Now that they have completed the feat and gone 16-0, everyone wants to say that the job is not finished — the work is undone. What difference does it make if the Patriots go 16-0 only to lose in the playoffs, people say. A only means something if B also happens they tell me. You know what? I’m not buying into that. Sure, if you’re in the New England locker room, that’s probably what they’re saying and thinking. Good for them. Me, I’m independent of the locker room; I can judge the Patriots regardless of whether or not they reach their goal of winning the Super Bowl.
To me, going 16-0 is a greater feat than winning the Super Bowl. Before you jump on my case hear me out. Every single year there is a Super Bowl winner. It is an annual occurrence. You can lose six games in the regular season and still be the last man standing. You can be a six seed, get hot at the right time, and win a ring. Going through the regular season without losing however, is much more difficult. Only one other team in history has gone undefeated — the ‘72 Dolphins. The 2007 Patriots are the only team to go 16-0. I realize that their story could become a cautionary tale but you telling me the Patriots don’t have a better place in history — regardless of the playoffs — than the ‘02 Bucs? You telling me Trent Dilfer’s Ravens are a team of more significance than the ‘07 Patriots? Please.
Win or lose in January and February, I already hold the ‘07 Patriots in the highest regard. They’ve already accomplished more than any other team in history and already have their place in the record books. Their legacy has already been cemented and a Super Bowl victory would just serve as a nice bonus.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
“If you lose this game, you’ll take it to your [expletive] graves.” -Herb Brooks
as will New England if they blow it. 16-0 doesn’t mean anything, it’s the title.
They obviously want the Super Bowl title, but you are correct, they just completed the greatest regular season in NFL history. They broke all kinds of team and individual records, and they did it against top competition. They beat all three of the other AFC division winners. They also beat the NFC East division winner and top seed, Dallas, in Dallas, and also beat two other NFC playoff teams. Three of those six games were on the road.
Now they are faced with the most likely scenario of having to beat three of those six teams a second time. I hope they make it, so that we all can say we witnessed the greatest accomplishment in NFL history from beginning to end.
I agree with your assessment, but you mentioned the Ravens in your argument, who many see as a paper champ because they had zero offense.
It diminishes the legacy of a team known for not losing to lose before or in a big game.
[...] They certainly weren’t the best team on Sunday. The Giants won the game fair and square. Not handily, but they certainly did enough to make me (and any sane person for that matter) say that the Giants earned the Super Bowl. They won it proper, no question about it. While the Patriots no longer belong in the “best team of all-time” conversation because they didn’t win it, I still believe they are the best NFL team I’ve ever seen. Simple as that. I’ve never seen another team go 18-1, nor have I seen another team dominate professional opponents as much as they did earlier in the year. Everybody said that they would be a failure if they didn’t win the Super Bowl after going 16-0 in the regular season. Most people have classified them as a failure for losing the biggest game of the year. I refuse to do so, as I said earlier in the year. [...]
[...] in the NFL last year were the New England Patriots. The set all kinds of offensive records, went 16-0 during the regular season, and didn’t lose until the Super Bowl (with the exception of the alternate Perfectville [...]