appearance would have been a disappointment.
We were elated when we found out we were facing NYJ in the first round in the playoffs since we already beat them pretty badly weeks prior. Many of you even went as far as predict another blow out. The week was headlined by trash talk, threats, and foot references. Many thought they didn't have a chance. Many thought the Jets would be ousted quickly. Many were wrong.
It was the worst offensive game for the Patriots in a very long while. Brady threw an INT, among other mistakes. We were eliminated at our first showing for the second year in a row. This time, it was against a team that we were clearly better than.
The future:
Lets look to the future, which seems difficult. Beyond all the new found support of the GB Packers, the Patriots have a variety of draft picks, including 2 in the early rounds. There is much room for improvement.
We still need that dynamic pass rusher. It goes without saying that Kyle Arrington, and especially Devin McCourty will be much better going into their 2nd year as starters. Leigh Bodden's coming back, too. Some people even think we have a chance at signing that dude with the long name from the Raiders.
The point is, there is room for improvement. There is time to make our team bigger, stronger, and better. There's time to delete the neagtives and add the positives. We couldn't bring us to the big dance this year, but no one expected us to go this far. It's difficult to be positive after what we've seen, but it can be done.
Putting into perspective:
It was an interesting season not only with the team, but within the NFL. At one point, the KC Chiefs and the TB Bucs were the hot teams around the league. Peyton Manning threw double digit interceptions in 3 games combined. Jay Cutler was sacked over 50 times and still made it in the playoffs. The Seahawks made it into the playoffs after we watched the Niners let us down. It's been an interesting season, and one of the best. There were no 'elite' teams as we've seen before. Every team was human.
I'm glad we got as far as we did, but not glad we lost so quickly for the 2nd year in a row. Maybe we don't have 'it' anymore? I don't know. We'll see in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading. Bear with me, because I'll bear with you.
It's difficult to do it at this time, because honestly i'm depressed just like the rest of you, but we've got toput the year into perspective and remember what we overcame.
Before the fire:
Many of you were predicting a 9-7, 10-6, 11-5 or even, dare I say, 12-4 team this year. I wasn't an active member of this forum so my predictions weren't documented, but I put this team around 11-5. People were dissappointed with the drafting of Devin McCourty, a CB from Rutgers University, because we all thought we could have used that pick to get an explosive OLB (such as Sergio Kindle). I personally felt we needed the most depth at WR, and could have made it worthwhile to draft a Golden Tate or Demaryius Thomas. Dez Bryant was available at our original pick but I didn't think he'd workout here. Then, hopes started getting up as we traded up to steal Rob Gronkowski from the Ravens, who had missed time because of back problems. The general thought would be that we'd end up with one of the dynamic TEs, Gronk or Hernandez. The fact that we were able to pick up both was icing on the cake. We also picked up Cunningham, Taylor Price, and Brandon Spikes, among others. We had a pretty solid draft.
After the draft I believe it was, we made some moves to our offense. We still didn't get rid of Maroney, but we added the hall of fame WR Torry Holt to the mix. The core of Holt, Welker, Moss and Edelman along with the two TEs looked fantastic on paper and I thought we had the best offense to date. Despite Holt was placed on IR and then released, we were looking at a good offense.
We entered a solid pre season despite a very dysmal victory over the Rams that had people questioning our credibility. Sergio Kindle, the man who most Patriot fans fell in love with, ended up missing his rookie year due to a freak accident at home. We had dodged a major bullet in that department and would rely on Cunningham to step up out of the rookies. We also brought on Gerrard Warren from the Browns. Going into our inital game vs Cincinatti, we looked solid but the defense was still a question that no one had an answer to. We lost our starting CB Leigh Bodden for the year and had to rely on Butler, which didn't seem too bad at the time. We needed answers, quick.
The fire:
The very first play against the dynamic Bengals, who had just signed Terrell Owens and released Antonio Bryant, was a pass to Owens that was broken up by rookie Devin McCourty. That play alone would be a symbol for this defense. It ended up symbolizing what this defense would become. The Patriots went to win that game, looking forward to the following game against the NYJ.
Darius Butler was entering a season of high expectations. He showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie year and many were only expecting improvement. That quickly changed during the week 2 performance against the Jets, in which he was beat by Braylon Edwards on nearly every play. The defensive play drew as much fire as the offensive play, in which star Jets CB Derelle Revis went down with an injury near the end of the 1st half. The offense would proceed to perform at their ultimate worst, which saw Brady force passes to Randy Moss, playing for his contract. That didn't end well. Oh yeah, Kevin Faulk went down that week too, but luckily we already signed Danny Woodhead from the Jets, presumably for some insight.
The point of that is was that the defense looked like they'd never change. They even looked like they'd be worse than last years, after watching Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Bills come within a TD of beating them. Confidence had been drained, but not fully lost. They were stellar in the defeat of the Dolphins and finally showed potential.
I'm not about to give a full, detailed history on the season (though it looks that way), but the trade of Randy Moss is one of the most important things to happen to this team. It took a load off the offense and Tom Brady, who no longer had to deal with the burden of passing to him during a game where he was shut down. We would also see the departure of the dynamic, gunslinger-like offense of 07, marked by deep bombs to Moss, and if not available, short outs to Welker. The offense was predictable and often one sided. Before we knew it, we would finally get an offense based on developing the young talent. Randy Moss was a poor influence around an offense with lots of young, developing superstars. Also, we saw the return of Deion Branch in a trade with Seattle. Branch's career was essentially dead in Seattle and wasn't nearly as good as he was when he was a Patriot.
The offense changed, the defense changed. Before we knew it, we had turnovers by the defense. Devin McCourty, a rookie only expected to make contributions on ST, made his presence known with his performance. However, on the way to the top, there are some patches in the ground.
Turning Point:
I chose the Cleveland Browns game as a major turning point. At this point, this team looked much better than expected. We finally got the return of the offense we once knew prior to Moss' arrival, and we looked unstoppable on that side of the ball. We marched into Cleveland with that sense of confidence--we weren't about to let a team such as Cleveland, one that had been losing for some time now, to defeat us. The fact that Eric Mangini was their coach only gave us more reason to destroy them.
We all remember how it went. They destroyed us. This is the turning point of the season because, believe it or not, I think this is the best thing that happened to us this season. The loss made us humble, brought us down to earth, and made us human again. The team would be at full force after the loss. We were wiser, stronger, and better. We didn't lose a game for the rest of the season.
The defense developed a clutch identity, saving key games such as the Baltimore OT win, and the Manning INT. The defense was living up to it's bend but don't break personality. They were 1st in the AFC in turnovers. Brady wasn't throwing picks. All was going great.
And in the end..:
A 14-2 end to the season was far better than I expected in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year with all this young talent. I thought, if this was a rebuilding year, then next year should be phenomenal. Devin McCourty surprised everyone the most, leading rookies in picks. Kyle Arrington, the replacement for the disappointment that is Darius Butler, proved to be a solid one, and even got his own pick for 6 against GB. The defense developed an identity similar to that of the Saints of last year--creating turnovers when it mattered. The defense had the power to shift momentum and even control the game...especially during games that the offense did nothing in. They were able to bail out the offense, and usually wasn't the other way around.
Tom Brady had one of his best years. He only threw 4 INTs, and went for over 300 passes without throwing one. He was a lock-in for MVP and was at the top of his game. The weapons of offense, apart from Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate, were producing and giving people more reasons to be positive about the team. We were all surprised with how well we turned out. With the bye week in the playoffs and the best record in the league, I'm sure we were satisfied with how far we've gotten, but anything short of an SB appearance would have been a disappointment.
We were elated when we found out we were facing NYJ in the first round in the playoffs since we already beat them pretty badly weeks prior. Many of you even went as far as predict another blow out. The week was headlined by trash talk, threats, and foot references. Many thought they didn't have a chance. Many thought the Jets would be ousted quickly. Many were wrong.
It was the worst offensive game for the Patriots in a very long while. Brady threw an INT, among other mistakes. We were eliminated at our first showing for the second year in a row. This time, it was against a team that we were clearly better than.
The future:
Lets look to the future, which seems difficult. Beyond all the new found support of the GB Packers, the Patriots have a variety of draft picks, including 2 in the early rounds. There is much room for improvement.
We still need that dynamic pass rusher. It goes without saying that Kyle Arrington, and especially Devin McCourty will be much better going into their 2nd year as starters. Leigh Bodden's coming back, too. Some people even think we have a chance at signing that dude with the long name from the Raiders.
The point is, there is room for improvement. There is time to make our team bigger, stronger, and better. There's time to delete the neagtives and add the positives. We couldn't bring us to the big dance this year, but no one expected us to go this far. It's difficult to be positive after what we've seen, but it can be done.
Putting into perspective:
It was an interesting season not only with the team, but within the NFL. At one point, the KC Chiefs and the TB Bucs were the hot teams around the league. Peyton Manning threw double digit interceptions in 3 games combined. Jay Cutler was sacked over 50 times and still made it in the playoffs. The Seahawks made it into the playoffs after we watched the Niners let us down. It's been an interesting season, and one of the best. There were no 'elite' teams as we've seen before. Every team was human.
I'm glad we got as far as we did, but not glad we lost so quickly for the 2nd year in a row. Maybe we don't have 'it' anymore? I don't know. We'll see in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading. Bear with me, because I'll bear with you.
