# The New England Patriots are 16-0. How do you feel about it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675 "2007-12-30T04:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/61 "2007-12-31T18:00:03Z")
[QUOTE=CosmoGirl] Settle down, Robby. I’m not casting a spell on your boy. As a football player, he’s a great quarterback. Does he compare to Joe Montana? I personally don’t think so, but again, that’s my opinion. As a human being and a man? Eh, I think he’s a POS, as does his ex I’m sure. [/QUOTE] You mean that gold-digger. As long as he keeps sending the checks, I’m sure she’s fine with him. Also, try figuring out who coaches “TO” before trying to play with the boys in the football threads, ok cutie? > [@CosmoGirl](#): > > If Belichick can keep TO from screwing up due to his social retardedness, I’ll gladly give credit where credit is due. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/62 "2007-12-31T18:06:16Z")
[QUOTE=CosmoGirl] Settle down, Robby. I’m not casting a spell on your boy. As a football player, he’s a great quarterback. Does he compare to Joe Montana? I personally don’t think so, but again, that’s my opinion. As a human being and a man? Eh, I think he’s a POS, as does his ex I’m sure. [/QUOTE] Why is he a POS? His ex? Do you mean Bridget Moynahan who he broke up with amicably, is still friends with and who he didn’t know was pregnant until after they broke up? She hasn’t said anything bad about him and he was present at the birth. Is anyone who ever breaks up with a girlfriend a POS? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/63 "2007-12-31T18:09:39Z")
> [@CosmoGirl](#): > > If Belichick can keep TO from screwing up due to his social retardedness, I’ll gladly give credit where credit is due. T.O. has never played for Belichick. Did you mean Moss? Moss’s reputation as a “lockerroom cancer” is mostly a media creation. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/64 "2007-12-31T18:33:41Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] It would be pretty hard for any team who throws the ball like 70% of the time to have a large number of rushing yards per game- the Pats unimpressive rushing stats are due to a small number of rushes, not ability. [/QUOTE] If you take the number of rushes into account, the Pats are above average, but not great. They are 9th is rush attempts per game, and 11th in rush yards per attempt. [Link](http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&offensiveStatisticCategory=RUSHING&conference=ALL&role=TM&season=2007&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=RUSHING_YARDS_PER_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-n=1) > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Why is he a POS? His ex? Do you mean Bridget Moynahan who he broke up with amicably, is still friends with and who he didn’t know was pregnant until after they broke up? She hasn’t said anything bad about him and he was present at the birth. Is anyone who ever breaks up with a girlfriend a POS? Gotta agree with **Dio** here. I knew nothing about Brady’s kid and girlfriend controversy, so i just went and looked for some news on it, and i must admit i can’t see what Brady has done wrong here. By all accounts, they broke up before he knew about the pregnancy. He flew cross-country to be there for the birth (although ended up arriving a bit late). And the kid has Brady’s names, ferchissakes (although in reverse order). I can’t imagine she would have allowed that if she thought Brady was a “POS.” ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/65 "2007-12-31T18:36:47Z")
[QUOTE=CosmoGirl] Does he compare to Joe Montana? I personally don’t think so, but again, that’s my opinion. [/QUOTE] I’d take Tom Brady over Joe Montana in a heartbeat. Much of Joe’s passing success was inflated by the West Coast system, as opposed to Brady’s more vertical passing system. Granted, quite a bit of it is “chuck it a mile and let Moss go get it,” but even ignoring this season altogether Brady’s vertical attack is much more impressive than that mind-numbing dink & dunk shit from Montana. Montana was basically Chad Pennington on a great team. And Montana had Jerry Rice to help him out winning Superbowls. Who has Brady had to help him win his Superbowls? [Troy Brown](http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=18012&displayPage=tab_gamecenter&season=2001&week=POST21) and [Deion](http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=26652&displayPage=tab_gamecenter&season=2003&week=POST21) [Branch](http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter?game_id=27243&displayPage=tab_gamecenter&season=2004&week=POST21). No question that Brady had less talent to work with, and played in a riskier offensive system. The only way in which Montana is more impressive than Brady is that Montana still has an extra ring. If and when Brady ties that, there will be no contest. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/66 "2007-12-31T18:41:56Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] Well, to be fair, most Americans barely consider hockey a sport. [/QUOTE] This would be equally correct, if not more so, without the last two words. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/67 "2007-12-31T20:58:03Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] By all accounts, they broke up before he knew about the pregnancy. [/QUOTE] He dumped the chick just \*before \* that Christmas. Saves a pile of cash that way, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/68 "2007-12-31T21:11:20Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Maybe in Frisco and Philly, but not here in Beantown. [/QUOTE] No one from Boston calls the city Beantown, either. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/69 "2007-12-31T21:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] No one from Boston calls the city Beantown, either. Just saying. [/QUOTE] Hence my joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/70 "2007-12-31T21:53:31Z")
From deep in the heart of Bronco country: Meh. “On any Sunday, any given team can beat …” The Pats just didn’t meet that given team this season. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/71 "2007-12-31T22:01:37Z")
Sure they did. The Eagles and Ravens certainly could have beaten the Pats. But the breaks went the other way. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/72 "2008-01-01T01:06:28Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] Sure they did. The Eagles and Ravens certainly could have beaten the Pats. But the breaks went the other way. [/QUOTE] Even the Giants had a chance. But, luckily for them, the lesser Manning threw an interception. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/73 "2008-01-01T18:13:04Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/74 "2008-01-02T21:54:55Z")
I wonder if it’s even possible for a team to have a best-ever offense _and_ a best-ever defense. The whole point of the salary cap is to prevent disparities like that. So if the question is whether NE is the best ever on both sides of the ball, I’d have to say no. But if the question is whether NE represents the best a team is likely to get in the salary cap era, I’d say they’re pretty close. And I’ll admit that it feels strange to say so when I know there are specific deficiencies in the team. And I’m going to be contrarian on Patriots-versus-Jaguars. The Pats will kill 'em. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675/75 "2008-01-02T22:37:57Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] It would be pretty hard for any team who throws the ball like 70% of the time to have a large number of rushing yards per game- the Pats unimpressive rushing stats are due to a small number of rushes, not ability. And Dolphins vs. Pats would be like the SNL sketch where Micheal Jordan joins a 40’s era basketball team pre-integration, and is dunking all over Gavin O’Herlihy, Miller Godbaum and the like. As for the Dolphins, as someone said upthread, their not losing was more an anomaly than dominace. [/QUOTE] The Dolphins followed up the perfect season by going 15-2 (counting playoffs) with another Super Bowl win in 1973. The might have won another in 1974 but for all the hoopla around the WFL signing the Dolphins’ Csonka, Warfield and Kiick. Anomaly, my Aunt Fannie. Statistical comparisons don’t work because the game was just quite different and more run oriented back then. The Dolphins typically would score touchdowns the first two times they had the ball and then just sit on their insurmountable lead 14 point for the remaining three quarters of the game. A 32-2 record over 2 years is nothing to sneeze at. I’d like to see Randy Moss play against the defenders who could hit him all the way down the field, like they could do back then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-england-patriots-are-16-0-how-do-you-feel-about-it/431675.md?page=3)