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Friday, 08 February 2008 |
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By TERRY NAU Sports editor Today's special football issue is our way of saying “Thank you” to the New England Patriots for a remarkable season. The local NFL franchise kept us in awe from the first week of the season back in September until this past Sunday when time ran out on Bill Belichick’s squad at Super Bowl XXLII.
Think of the thrills, pride and fond memories this team has given Patriots fans throughout the region. Of course, this isn’t the first great New England squad we’ve followed over the past seven seasons. It was just the most exciting. A few off-season deals had turned a good offensive team into a great one and we knew it almost from Day One.
We spent those first few weeks of the regular season marveling at an offensive explosion that centered around Tom Brady and a corps of receivers led by the rejuvenated Randy Moss, who had come over Oakland in a deal for a fourth-round draft pick.
So effective was the passing game that the Patriots made you re-think certain gridiron axioms. “Time of possession” became almost irrelevant because Brady could take his unit 80 yards in two minutes or less while their opponents would spend five minutes controlling the ball and coming up short in the red zone against New England’s bend-but-don’t-break defense.
The Patriots didn’t need to run the football to set up the pass. Brady often set up in an empty backfield with five receivers spread across the field, confident that his offensive linemen could give him the three seconds (or less) needed for a quick completion. These Patriots could control the game by simply passing the football down the field.
As fans sitting at home, we listened to interviews on television, waiting for Randy Moss to finally start talking to the media. Frankly, we were a bit worried that the often-selfish, even childish, receiver in Minnesota and Oakland would revert to his old ways. And then one week there he was, talking at the podium, declaring his love for the Patriots, for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, for all his teammates. He had become a real team player in New England.
Moss kept saying all the right things as he went on to break the NFL record for touchdown receptions in one season, catching 23 six-pointers, one more than the great Jerry Rice. And Brady finished with a record 50 TD passes, breaking Peyton Manning’s mark of 49.
The offensive line sent three starters to the Pro Bowl – Matt Light, Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen. They had protected Brady all season long, for several seasons as a matter of fact, and were the unsung heroes of this extraordinary offensive unit that set a new league record for total points scored in one season.
And the defense? They were hardly noticed during the offensive onslaught of the first two months. Then, when the games started to get closer in November, they closed ranks and held together during upset attempts by Philadelphia and Baltimore, making big plays at the end of the game to keep the perfect record intact.
We did see some signs in late November and early December that this experienced unit could be beaten. Philadelphia put up 28 points in a near-upset in Foxboro, surviving only because Eagles’ backup QB Jay Feeley threw three interceptions. Then came the Monday night game in Baltimore when the Ravens came within one play of ending New England’s unbeaten skein.
That perfect slate started to become a burden in December, especially in the regular season finale with the Giants down in East Rutherford, N.J. Having already clinched a playoff berth, the Giants could have rested some key regulars. Instead, they made a concerted effort to win the game. New York led 28-16 in the third quarter before Brady and pals scored 22 straight points, then hung on for a 38-35 lead.
The 35 points allowed were somewhat disconcerting to the pessimists among us. But then came the playoffs and two solid defensive efforts in wins over Jacksonville and San Diego. New England had even developed a running game during the bitter days of December and January and with Laurence Maroney piling up several impressive outings, running with power and speed, accumulating over 100 yards in several games. The Patriots indeed seemed invincible heading into the Super Bowl. All the experts around the country predicted a New England triumph. The Las Vegas oddsmakers made them 12-point favorites at game time.
What can we say about the one loss that ended this “perfect” season? Well, there is so much to talk about. The Giants’ defense blitzed Brady from all angles, especially up the middle. They destroyed the Patriots’ offensive line. Brady got sacked five times and hit a remarkable 23 times in the game.
The Patriots showed the heart of the champions they remain by rallying for a 14-10 lead with less than three minutes left in the game. Brady to Moss, one more time. And then here came the Giants down the field against a weary Patriots defense, stealing away the Super Bowl with some remarkable efforts from Eli Manning, David Tyree and others.
The game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress came with 35 seconds left on the scoreboard clock, not enough time for Brady and the offense to perform one more Super Bowl miracle.
Here in New England, we can truthfully say the Patriots did not lose … time just ran out on them. We can say they left everything out on that field in Arizona. They gave everything they had and finally succumbed to a younger, more physical team. They got beat trying to accomplish a historic perfect 19-0 season, the burden of which may have finally worn them down.
With all this in mind, we say “Thank you” once again to the greatest football team most of us have ever seen.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 February 2008 )
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