2007 PATRIOT'S CLOSING THOUGHTS

I guess now is better than ever to discuss the 2007 NE Patriot season. First off, no matter what happened in Glendale, the 2007 NE Patriots will be remembered as one of the, if not the best, NFL team in history. People tend to forget one game does not decide a whole season. One bad game, take it the worst time for it to happen, will not alter my feelings. Disappointed? Yes. Shocked? Yes. Hurt?Yes. But the team won 3 of 4 Super Bowls in close games- the time was right to take one away in the last minute. The football gods were undoubtedly on the side of the Giants(Hello! Did you miss the Manning scramble and Tyree catch or the Asante Samuel interception drop just to name a few). Believe me, I'm not taking anything away from the Giants. They won the game. They won the line of scrimmage. They played their best game and the Pats their worst game.
I should know. I go to the practices, camps and watch every game- preseason, regular and playoffs. That performance was the worst I've seen in well over a year. The team broke every record possible in going 16-0. Yes, 16-0. Yeah, the Dolphins went 17-0, but they played only 2 winning teams. The Pats played an impossible stretch- beating the Steelers, Chargers, Browns, Giants, Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles. And then beat the Chargers again and the hot Jags in the playoffs. And they were on prime time nearly every week. That alters all aspects of the players and coaches. They even played 3 straight national television late night game with added pressure (Eagles, Bills and Ravens) They beat the real teams and surpassed the 17-0 1972 Dolphins. And why come nobody talks about the 21 game winning streak the Pats had a couple years back. 21-0 over 2 seasons. That blows away the 17-0 Dolphins and even the 18 straight winning 18-1 Pats!
I commend the Giants. They won. I'm not bad. Like I said, we played the worst game in years and still led in the final minute. If the teams played 10 times the Pats would win at least 7. No doubt about that. Maybe even 9 out of 10. But not on this night. The Giants were hungry while the Pats have been full since 2001. But the hunger will now come back for the Pats. This loss combined with all the cheater bashing will make the team hungrier. Watch out!
The team began the season with distractions: a road game opener vs. the Jets, a playoff team from the previous year, Samuel holding out, Seymour out all year in probability, other injuries, the dumb sore-losing spygate incident etc.
They took the best from every team on their way to 16-0. Every team was amped to be the one to go down in the record book as the team to beat greatness. They went 6-0 in the division and thrashed the Cowboys and Redskins and beat the Giants and Eagles to sweep the toughest division around. They lost their key running back and still ran over clubs. All this good stuff will not taint the loss in Glendale.
And for all the bandwagon cheating crybabies out their let me explain a few things. First every team breaks the rules. All experts say videotaping happens on all 32 teams. No questions asked!
And even after the taping the team went 15-0. What! The numbers speak for themselves.
15-0! So it goes to show you the tapes mattered little. Who cares! But I know the feeling to hate the team on top. As a Red Sox diehard, I bashed the Yankees when I could. Whenever they lost in the playoffs or controversy arrived, I kicked them while they were down. No the roles are reversed. The Patriots are the Yankees. And I love it man.
The 2007 18-1 Patriots join 3 teams as the best ever- hands down- 62' Packers, 85' Bears and the 72' Dolphins. The numbers will speak for themselves. I'm surprised so many hate on the Pats for other reasons outside their greatness as a dynasty. Outside of Harrison and Coach, all the players are nice and classy. Brady, Faulk, Bruschi, Seau etc. Nice guys with utmost respect for all other 31 teams. All year the media followed the Pats around about going undefeated. They put it aside and took it one game at a time without any bold predictions. they shut up and played- and not many players and teams can say the same.
It would be too strenuous to dissect every play of the game. The final drive for the Giants leaves a what-if feeling. Especially the 4th and 1 with the both teams season the line. That was the biggest play in a game of big plays.
I'm going to end it now. In ranking this loss it does not even crack the top 5. Actually, it's not even the worst heartbreaking loss in Patriot history, that would be the Colts game in the AFC Championship last year. Much tougher loss. Anyway, people around here and the world are gloomy and the game negatively affected their life. Yeah, for a day or so I was crushed. The glass was half empty. But I'm a realist with rational eyes. The team is poised for many, many more greats seasons and Super Bowls. Days after the Super Bowl loss Vegas Odds had the 2008 Patriots as the odds on favorite to win it all next year. The team is in the midst of a dynasty before and after the loss in Glendale.
Any time you have a QB like Brady and his weapons, Coach Belichick and his staff and a great owner like Kraft you'll be fine. Expect big seasons to come- especially after current teams and players are ripping the Pats when they're sort of down. You've giving the Patriots and their fans another excuse to bum-rush and destroy the league again next year. All the finger pointing will come back to haunt you in the coming seasons. So yeah- the glass is half empty.
I'm leaving you all with one final quote courtesy of the rational and level-headed Jason Whitlock of FOXsports.com and the Kansas City Star, "My point is that there's a thin line between immortality and a history-halting defeat. Despite Sunday's outcome, the Patriots are who we thought they were: one of the three or four best teams we've ever seen. What does that make the Giants? Super Bowl XLII champs." Well said. I covered all 19 games on this here blog and thanks for reading. See you all next year!