18 - 1

[Milwalkeysbeast 0]

Man that one has to hurt the NE faithful...

 

I think I would rather have gone 7-9 and missed the playoffs than to get that close to perfection and it turn into to arguably the biggest choke in sports history.

 

No pity here though...you guys have the World Series and possible the NBA championship coming...

[redtodd 7]

I think I would rather have gone 7-9 and missed the playoffs than to get that close to perfection and it turn into to arguably the biggest choke in sports history.

 

I've witnessed many mediocre to sh!tty Patriots teams prior to 2001. Trust me, I would take 18-1 any time over non-playoff team.

[Pimptaddy 0]

The 85 Bears went 18-1 as well. Of course, they had the skills to get a title.

[DonS 3,067]

The 85 Bears went 18-1 as well. Of course, they had the skills to get a title.

 

I'm confused... didn't you have a bunch of threads/posts recently about how the Pats were possibly the greatest of all time? Forgive me if I'm getting you confused with someone else.

[Pimptaddy 0]

I'm confused... didn't you have a bunch of threads/posts recently about how the Pats were possibly the greatest of all time? Forgive me if I'm getting you confused with someone else.

 

I thought they would win tonight. I never said they were the best ever.

[Foghorn Leghorn 0]

I think I would rather have gone 7-9 and missed the playoffs than to get that close to perfection and it turn into to arguably the biggest choke in sports history.

 

To call it a choke is doing the Giants a bit of a disservice, isn't it?

[TUM301 10]

Loseing at 18-0 was a tough one, but I`ll take that 6 month ride rather than going 7-9 and missing out on the playoffs any day. Being out and about today among the N E sports fans has been hard to take but today hasn`t been nearly as gloomy as the 86 flop against the Mets in game 6! That following day was like one giant wake and we still had game 7 to play.

[LOD01 191]

The 85 Bears went 18-1 as well. Of course, they had the skills to get a title.

 

 

And the bandwagon jumper moves on again.

[NorthernVike 2,080]

To call it a choke is doing the Giants a bit of a disservice, isn't it?

Ummmm.....NO

 

 

They already beat them once and were favored by double digits...Biggest CHOKE ever

[Skinny_Bastard 154]

18 Victories and 1 GIANT LOST!!!

[p.man 7]

Choke or no choke....Even if the Giants would have lost that game, they still absolutly kicked the Pats a$$ last night.

N.E had their lowest offensive output all year when it counted most. Plus their o-line could not block the Giants defense at all. That was a dominating performance by the Giants defense.

Phil Simms said that he watched the tape from week 17, and even though the Giants lost that game and gave up 38pt's, N.E's o-line still had trouble blocking the Giants defense on that day. So it is no fluke of the outcome last night.

And the Giants proved all year that they were a tough team. Beating Favre, Romo and Brady all in a row when it counted makes the Giants a well deserving team of this championship. The Pats were tough and we all knew that they would be. They have a great team over there...They lost this game to the better team.

 

Defense wins championships.

[terp 0]

Choke or no choke....Even if the Giants would have lost that game, they still absolutly kicked the Pats a$$ last night.

N.E had their lowest offensive output all year when it counted most. Plus their o-line could not block the Giants defense at all. That was a dominating performance by the Giants defense.

Phil Simms said that he watched the tape from week 17, and even though the Giants lost that game and gave up 38pt's, N.E's o-line still had trouble blocking the Giants defense on that day. So it is no fluke of the outcome last night.

And the Giants proved all year that they were a tough team. Beating Favre, Romo and Brady all in a row when it counted makes the Giants a well deserving team of this championship. The Pats were tough and we all knew that they would be. They have a great team over there...They lost this game to the better team.

 

Defense wins championships.

i think that was the best defense i've ever seen in a super bowl.

congrats to the giants and there fans it was probably the best super bowl these eyes have seen

[p.man 7]

i think that was the best defense i've ever seen in a super bowl.

congrats to the giants and there fans it was probably the best super bowl these eyes have seen

 

I don't know how old you are, but if you really want to see a S.B beat down than you should go find and watch the Bears & N.E S.B.

 

http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap...?campaign=gsi_g

[donkeyboy22 0]

I don't know how old you are, but if you really want to see a S.B beat down than you should go find and watch the Bears & N.E S.B.

 

http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap...?campaign=gsi_g

 

yep

[Savage Beast 1]

To call it a choke is doing the Giants a bit of a disservice, isn't it?

 

Hardly. The Giants were a squeak-in wild card team, not a divisional champ.

[Big Blue 06 195]

Hardly. The Giants were a squeak-in wild card team, not a divisional champ.

 

What does a wildcard team have to be in the regular season to not be a squeak-in? Is it 11-5 that they have to go, or is every wild card team an automatic squeak in? I'm just curious.

[Foghorn Leghorn 0]

Ummmm.....NO

They already beat them once and were favored by double digits...Biggest CHOKE ever

 

Hardly. The Giants were a squeak-in wild card team, not a divisional champ.

 

The Giants went on the road to beat TB, and then the two consensus NFC favourites. An upset? Sure. Biggest CHOKE ever? Hardly.

 

In my opinion, the Pats probably choked last year against the Colts, but not this year - they were in the wrong place at the wrong time against a team peaking on all cylinders.

[Celticspride 0]

Man that one has to hurt the NE faithful...

 

I think I would rather have gone 7-9 and missed the playoffs than to get that close to perfection and it turn into to arguably the biggest choke in sports history.

 

No pity here though...you guys have the World Series and possible the NBA championship coming...

 

And I'd gladly trade both of the Red Sox championships for Sunday's win. I watch the Sox but baseball is so far behind football, and the fact that they don't have a salary cap makes MLB a joke. So some of us could care less about the Sox...

 

I do care about the Celtics though. So this is one advantage new englanders have over last season.

[GobbleDog 816]

That loss is something that the New England players will painfully remember for the rest of their lives, especially the one's that don't have any rings. To get so close to being reveared as the greatest team of all time, to being remembered as the team that couldn't finish.

[Celticspride 0]

That loss is something that the New England players will painfully remember for the rest of their lives, especially the one's that don't have any rings. To get so close to being reveared as the greatest team of all time, to being remembered as the team that couldn't finish.

 

You're right. 41 other teams have lost a super bowl, but they are the only 18-0 team to lose a super bowl. That "choke" label will be with them forever. It's softened somewhat by the fact that they have 3 championships in recent history, but this one will sting.

[jgcrawfish 232]

You're right. 41 other teams have lost a super bowl, but they are the only 18-0 team to lose a super bowl. That "choke" label will be with them forever. It's softened somewhat by the fact that they have 3 championships in recent history, but this one will sting.

 

Great, since they were crowned many times and much earlier this year, might as well give them a title based on that 18-0 start. 07-08 New England Patriots, Superbowl Runnerup, "King of the Losers".

[Celticspride 0]

Great, since they were crowned many times and much earlier this year, might as well give them a title based on that 18-0 start. 07-08 New England Patriots, Superbowl Runnerup, "King of the Losers".

 

They were crowned by many people in the media (and fans too) but usually New England's done a great job of not buying into the hype. This year it seemed they definitely bought into the hype and several times late in the year they seemed to thing they could just show up and win. They were able to overcome some of those bad performances and still win, but not Sunday.

[jgcrawfish 232]

They were crowned by many people in the media (and fans too) but usually New England's done a great job of not buying into the hype. This year it seemed they definitely bought into the hype and several times late in the year they seemed to thing they could just show up and win. They were able to overcome some of those bad performances and still win, but not Sunday.

 

Alright, now you're making me feel bad for rubbing it in. To be honest, I really didn't harbor any Patriot hate before the season. Was a bit irritated that they could somehow get Adalius Thomas and Randy Moss, but no real hate. Most of my wrath and venom now is a result of the boisterous Pats fans on this site. I'm sure not all of you are as bad as I'm making them out to be.

[Celticspride 0]

Alright, now you're making me feel bad for rubbing it in. To be honest, I really didn't harbor any Patriot hate before the season. Was a bit irritated that they could somehow get Adalius Thomas and Randy Moss, but no real hate. Most of my wrath and venom now is a result of the boisterous Pats fans on this site. I'm sure not all of you are as bad as I'm making them out to be.

 

Don't feel bad. You're not as obnoxious as a lot of Patriot haters have been (or as many Pats fans were throught the year). Honestly the fact that they seemed to buy into what the press was saying is one of the things that I found really disturbing as a Pats fan. Throughout their run they've been one of the harder workeing, blue collar teams. Early this year they were working hard and talented which made for an unbelievable run...but at some point it seemed like a lot of the Pats were walking around like they deserved all the positive press, that the championship was a forgone conclusion and they ended up getting that thrown right back at them in the super bowl.

[Foghorn Leghorn 0]

Don't feel bad. You're not as obnoxious as a lot of Patriot haters have been (or as many Pats fans were throught the year). Honestly the fact that they seemed to buy into what the press was saying is one of the things that I found really disturbing as a Pats fan. Throughout their run they've been one of the harder workeing, blue collar teams. Early this year they were working hard and talented which made for an unbelievable run...but at some point it seemed like a lot of the Pats were walking around like they deserved all the positive press, that the championship was a forgone conclusion and they ended up getting that thrown right back at them in the super bowl.

 

It has to be extremely difficult to go through a season 18-0 and NOT start to believe all the press clippings just a little bit.

[donkeyboy22 0]

Don't feel bad. You're not as obnoxious as a lot of Patriot haters have been (or as many Pats fans were throught the year). Honestly the fact that they seemed to buy into what the press was saying is one of the things that I found really disturbing as a Pats fan. Throughout their run they've been one of the harder workeing, blue collar teams. Early this year they were working hard and talented which made for an unbelievable run...but at some point it seemed like a lot of the Pats were walking around like they deserved all the positive press, that the championship was a forgone conclusion and they ended up getting that thrown right back at them in the super bowl.

 

Good post CP and Leghorn. I can appreciate people who come in here and discuss without all the other crap. A to you both.

 

Question for CP or any Bostonians: What have the people of Boston been saying, if anything, about , what I think, was BB's arrogance costing you at least OT if he kicks the FG as opposed to going for it on 4th and 13?

Granted I know the game doesnt play out the same if Gostkowski makes that FG, there are different strategies.

 

To me, his arrogance in no FG there and what seemed to be a lack of in-game adjustments, specifically to protect Brady,(which I question Dungy and the Colts on many times as well )cost you that game.

 

Is BB taking the heat in Boston that I feel he deserves?

[Celticspride 0]

Good post CP and Leghorn. I can appreciate people who come in here and discuss without all the other crap. A to you both.

 

Question for CP or any Bostonians: What have the people of Boston been saying, if anything, about , what I think, was BB's arrogance costing you at least OT if he kicks the FG as opposed to going for it on 4th and 13?

Granted I know the game doesnt play out the same if Gostkowski makes that FG, there are different strategies.

 

To me, his arrogance in no FG there and what seemed to be a lack of in-game adjustments, specifically to protect Brady,(which I question Dungy and the Colts on many times as well )cost you that game.

 

Is BB taking the heat in Boston that I feel he deserves?

 

People are very critical of not attempting a FG in that position. Besides the criticism of the O-Line, that's probably the biggest complaint NE fans have. I think it was a terrible decision (and obviously didn't work out), but I don't think it was arrogance on Belichick's part...I think it was a lack of confidence in Gostkoski and nothing more (reportedly Gostkoski didn't look good in warmups, despite kicking a few 50 yarders he was extremely erratic and the last time Gostkoski was on the field was the kickoff after NE scored their first TD and it went off the side of his foot and went OB)...And I'm sick of people saying "you gotta take the 3 pts" because that was far from a sure 3 pts, but still, making that FG is extremely more likely than converting 4th and 13, and I believe if Belichick had it to do over again he'd attempt the FG. Who knows though...BB would never say....Anyway, to answer your question- yes he is taking a lot of heat for that decision. He's taking a lot of heat for a few decisions- that being the worst (and also deciding to deactivate their 3rd TE Steven Spach who could've assisted in max protection sets, and also for not really adjusting the offensive gameplan when it obviously wasn't working)....

 

This is definitely not a game that Belichick will be remembered for, but it is what it is. The Patriots got outplayed, Bill got outcoached and he's taking some well-deserved heat. The uproar would be a lot louder if he hadn't won 3 super bowls in the recent past, but people are still getting on him....

 

The most surprising thing to me (as a life long New England sports fan who has grown up in a very negative, pessimistic atmosphere) is how this loss is being treated. Fans haven't been all that negative at all. A lot of disappointed people, but not the anger like you saw after many past losses....I guess with the recent success NE teams have had, we've been spoiled and its tough to get too down over a loss, but it's still strange to me....I mean I can remember fans getting much more angry and upset over regular season losses (for the Pats and especially the Red Sox) in the past....

[Foghorn Leghorn 0]

People are very critical of not attempting a FG in that position. Besides the criticism of the O-Line, that's probably the biggest complaint NE fans have. I think it was a terrible decision (and obviously didn't work out), but I don't think it was arrogance on Belichick's part...I think it was a lack of confidence in Gostkoski and nothing more (reportedly Gostkoski didn't look good in warmups, despite kicking a few 50 yarders he was extremely erratic and the last time Gostkoski was on the field was the kickoff after NE scored their first TD and it went off the side of his foot and went OB)...And I'm sick of people saying "you gotta take the 3 pts" because that was far from a sure 3 pts, but still, making that FG is extremely more likely than converting 4th and 13, and I believe if Belichick had it to do over again he'd attempt the FG. Who knows though...BB would never say....Anyway, to answer your question- yes he is taking a lot of heat for that decision. He's taking a lot of heat for a few decisions- that being the worst (and also deciding to deactivate their 3rd TE Steven Spach who could've assisted in max protection sets, and also for not really adjusting the offensive gameplan when it obviously wasn't working)....

 

One of my biggest concerns about the FG scenario was that Belichick might have been inadvertently sending a message to Gostkowski that he didn't have much confidence in him (whether it was a result of the warmups that you alluded to, or even the regular season and prior playoff games). I'm not sure how a young kicker would handle that message. Would it have affected his confidence in an ensuing FG try, or does he have the confident type of personality that shakes that kind of thing off? That I can't answer - it's just another thing that crossed my mind as the game went on.

 

Being a homer, you're closer to the situation. What do you think, Celticspride?

[donkeyboy22 0]

One of my biggest concerns about the FG scenario was that Belichick might have been inadvertently sending a message to Gostkowski that he didn't have much confidence in him

 

Thats what I'm wondering. Last year in the AFC Championship game, Gotkowski hit around a 48 / 49 yarder in a tie game with about 4 minutes. It was money and i think the Pats were like 4th and 2 at that point. He obviously had confidence in him then so I dont know why there would be a lack of confidence.

 

That is where I think going for so many 4th downs during the year and not kicking more may have been a huge mistake. When it came down to kicking a field goal, the overconfidence told BB that it was OK to go for it on 4th and 13 when 99.5 of everyone else questioned the decision.

[Celticspride 0]

One of my biggest concerns about the FG scenario was that Belichick might have been inadvertently sending a message to Gostkowski that he didn't have much confidence in him (whether it was a result of the warmups that you alluded to, or even the regular season and prior playoff games). I'm not sure how a young kicker would handle that message. Would it have affected his confidence in an ensuing FG try, or does he have the confident type of personality that shakes that kind of thing off? That I can't answer - it's just another thing that crossed my mind as the game went on.

 

Being a homer, you're closer to the situation. What do you think, Celticspride?

 

That's a great question. Obviously Belichick would never say anything public about his confidence or lack-there-of in Gostkoski, but the fact that he didn't have Gostkoski attempt a FG in that situation speaks volumes. If it was a 4th and 5 or 6 you could make the case that Belichick was confident (or overconfident) in his offenses abilities to convert the 1st down. But even when the Pats were going for all those 4th downs during the year they were in managable down and distances....The chances of making a 4th and 13 conversion are extremely small...Belichick's not stupid, so the fact that he went for it over trying a reasonably lengthed FG is a pretty strong statement in his lack of confidence in Gostkoski IMO...Personally I think Gostkoski is a pretty good young kicker (with one of the strongest legs in the league when it comes to kicking off which is huge in a game of field position), but based on the Super Bowl I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots brought in a kicker next summer to compete with Gostkoski. I think Gostkoski will still be the Pats kicker next year but I don't see how he can be too secure in his job based on how he's been used (or under used) by Belichick this year....

[duece2626 0]

Belichick's not stupid

 

The 7yd difference between attempting the FG and missing compared to going for it on 4th and 13 is pretty stupid. Oh yeah, not to mention all the cheating. That's pretty stupid too!!