Boston

Boys-I can take all the trash you can throw. It doesn't bother me one bit and some of it is indeed very good humor. Some of it is very well deserved and some of it is nothing more than sour grapes (although I'm sure no one would ever admit to that). Yet, it is what it is and it comes with the turf. My point is that unless it's coming from a Giants fan it's coming from the fan of a team who the Pats either beat or at the least was home watching the Pats play for the title as their season had already ended. It reminds me so much of my fellow Red Sox fans of the pre-2004 who upon another loss to the Yankees would come up with the brilliant reponse of..."the Yankees suck" as another season ended at the hands of the Evil Empire. Bitterness is never fun as a fan but it does seem to be almost medicinal for the Patriot bashers and I hope it serves them well this offseason as most of them do have one thing in common with the Patriots...there season also ended with a loss.

Hopefully we can get the Bruins some decent video equipment and we can be 4/4.

I have no problems taking the shots from Giants Fan. He's an actual fan of the GMen and it's his time to gloat (and he's doing a good job by the way). I do find it funny taking all the barbs from fans of teams that the Pats either beat or weren't good enough to get to the Super Bowl. That's a pretty amusing dynamic. Yet, I'd much rather be in that position than being back in the old days where the Pats were 2-14 and no one wasted time taking shots at them. Fans of other teams wouldn't be obsessed with the Pats if they sucked.

You just posted in seven Patriot threads within the last five minutes and each one is more negative than the last. If I ever get to the point where I have as much hatred for anything in the world of sports like you do for the Pats I would look for another hobby. Seriously, I understand you don't like them but it just can't be healthy to be totally consumed by your emotions towards the Pats.

I have not been a fan of Josh McDaniels dating back to last year. It's almost akward to say that because of the numbers they put up this year but I'm just not comfortable with his playcalling when games are close. My big beef with him is he tries to get the quick points too often. Instead of being patient (and that could mean the run as pointed out here or the short pass because they are almost similar) he'll try to get a quick score whether the D is offering that up or not. When it works out (like it did fot the first 9-10 games) things look dynamic. Yet, when it doesn't there are a lot of plays that seem to not have accomplished much. IMO the key to the Patriots success (as the team is currently constructed..i.e. with a good but not great D) is the playcalling. When they are playing smart on O with all their weapons it demoralizes the other team on both sides of the ball. Yet, when the playcalling is suspect it seems to energize the other team and give them the confidence they can go toe to toe with the Pats. It also allows the other team's offense to stick with their gameplan and get opportunities against a Patriot D that just isn't on the level of the 03 and 04 squads. On thing that also ties into this post is the fact the Patriots are a cold weather team. Due to that they need to become more balanced. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was more concerned about bad weather this year than any other year. In year's past I'd always welcome bad weather as it was almost always a plus for the Pats. Yet, this year it made the Pats a little more vulnerable and while it never bit them in the butt it's not a fluke that as the weather got colder the games got closer.

I'm a homer but you're a Steeler fan who has no love-lost for the Pats and never has. I think we both come into this with a little bias. Yet, I really don't see where we are too different in wanting the truth but are probably hoping for a different outcome. Overall, I believe I have been very consistent in this issue. I have based every comment I make based on factual eveidence. I did not defend the Pats when this issue arose. They defied the Commish's orders and got what they deserved. I don't believe what they did was anywhere near as bad as what many think it is but as far as getting punished that's a moot point because they deserved it. As far as the investigation goes I can only base my thoughts on what the NFL has told us and the factual evidence. It's no different than how I looked at the accussation of the Colts pumping in noise. While I had my questions I believe what the NFL found to be true and until I see evidence otherwise it's a dead story and I don't believe they did it. Now, if you want to argue that Goodell didn't handle this well from a PR standpoint than I have zero issues. He was very rocky in his comments and would have served himself well to be a little more loose with the info. Yet, that doesn't mean he's covering up or lying. That can only be the case if actual evidence comes to light that proves that either he mislead the public or if he was shoddy in his efforts and was duped by the Pats. Until I see evidence that supports that I'll base my thoughts on what we know. If we see evidence to the contrary you won't see me defend the Patriots or any sanctions placed on them because they will have dug their own grave.

...and you're assuming an investigation wasn't done. Do you have any proof here? I see you make that accussation of a half-baked investigation but I just don't see any concrete proof. I don't think it's fair to assume (right now) that a thorough investigation wasn't done until you have proof. My hope is that what happens in the next few weeks will show the NFL did look into this closely and made their decision based on a thorough examination of the evidence. If not, than this story can and will change but I don't think it's fair to deal with anything but the info that has been proven and if and when new info arises than we can all agree about the integrity of this investigation.

It's pretty obvious most minds have been made up regardless of what happens but here's my take: *If nothing else comes up than the legacy stays put. That would mean the Pats got caught taping, told the truth about what happened, handed over all material, didn't make any excuses or go on a PR campaign, paid a stiff penalty and took their medicine. While they got caught taping the allegation of lying is completetly false. Right now there is zero proof of lying. At the end of the day they'll be the butt of jokes and the haters will continue to hate but non-biased observers won't make more of this than should be. *If anything else comes out, if they are caught lying or didn't come clean than all bets are off and the BB era earns a big fat asterik as painful as that is as a Patriot fan (and he's most likely a goner as well). Be it Watergate or Lewinsky it's not the original act that does you in but the cover-up. If infact the Pats didn't do exactly as the commish says than they are fair game for any and all punishments (regardless of how harsh) and they have no one to blame but themself. I'd like to see this issue get resolved and whether that means Matt Walsh testifies, Roger Goodell gets grilled relentlessly or BB takes the stand I don't care. Just take the neccessary steps to come to an honest and final conclusion and than move on.

I don't see this being too out of line. The Gmen played awesome football during the playoffs. Yet, even playing that well their wins involved a close one in Dallas, an OT win in Green Bay and a last minute win over the Pats. It's not like they were the 85 Bears and destroyed everything in their path. Add that to the fact they were 10-6 in the regular season and were only a #5 seed that was not being seen as anything special as late as week 16 and I think you can understand where Vegas is coming from. They are taking the emotion out of the Gmen's fantastic run thru the playoffs and taking more of a big picture approach. If you think the Gmen can pick up where they left off in 2007 (and that's obviously a possibility) than you should be happy because getting 12-1 odds is very generous.

It was the perfect storm: 1) The Giants thoroughly dominated the Pats at the line. It was the worst buttkicking I've seen inflicted on the Pats in the trenches since 2002 against the Titans and Raiders. 2) The coaching staff had two weeks to prepare for this. I don't think what the Giants did surprised anyone. Yet, it looked like the Pats were totally unprepared to deal with this pressure. 3) While Brady got his buttkicked I fully agree that he did not play like the MVP he is. Granted he's had pressure before but this was one of the few times where I really felt it got to him and effected his play. He didn't seem to have the fire he usually has (oddly enough I felt the same way against the Chargers but not to this extent). He wasn't Tony Eason but he Giants attack rattled him. I understand why it happened but after watching him play for the last seven years it's not something I expected in a game of this magnitde.

I think any close game has plays that the loser can play the "what if" game. That's just a fact of life and it's what goes on in sports. If you're going to attribute that to luck than I think that's BS. That's sour grapes. Yet, it's very easy to point out big plays that the game turned on. A case in point is if Samuel makes that INt...it's game over. On the flipside if NY lost they could point out a play like Smith's int where he screwed up on a grab he should have easily made. I don't have any issues with breaking down a game and looking at plays that changed a game. Whether it's blowing a tackle, making a circus catch or a bad coaching decision most close game have certain plays that had a huge hand in deciding a victory. That's par for the course in sports and to think fans from every city don't do this just isn't realistic. Again, if you're going to use these plays as excuses or deem them lucky than that's being foolish. Yet, to not look at a game and say if a team executed a play or two better in these situations or took advantage of some opportunities that could have made a difference in a last possesion victory really is nitpicking (I have zero issues with a Charger fan claiming if Troy Brown doesn't make an unbelievable strip they win that playoff game last year...as long as they don't say it's lucky...because it's true). If someone says the Pats should have won that's being a blind homer. They lost fair and square....no excuses. Yet, to not allow someone to say that if a couple of huge plays had gone the other way than the results could have changed than that's not allowing a fan to be a fan.

Assuming the Pats bring back Moss they will bring back pretty much their whole O as well as getting back both Sammie Morris and a very promising David Thomas. It's also an offense that is still relatively young as only Kyle Brady (36), Stephen Neal (31) and Kevin Faulk (31) are older than 30. On D the line is topnotch, young and signed long term but work definetly needs to be done in the back 8. That's the key to the offseason. What they do there will have a great impact on whether they are good or very good next year. With the #7 pick in the draft and two #3's they have some draft ammo and their cap situation is decent enough to make some moves. I really think saying you'll see a sharp decline or that their window is closing is wishful thinking. If anything the Pats have proved they can reload and until I see otherwise I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they will remain among the NFL's elite teams.

Dead on analysis. It's a tough pill to swallow as a Patriot fan because it seemed so obvious. It was as if the ghost of Marty Shottenheimer invaded Foxboro. You just don't expect that with BB but for whatever reason it happened and the Gmen took full advatage of it.

I did not say the Giants won due to breaks. I said both teams got some breaks and the Giants capitalized on there's while making sure the Pats paid for not capitalizing on there's. If you can point out one post or sentence where I said the Patriots should have won, please feel free to post it. Seriously, I'd love to see it. The Pats got beat fair and square and anyone who watched the game saw that but I'm sure that's not what you want to hear from a Patriot fan.

Sorry...I just don't see anything wrong with using the word miracle when people are celebrating the Giant win as one of the all time great sports moments. I don't see it as a shot at all but rather a reflection of the magnitude of what they accomplished. Yet, what do I know, I'm a Patriot homer and anything I say will have a bias unlike the fans of the other 31 teams.