Appreciate the wins
A wise man once said: "The Patriots have a legitimate shot to win each year. That's pretty cool. It bothers me that ya'll don't appreciate them having a chance to win every year."
Charles Barkley, you are right. That is pretty cool. And you know what? We don't appreciate it.
When first I saw that interview with Barkley, I just laughed, first because of his over-pronunciation of appreciate, but mainly because I thought I knew better. I thought I appreciated the Patriots as much as I should for their winning ways. But I don't. And I'm willing to bet most Patriots fans don't.
Just last year, the Baltimore Ravens got hot during the playoffs and went on to win the Super Bowl. Congrats to them. They played their best football at the best time and in turn, they won the ultimate prize. During the offseason, the team went through some drastic changes. Ray Lewis, the life and blood of the Ravens retired. Linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger left, signing with the Dolphins and Browns respectively. Cornerback Cary Williams left for the Eagles. They traded away Anquan Boldin for a seventh round pick (which still blows my mind). They let go of Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard. Needless to say, the Ravens that went into this season were very different for the Ravens that won the Super Bowl. So what is the point here?
The Ravens this season went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. That's my point.
We have seen this countless times with Super Bowl winners. Teams get hot at the right time, win a Super Bowl, but then fall back into mediocrity. In 2011, the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time. In the offseason, the Giants lost key parts to their team like Mario Manningham, Deon Grant and Dave Tollefson. The next season, they were 9-7 and missed the playoffs. This season they were 7-9 and started off the season 0-6.
The Saints won a Super Bowl in 2009, and while they had good seasons since then, they also endured a tough 2012 season going 7-9. Steelers won a Super Bowl the year before and in the last two years have been an 8-8 team. Hopefully by now what you are seeing is that it is extremely difficult to continuously win in the NFL. Even once you have won the Super Bowl, many teams come crashing back to Earth with in the next few seasons. This is due to teams losing players in the offseason, to other teams getting better, to key players starting to decline, to just key injuries at inopportune moments.
The Patriots aren't immune to all these troubles of the NFL. In fact this season alone has perfectly embodied almost everything that could possibly go wrong for a football team. The offseason saw our star wide receiver (Welker) leave the team and go sign with rival Broncos. It also included a young, highly talented and productive player (Hernandez) arrested for murder. This brought with it a media firestorm which the team had to deal with instead of focusing on football. To replace these players, the Patriots brought in three rookies (Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce) in an attempt to fill the void left by the greatest slot receiver in the game and one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the NFL. The story of the regular season has obviously been injuries. The Patriots have lost two starting defensive tackles, two starting linebackers, a starting safety, a starting offensive lineman and their starting tight end (if I have missed any, let me know).
Even with all this happening to them, the Patriots still ended the season 12-4 and with the 2nd seed in the AFC. Now they are one game away from making the Super Bowl. It's easy to look at this season and say "Oh its the Patriots they do this every year." Yea! That is what is so amazing. Every single year (since Brady took over in 2001) the Patriots get at least 12 wins and have at least a chance at contending for a Super Bowl. Even in 2008 when Brady, the most important player on that Patriots' roster, tore his ACL and MCL in opening week, the team still went 11-5 under backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Name me one other team that could lose their best player, their heart and soul of the team, and still win 11 games. The Ravens lost Ray Lewis this year and they went 8-8.
We Patriots fans have gotten used to the Pats always being in the postseason and always having a chance to win a Super Bowl. We are so used to it that we even consider a season a disappointment if we don't win a Super Bowl. That is insane.
This team right now could easily have gone 9-7 and possibly missed the playoffs altogether.
The team in 2008 could have gone 5-11 or something ridiculous without Tom Brady at the helm.
The team in 2001, the team that lost their starting quarterback in Week 2 and handed the reins over to a 6th round pick, could have tanked. They didn't. They won a Super Bowl.
The Patriots have had unprecedented success under Belichick and Brady. Appreciate that. Appreciate that our team will always be in the hunt for a Super Bowl year in and year out. There isn't another team in the NFL that can say that.
- Pete Rogers
@ftcsports
@petahrahgas
Charles Barkley, you are right. That is pretty cool. And you know what? We don't appreciate it.
When first I saw that interview with Barkley, I just laughed, first because of his over-pronunciation of appreciate, but mainly because I thought I knew better. I thought I appreciated the Patriots as much as I should for their winning ways. But I don't. And I'm willing to bet most Patriots fans don't.
 |
| Photo via draftkings.com |
Just last year, the Baltimore Ravens got hot during the playoffs and went on to win the Super Bowl. Congrats to them. They played their best football at the best time and in turn, they won the ultimate prize. During the offseason, the team went through some drastic changes. Ray Lewis, the life and blood of the Ravens retired. Linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger left, signing with the Dolphins and Browns respectively. Cornerback Cary Williams left for the Eagles. They traded away Anquan Boldin for a seventh round pick (which still blows my mind). They let go of Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard. Needless to say, the Ravens that went into this season were very different for the Ravens that won the Super Bowl. So what is the point here?
The Ravens this season went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. That's my point.
We have seen this countless times with Super Bowl winners. Teams get hot at the right time, win a Super Bowl, but then fall back into mediocrity. In 2011, the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time. In the offseason, the Giants lost key parts to their team like Mario Manningham, Deon Grant and Dave Tollefson. The next season, they were 9-7 and missed the playoffs. This season they were 7-9 and started off the season 0-6.
The Saints won a Super Bowl in 2009, and while they had good seasons since then, they also endured a tough 2012 season going 7-9. Steelers won a Super Bowl the year before and in the last two years have been an 8-8 team. Hopefully by now what you are seeing is that it is extremely difficult to continuously win in the NFL. Even once you have won the Super Bowl, many teams come crashing back to Earth with in the next few seasons. This is due to teams losing players in the offseason, to other teams getting better, to key players starting to decline, to just key injuries at inopportune moments.
The Patriots aren't immune to all these troubles of the NFL. In fact this season alone has perfectly embodied almost everything that could possibly go wrong for a football team. The offseason saw our star wide receiver (Welker) leave the team and go sign with rival Broncos. It also included a young, highly talented and productive player (Hernandez) arrested for murder. This brought with it a media firestorm which the team had to deal with instead of focusing on football. To replace these players, the Patriots brought in three rookies (Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce) in an attempt to fill the void left by the greatest slot receiver in the game and one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the NFL. The story of the regular season has obviously been injuries. The Patriots have lost two starting defensive tackles, two starting linebackers, a starting safety, a starting offensive lineman and their starting tight end (if I have missed any, let me know).
Even with all this happening to them, the Patriots still ended the season 12-4 and with the 2nd seed in the AFC. Now they are one game away from making the Super Bowl. It's easy to look at this season and say "Oh its the Patriots they do this every year." Yea! That is what is so amazing. Every single year (since Brady took over in 2001) the Patriots get at least 12 wins and have at least a chance at contending for a Super Bowl. Even in 2008 when Brady, the most important player on that Patriots' roster, tore his ACL and MCL in opening week, the team still went 11-5 under backup quarterback Matt Cassel. Name me one other team that could lose their best player, their heart and soul of the team, and still win 11 games. The Ravens lost Ray Lewis this year and they went 8-8.
We Patriots fans have gotten used to the Pats always being in the postseason and always having a chance to win a Super Bowl. We are so used to it that we even consider a season a disappointment if we don't win a Super Bowl. That is insane.
This team right now could easily have gone 9-7 and possibly missed the playoffs altogether.
The team in 2008 could have gone 5-11 or something ridiculous without Tom Brady at the helm.
The team in 2001, the team that lost their starting quarterback in Week 2 and handed the reins over to a 6th round pick, could have tanked. They didn't. They won a Super Bowl.
The Patriots have had unprecedented success under Belichick and Brady. Appreciate that. Appreciate that our team will always be in the hunt for a Super Bowl year in and year out. There isn't another team in the NFL that can say that.
- Pete Rogers
@ftcsports
@petahrahgas
