After New England went 16-0 [that's undefeated, for you slower handicaps] last season in the NFL, there was hope and inspiration that they could go all the way, like the only other team in NFL history to do it; the '72 Miami Dolphins.
Tom Brady and the Patriots faced several challenges on the road to perfection, but throughout most of the season, Brady and Co. made mincemeat out of the competition. Let's review the most important games of their entire NFL 2007 season.
-Week 1:
NE Patriots @ NY Jets [38-14]: Quite a turnaround from their first preseason game, in which they lost to Tampa Bay by a mere 3 points, Tom Brady and Co. embarrassed the Jets, who couldn't decide on a QB to put out on the field. Top Passer: Tom Brady - Top Rusher: Laurence Maroney - Top Receiver: Randy Moss. All three of whom, belong to the New England Patriots.
-Week 3:
BUF Bills @ NE Patriots [7-38]: New England certainly has had no problem sweeping the floor with their AFC counter-parts, and Buffalo wasn't expecting such a horrible domination. Once again, the three players mentioned above acquired the honors for the game.
-Week 6:
NE Patriots @ DAL Cowboys [48-27]: Both teams came into this game 6-0, and one team was going to leave with either a loss or both with a tie. Tom Brady simply would not have it, and though the Cowboys were tough in the first half, the New England Corp. got to work to pull out a crushing defeat, leaving the Cowboys with their first, but not last loss, of the season.
-Week 8:
WAS Redskins @ NE Patriots [7-52]: This game would be the biggest margin of victory the Patriots would have all season, winning by 45 points. The Redskins are the only team that Tom Brady had never beaten before, and this is where the 'Skins series streak came to an end.
-Week 9:
NE Patriots @ IND Colts [24-20]: Twice now, that two teams faced off with a perfect record in the regular season. Both teams led by Hall of Fame Quarterbacks, so you know that this game was going to be a gun-show. The Brady-Moss combination overcame the Colts in an epic 4th Quarter Comeback that would leave the Colts speechless. It was all over but the crying, which had already started. The team that knocked them out of the playoffs the year before was dethroned of their perfect record.
-Week 12 and 13:
PHI Eagles @ NE Patriots [28-31]
NE Patriots @ BAL Ravens [27-24]
Now, the reason I put these two games together is simple; the Patriots got lucky in both of these games. Their overall record should've been 14-2 coming out of the regular season, but with luck and hope, they pulled through with two 4th Quarter Comebacks in a row. And losing to the Ravens would soon have proved to be humiliating, as they lost to the Miami Dolphins a couple weeks later, who went 1-15 on the season.
-Week 17:
NE Patriots @ NY Giants [38-35]: With playoffs guaranteed for both teams, the Patriots expected to see the Giants' starters on the sidelines, resting up for the NFC Wildcard game. As Tom and the Pats found out, that was NOT the case. The Patriots had beaten the Giants in the last game of Preseason, as well as the last game of the regular season. As fate would have it, the two teams would face off a third and final time in the world's biggest stage.
-The Super Bowl:
NY Giants @ NE Patriots [17-14]: The third time was the charm for the under-dog Giants, and it certainly paid off to hold fast against the Green Bay Packers. Through the first half of the game, Tom Brady, the Hero of Foxborough, was on his back more times than a cheap hooker. It all came down to the 4th Quarter, where Tom Brady and his offense would be asked to make one more comeback, one that would define them as men, and as football players. With about 2 minutes left in the game, Tom Brady overcame the Giants' defense for one series, the series that should have brought immortality to the Patriot Dynasty. Tom Brady got the "almost game-winning" touchdown, and the Patriots thought the game was over. They would've gone to 4 super bowls in 7 years... and won them all. That was not the case, however, as Eli Manning had a great drive of his own, dodging a game-ending sack for a huge play down the field. The Giants scored, answering the Patriots' hard work and effort. In desperation, Tom Brady threw bombs downfield to Moss, with only seconds left on the board. If Moss could get them in field-goal range, they'd go into overtime, and could try to win the Super Bowl XLII. To their own disgust, they could not make it downfield before time expired, and the ruling of victory was this time on the Giants' side. Defeated, the New England Patriots made their way back into the locker rooms with expressions of pure loss.
So, looking at New England's schedule for this coming season, the burning question that must be asked is this - Can New England get a second perfect regular season, and win the big game along with it?
1 Sep 07 KC @ NE
2 Sep 14 NE @ NYJ
3 Sep 21 MIA @ NE
4 Bye
5 Oct 05 NE @ SF
6 Oct 12 NE @ SD
7 Oct 20 DEN @ NE
8 Oct 26 STL @ NE
9 Nov 02 NE @ IND
10 Nov 09 BUF @ NE
11 Nov 13 NYJ @ NE
12 Nov 23 NE @ MIA
13 Nov 30 PIT @ NE
14 Dec 07 NE @ SEA
15 Dec 14 NE @ OAK
16 Dec 21 ARI @ NE
17 Dec 28 NE @ BUF
Discuss.
Tom Brady and the Patriots faced several challenges on the road to perfection, but throughout most of the season, Brady and Co. made mincemeat out of the competition. Let's review the most important games of their entire NFL 2007 season.
-Week 1:
NE Patriots @ NY Jets [38-14]: Quite a turnaround from their first preseason game, in which they lost to Tampa Bay by a mere 3 points, Tom Brady and Co. embarrassed the Jets, who couldn't decide on a QB to put out on the field. Top Passer: Tom Brady - Top Rusher: Laurence Maroney - Top Receiver: Randy Moss. All three of whom, belong to the New England Patriots.
-Week 3:
BUF Bills @ NE Patriots [7-38]: New England certainly has had no problem sweeping the floor with their AFC counter-parts, and Buffalo wasn't expecting such a horrible domination. Once again, the three players mentioned above acquired the honors for the game.
-Week 6:
NE Patriots @ DAL Cowboys [48-27]: Both teams came into this game 6-0, and one team was going to leave with either a loss or both with a tie. Tom Brady simply would not have it, and though the Cowboys were tough in the first half, the New England Corp. got to work to pull out a crushing defeat, leaving the Cowboys with their first, but not last loss, of the season.
-Week 8:
WAS Redskins @ NE Patriots [7-52]: This game would be the biggest margin of victory the Patriots would have all season, winning by 45 points. The Redskins are the only team that Tom Brady had never beaten before, and this is where the 'Skins series streak came to an end.
-Week 9:
NE Patriots @ IND Colts [24-20]: Twice now, that two teams faced off with a perfect record in the regular season. Both teams led by Hall of Fame Quarterbacks, so you know that this game was going to be a gun-show. The Brady-Moss combination overcame the Colts in an epic 4th Quarter Comeback that would leave the Colts speechless. It was all over but the crying, which had already started. The team that knocked them out of the playoffs the year before was dethroned of their perfect record.
-Week 12 and 13:
PHI Eagles @ NE Patriots [28-31]
NE Patriots @ BAL Ravens [27-24]
Now, the reason I put these two games together is simple; the Patriots got lucky in both of these games. Their overall record should've been 14-2 coming out of the regular season, but with luck and hope, they pulled through with two 4th Quarter Comebacks in a row. And losing to the Ravens would soon have proved to be humiliating, as they lost to the Miami Dolphins a couple weeks later, who went 1-15 on the season.
-Week 17:
NE Patriots @ NY Giants [38-35]: With playoffs guaranteed for both teams, the Patriots expected to see the Giants' starters on the sidelines, resting up for the NFC Wildcard game. As Tom and the Pats found out, that was NOT the case. The Patriots had beaten the Giants in the last game of Preseason, as well as the last game of the regular season. As fate would have it, the two teams would face off a third and final time in the world's biggest stage.
-The Super Bowl:
NY Giants @ NE Patriots [17-14]: The third time was the charm for the under-dog Giants, and it certainly paid off to hold fast against the Green Bay Packers. Through the first half of the game, Tom Brady, the Hero of Foxborough, was on his back more times than a cheap hooker. It all came down to the 4th Quarter, where Tom Brady and his offense would be asked to make one more comeback, one that would define them as men, and as football players. With about 2 minutes left in the game, Tom Brady overcame the Giants' defense for one series, the series that should have brought immortality to the Patriot Dynasty. Tom Brady got the "almost game-winning" touchdown, and the Patriots thought the game was over. They would've gone to 4 super bowls in 7 years... and won them all. That was not the case, however, as Eli Manning had a great drive of his own, dodging a game-ending sack for a huge play down the field. The Giants scored, answering the Patriots' hard work and effort. In desperation, Tom Brady threw bombs downfield to Moss, with only seconds left on the board. If Moss could get them in field-goal range, they'd go into overtime, and could try to win the Super Bowl XLII. To their own disgust, they could not make it downfield before time expired, and the ruling of victory was this time on the Giants' side. Defeated, the New England Patriots made their way back into the locker rooms with expressions of pure loss.
So, looking at New England's schedule for this coming season, the burning question that must be asked is this - Can New England get a second perfect regular season, and win the big game along with it?
1 Sep 07 KC @ NE
2 Sep 14 NE @ NYJ
3 Sep 21 MIA @ NE
4 Bye
5 Oct 05 NE @ SF
6 Oct 12 NE @ SD
7 Oct 20 DEN @ NE
8 Oct 26 STL @ NE
9 Nov 02 NE @ IND
10 Nov 09 BUF @ NE
11 Nov 13 NYJ @ NE
12 Nov 23 NE @ MIA
13 Nov 30 PIT @ NE
14 Dec 07 NE @ SEA
15 Dec 14 NE @ OAK
16 Dec 21 ARI @ NE
17 Dec 28 NE @ BUF
Discuss.
) along with some of the other big shooters. They may even have to watch for San Diego again this year. The biggest thing I noticed about the Pats season last year is that teams started getting the gist of: You can't guard Randy Moss so you should be blitzing Brady and pressuring him into a bad decision (the few that he makes). As the season progress you could notice the pressure getting to Brady and you could notice a loss in tactical advantage.