It's 2001 all over again . . . (1 Viewer)

[pillowpants]

Judging by the rabid reaction to the Giant victory over the Packers,you can only IMAGINE the cockiness if NEW YORK had a 3-time Super Bowl champ this decade on an 18 game win streak and their Super Bowl opponent hadn't won a title in over 25 years. When Green Bay won the OT coin toss, how many of you Giant fans actually thought you'd have a chance to see your team get the ball back,,let alone Lawrence Tynes hitting a 47-yd FG after some makeable misses. Yet we Patriot fans always hear how "lucky" N.E. was to get a victory and "if" this or that didn't happen N.E. wouldn't have won. But you can play that "card" in any NFL game,and the fact is once something happens...it's history. N.E. is winning non-blowout games lately,..so what? Aren't playoff games supposed to be competitive? And don't forget.. that they're coming from BEHIND in some of the last 5 games,..so I guess their opponents can't hold a lead... The reason N.E will win the Super Bowl is the same reason they've won three SB's this decade,..they will make major adjustments DURING the game. Bill Belichik doesn't necessarily sick to a master "Game Plan",..but he's the best in the league at making adjustments,"series by series" if necessary. Brady was having a crappy game vs. S.D.,no question,....so then they run the ball with some 3 TE sets, short throws, and the med/ long range passing game gets shelved,....and on Defense they hold the Chargers to a FG on three "red zone" possessions, including a "1st and goal"at the 4 YD. LINE (with a healthy Turner and Sproules). Whatever it takes... Maybe Eli can throw for 4 TD's again,..but it wasn't enough last time.

They are starting to fill up now.What was the rabid reaction exactly?

 

[Raider Nation]

This game is more likely to resemble Bears-Pats '85-86 than that Rams-Pats game.

That's pretty absurd.

What... so you think the Pats can hang with the G-Men for awhile? I have Brandon Jacobs splitting Junior Seau in two pieces right around the 9:00 mark of the 1st Q.

 

[PatsFanCT]

After the 2001 season, the Rams met the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Rams had been there before, and were still featuring the Greatest Show on Turf in a 14-2 season. Nobody had been able to slow them down. The big talk aside from the team itself was about their controversial head coach, Mike Martz. The Patriots OTOH had started the season poorly, and due to injury their young QB, Tom Brady, had gotten his legs under him after they started 5-5, and they finished strong, with Brady leading the way. The two teams met in the regular season, and the Rams won, but interestingly enough that was the last loss the Pats would suffer during their 11-5 season. The Super Bowl matchup was mostly anticipated because people thought the heavily favored Rams would blow out the underdog, no name Patriots. Instead, the Pats played the Rams close and won the game on a last minute FG. Here we are after the 2007 season, with the Patriots meeting the Giants in the Super Bowl. The Patriots have been there before, and are featuring a potent offense led by Brady's outstanding passing. Their 16-0 season will be legendary. The big talk aside from the team itself was about their controversial head coach, Bill Belichick. The Giants OTOH started the season poorly, going 0-2, but they finished strong. The two teams met in the last week of the regular season, and the Patriots won, but interestingly enough that marked a turning point in the play of the team, and especially QB Eli Manning. The Super Bowl matchup is mostly being anticipated as a mismatch, with the heavily favored Pats expected by most to blow out the Giants. It's amusing to me to hear Pats fans talk smugly about this matchup. How soon they forget what a motivated underdog can do against a heavily favored and very talented team that has heard nothing all year but how great they are. Will history repeat itself?

I see your point. However, Belichick knows all about that as well, and will not let his team become that cocky Rams team. The Pats may not win in a blowout, but you can be damn sure Belichick will have them prepared and not overconfident.

 

[rocket1012]

Pillowpants,... ...Do you actually have access to NY media where you live? Until the interception by Webster in OT,.there was a battle for "goat horns" between Tynes missing kicks and R.W. McQuarters "coughing up'' interception and kick returns...But now,..it's like,.."We had it all the way", and they're lining up the Jints to replace the SB III Jets as NY's all time "feel good story". That's fine,...but not much mention of the last team to beat them,..DESPITE Eli Manning playing one of the best games of his career,and the Pats trailing by as many as 12 points in the 2nd half.

Every week it's something different,...Against Jacksonville,..it was "The Pats haven't faced a running tandem like Taylor and Jones-Drew"...,then S.D shoots their mouths off all week(including McNeil at mid-field pre-game with Seymour)about "The Patriots don't know what they're in for" and then when they lose,..they fall back on the "injury card" after they all said they were ready to go. Now they'll build up the pass-rush pressure that Brady will face from Strahan,Tuck,and Umeniyora,...ALL good players,..but weren't they playing Week 17?

The only thing "filling up" will be the Patriot trophy display case with the 4th Lombardi. Belichik and Co. didn't come this far to lose.....

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

Weird, I had this exact same thought the other day.

 

[redman]

That Rams team was a finesse team. Finesse. And we all know that about those guys. Isaac Bruce suffered a broken rib the first 5 minutes of that game. Marshall Faulk got knocked around all day like a blow up doll. New England beat the crap out of them that day, plain and simple. Anyone here wanna try and tell me this New England team is a finesse team after they ran the ball right down the throats of their last 2 opponents? Against 2 teams with such dominant running games as Jacksonville and San Diego. New England just crushed those 2 teams on the ground. Without Randy Moss. Their next game is in Arizona and Im thinking Randy Moss actually shows up in that game. And New England will still keep running the ball. Who's stopping that? This game has classic Superbowl blowout written all over it.

 

[redman]

Was the Patriots' mostly non-use of Moss in this game comparable at all to Mike Martz's infamous non-use of Marshall Faulk in the Rams-Pats Super Bowl?

 

[aardball44]

I believe it's a good thing for the Giants that they didn't take week 17 off against the Patriots. Being able to hang with them - and nearly beat them - through all 4 quarters no doubt gave them a boost of confidence going into the playoffs, and I'm sure they feel pretty confident going into the Super Bowl. Imagine how different their mindset would be if they took week 17 off and let NE destroy them.

Ni

I liked Strahan's quote last night after the SB victory. Paraphrasing:

"People said our [Week 17] game against the Patriots gave us a false sense of confidence. They're wrong...it gave us confidence."

 

[geoff8695]

Was the Patriots' mostly non-use of Moss in this game comparable at all to Mike Martz's infamous non-use of Marshall Faulk in the Rams-Pats Super Bowl?

No, but I do think BB's hubris in going for it on 4th and 13 rather than attempting a field goal IS comparable.