Just finished watching the pathetic Giants lose to the Pats, so Brady, Belichick and Co. are officially undefeated in the regular season becoming the first team to go 16-0.
In the process the Brady set the NFL record for TD passes in a single season and Randy Moss set the single season record for TD receptions.
Rodney Harrison continued his streak of acting like an asshole and Bryant Gumbel solidified his status as one of the worst play-by-play announcers ever foist upon an innocent viewing public.
So, what’s the SDMB’s temperature on the accomplishment? Best team ever? Meaningless unless they win the Super Bowl? Ultimate Villains? Ultimate “Team”?
Personally, I think it’s impressive but ultimately meaningless until they are hoisting a Super Bowl Trophy. I think they got a serious break by playing in the single worst division in football. I also don’t think they are one of the best teams ever. Certainly they near the top of the list, but their defense and running attack are pretty average as is their special teams play. Their passing attack has been so dominant that most of those factors were rendered moot, but I don’t think they would fare very well against some of the historically great teams who have the talent to contain that passing attack.
Most importantly, I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that they will be in the Super Bowl. The Colts should have won their earlier matchup and had they been healthier I think they would have. The Chargers are playing much better now than in the previous matchup and LDT and Gates will put extreme pressure on the Pats interior defense. The scariest team for the Pats is probably the Jags. That power running game and powerhouse D-line are both huge mismatches for the Pats. If Brady, Moss and Welker find themselves having an off night for whatever reason, I think they will get spanked by any of these teams.
I turned on the game late and was really surprised to see both Brady and Manning still taking snaps… are both coaches total egomaniacs? Coughlin, in particular, as this game meant absolutely nothing to them, afaik. I was happy to see that one of the Giants DBs suffered a mild injury that could keep him out of next week’s playoff game.
I can’t fathom how you were the least bit surprised at this. Brady played practically every snap this season, including some serious garbage time games when they were up by 30 points. This game, while meaningless as far as the playoffs are concerned, was still in doubt up until the final minutes of the game. Of all the things I hate about the NFL and the egos involved, playing a game to win is not one of them.
Also, IIRC Belichick has never rested his starters in the last game of the season. That tends to lead to rusty starters, especially when you have a bye.
They’re the highest scoring team ever with the most regular season wins. They still have to win the Superbowl to be called the best ever but I think if they do that then it would be pretty hard to argue for any other team in history being better.
I think there’s about a 1% chance that they won’t win the Superbowl. They have one of the best quarterbacks, best wide receivers and best coaches in NFL history. Brady has already established himself as an all-time great in the post season. he’s already won three rings with less talent around him than what he’s got now. They won’t get out quarterbacked and they won’t get out coached. Indy is a close second in quarterbacking and coaching but I think Moss is the difference maker (as was shown in their regular season meeting).
They also are extremely professional, focused and well-prepared. They take nothing for granted and will not take any playoff game lightly. I think the only thing that could stop them from a 4th ring and “Best Ever” status would be an injury to Brady.
Yeah. Coach Dungy learned that the hard way a few years ago when Manning ended up having nearly a month off before starting in a playoff game…
As for the Patriots’ record, I’m happy for them. My team sucks this year, so why waste energy hating on the Pats? Now, if there perfect season had any bearing whatsoever on the Broncos, I might be less sanguine about it. But they played great, smart football. I’d still like to see them lose in the post-season, because all else being equal, I’ve hated the Pats for as long as I’ve watched football, but I really hope they enjoy their win tonight.
They beat Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego and Pittsburgh. In spite of the weak division, they beat 4 other division winners by an average of 17.5 points.
As a Packers fan, I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll knock them off in the Super Bowl.
However, I think we can all agree on the fact that Bryant Gumbel is atrocious.
There’s a lot of talk here in Cleveland about who needs to win, who needs to lose and what needs to happen in order for the Browns to get into the playoffs. My contention all season has been that it’s sort of irrelevant, no one is going to beat the Pats. I was right, kinda. We had a fun season but there’s no way it can end in a Super Bowl Championship* so the Patriots being unstoppable has made me feel kind of “blah” about the season.
Plus, we’re not too fond of Belichick here.
We’re also not too fond of Boston lately either.
But, whatever. Neat to see a record season like that - I tuned in and everything.
*I will indeed eat my hat if it turns out that the Browns win the Super Bowl. It will be well worth it.
I’m torn. On one hand it’d be nice to have them go all the way so we could finally tell the '72 Dolphins to shut the hell up. On the other I’d love the irony of them losing in the first round, or getting all they way to the Super Bowl and getting beat.
I want them to win to shut the ridiculous ‘72 Dolphins up. It’ really embarrassing to see them on TV as 50 or 60 something year old men trying talk about how great they were in 1972 - when most NFL players weren’t even born. But I am an Oakland Raiders guy and still think about the Tuck Rule and Snow Bowl game and would love to see them lose every game forever and ever Amen.
I’m with silenus on the sport itself, but I’m happy to see the Patriots do so well. I’m from Minnesota, so seeing a pro sports team put together more than a few wins in a row amazes me.
Actually, I think that the longer they hold that record, the more worthy it is. For the first few years, pride would have been dangerous. Dallas was a pretty big threat to that record in the 1970s, as I recall. But year after year, no one went 14-0, or 16-0 when it came to that. And the Dolphins themselves never duplicated their own feat, which adds to the glory of that specific team. It took 35 years just for another team to match the regular-season record, and they still may not go all the way. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to be proud of that.
Also, why do you judge them because current NFL players weren’t born until after '72? McGuire, Sosa and Griffey were not alive when Roger Maris set his HR record. Didn’t stop them from chasing it. Well, I guess it’s what you said in your last sentence.
Comparisons between the regular seasons of the 1972 Dolphins and the 2007 Pats are interesting. In their 14 games, the Dolphins faced just 2 teams who finished the season with a winning record; these two had a combined won-loss record of 16-12. In 16 games the Patriots faced 7* such teams; these have a combined won-loss record of 73-33.
*Note that the Redskins could reduce this to 6 with a loss today.
