|
The Patriots are more than just Tom Brady.
2008 NFL Quarterly Report
When Tom Brady's ACL tore just seven minutes into New England's 2008 season, every Patriots fan's dream of making a redemptive run towards 19-0 were shredded with it. The pundits in the national media took things a step further, declaring that the Patriots would be fortunate to just make the playoffs, nevermind Super Bowl XLIII. NFL locker rooms and fan message boards buzzed with excitement as Goliath's fall finally opened the door for their team to win it all. I can't ever remember an injury to a single player that received such marquee coverage and created such an seismic shift in a league's landscape. No matter where you turned, be it the television, radio, newspaper, or the internet, you were inundated with reports on Brady's knee and the subsequent sound of the death bell tolling for the '08 Patriots.
Perhaps the only place where it didn't seem as if New England's sky was falling was their own locker room. As distant as last season's miracle run may have seemed in the dark moments following Brady's injury, the formative years leading up to that record-shattering season had to have come flooding back into every veteran Patriot's mind. How could they have not? Before their 2007 fireworks lit up the NFL, the New England Patriots were always the team that everyone counted out. Whether it was grounding the "Greatest Show on Turf", knocking out the two NFL MVP's back-to-back in the '04 playoffs, holding the Peyton Manning and his 48 touchdowns to three points in a divisional round game, clocking Big Ben and the 16-1 Steelers on the road, or matching the 15-1 Chargers blow for blow with a bunch of replacements, the New England Patriots have always come up the biggest when the odds were stacked the highest. I think it's safe to say that as those men huddled together with eighteen games standing between them and the Super Bowl and only a quarterback who hadn't started a game since high school to lead them there, the Patriots had never faced a more impossible task.
For anyone who's followed the Patriots for the past eight years, Tom Brady's injury was a slap in the face, a punch to the stomach, and a kick to the groin all rolled into one. Yet at the same time, there's something strangely satisfying about being the underdogs once more. This team has never been about racking up the points, mowing down the competition, and basking in the empty hype. The Patriots have always represented so much more than that. From the day Coach Belichick took over the reigns, New England football has been based on working hard, playing as a team, and swallowing your humble pie. It was the commitment to those values that allowed the Patriots run off that list of improbable victories I listed above and it will be catalyst behind the successes they'll achieve in the difficult days to come. Make no mistake, the New England Patriots are not dead.
They're back.
Predictions:
NFC NORTH:
1. Bears
2. Vikings
3. Packers
4. Lions
The Favre-less Packers aren't looking so great. Nobody should sleep on Minnesota just yet, but it looks like the Bears are the cream of the divison's crop.
NFC SOUTH:
1. Panthers
2. Buccaneers
3. Falcons
4. Saints
It's time to end my love affair with Carolina, who always seems to burn me when I over-estimate them. Of course, knowing them, they'll end up winning the division. I think the Saints will come marching back and really help me out in my quest to find six new playoff teams.
NFC EAST:
1. Cowboys
2. Redskins
3. Eagles
4. Eagles
When everything is said and done, I still believe the Cowboys are the best team in this division and that the Giants are lucky.
NFC WEST:
1. Cardinals
2. 49ers
3. Seahawks
4. Rams
The Cardinals may be the tallest midgets at the circus, but they're fans will take it if it means playoffs this winter.
NFC SEEDING:
1. Cowboys
2. Panthers
3. Bears
4. Cardinals
5. Redskins
6. Giants
At this point, I'd be pretty surprised if the NFC East wasn't once again fielding three of the six playoff teams for their conference.
AFC NORTH:
1. Steelers
2. Ravens
3. Bengals
4. Browns
The Ravens could sneak into first, but this is most likely the Steelers' division.
AFC SOUTH:
1. Titans
2. Jaguars
3. Colts
4. Texans
The Titans are on fire and I can't knock them for only playing bad teams. It's not like the Colts and Jaguars have looked so terrific against the scrubs.
AFC EAST:
1. Patriots
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets
Buffalo's looked mighty shaky in some of their last-second wins vs. really bad teams. Turns out the Patriots loss to the Phin's wasn't was dreadful as it first appeared. The fish have some life in them with their Wildcat offense and could turn Brett Favre's comeback into one of the biggest flops ever..
AFC WEST:
1. Chargers
2. Broncos
3. Chiefs
4. Raiders
This is a very, very shaky division at best right now. There's still twelve weeks to go and I think the Chargers will right the ship by then.
AFC SEEDING:
1. Patriots
2. Steelers
3. Titans
4. Chargers
5. Bills
6. Ravens
This is a pretty crazy set of seedings, I know Here's my logic: nobody in this conference is that good, so I'm going with the teams with the easiest schedule. It doesn't get any simpler than what the Patriots have to face. Ditto for Buffalo. The Steelers get to beat up on the Browns and Bengals twice. Ditto for Baltimore. I think the Titans have given themselves enough of a lead to win their tough battle with the Jags and Colts, and am picking the Chargers to just win their division.
NFC PLAYOFFS:
Wildcard Round:
Giants over Bears, Redskins over Cardinals
Divisional Round:
Giants over Cowboys, Redskins over Panthers
NFC Championship:
Giants over Redskins
AFC PLAYOFFS:
Wildcard Round:
Titans over Ravens, Chargers over Bills
Divisional Round:
Patriots over Chargers, Titans over Steelers
AFC Championship:
Patriots over Titans
SUPERBOWL XLIII:
Patriots over Giants
Let it be.
|
