Posted on 12/29/2007 8:45:22 PM PST by Reaganesque
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - With one mighty heave, Tom Brady and Randy Moss took care of the record books. Now it's down to business for the unbeaten New England Patriots: stamping themselves as the greatest team in NFL history.
The Patriots completed a perfect if somewhat joyless journey through the regular season Saturday night, finishing with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants.
New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a comeback from a 12-point deficit engineered by the brilliant Brady, and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.
Validation of their inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship, their fourth of the decade. Do that and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top.
I believe our culture benefits when once we decide to punish an individual for something, that we then give them a chance for redemption. For example, if we sentence a burglar to jail for 3 years, when that person gets out, we should assume that he paid the price for his crime and we should give that individual a chance to lead a moral, productive life. If we take the tack that we want this individual to stamped a criminal for life and never give him the chance to go out and be productive, then we might as well lock him up for life, as the only choice available to this person will be to become a career criminal.
The NFL Commissioner decided in this case that he would punish Belichick with a hefty fine and loss of first round draft pick rather than banishing him from the league for life. That being the case, we have to give Belichick a chance to redeem himself and that he did by coaching his team to a perfect 16-0 season. Belichick learned that he does not have to "cheat" or "spy" to be successful and that is the greatest gift that society could have given him. Now Belichick will know that he doesn't have to do these things to be successful and maybe now he will be a more moral person. In that case, it is a win-win situation for Belichick and for society at large.
I realize that many people wanted to see Belichick fall on his face and fail. But Belichick did not allow that to happen. He deserves all the credit for redeeming himself and showing the world that he does not have to "cheat" to be successful. In fact, he can actually be MORE successful by not cheating.
I was apprehensive when they signed Moss, but he seems to be a different person in New England. Maybe he just grew up, maybe Belichick has had some sort of effect.
I’m glad for Moss and glad for the Patriots that it worked out.
The Patriots all seem to be infected with Belichick’s low key attitude, which does not endear them to networks or advertisers.
There you go. You have come close to admitting it. Your conversion is progressing. Say it with me: BELICHICK CHEATED.
I don't disagree that criminals, and Belichick, deserve a second chance. If Belichick ever gives a real apology, and is genuinely contrite, he deserves to be forgiven.
But at the present time, neither Belichick nor the Patriots deserve any respect.
And also Pat fans don’t like to consider there could be copies made of the illegal films still floating around in the Pats locker room.
They most likely didn’t have just one copy of the films. Easy to destroy one copy while others still exist.
Lots to gain from those illegal films— otherwise they wouldn’t have risked filming.
He’s probably grown up a bit, but I still think he’d be total jerk if the Pats were losing. Babies who don’t get their way always tend to throw tantrums.
After 45 years of hearing the Patriots referred to as the Patsies and being treated as the Rodney Dangerfield of football, I'm actually enjoying the whining and "Patriots Derangement Syndrome" displayed here.
Should they win the Super Bowl, some of these folks' heads will explode.
Good point.
He really didn’t have to cheat against the Jets..
“I have lived long enough to know that hate and envy are self-destructive emotions.”
There’s no hate and envy here. It is what it is. An asterisk is an asterisk.
2007 is the Year of the Cheater.
Bonds, clemens, marion Jones, and the Pats. cheaters all.
But LOL at the self-righteous posters who have the compulsion to lecture and sermonize.
If you want to call the Patriots cheats, the label only applies to their earlier championships (Personally, though they technically cheated, I don’t really see it as a monstrous violation as all teams have game films of each other and signals can actually be picked up from TV broadcasts). This year is not the year the Patriots are tainted.
This is the year they got caught. So, it will be remembered as the year they both went undefeated in the regular season, and got caught cheating. They forfeited their first round pick and were heavily fined, but they are “krafty” enough to have the 49rs pick in the draft.
But i am thankful that we wont have to see the old 72 Dolphins drink champagne when the last team loses a game. So, there is some redeeming value to what the Patsies did. ;-)
Yep, you’re right. It’s a lack of appreciation for an historic season (in a sport on the fast-track to out-thug-ball the NBA).
Corrections: The piece of garbage coach cheated; was caught and continues to deny it; was given a slap on the wrist; and the cheating enabled him to "win" for the last few years.
Of course. Because SOME players in the NFL get themselves arrested, they must ALL be thugs. And look at how many of them are on the Patriots squad, and have spent so much time dealing with Police inquiries.... /sarc
Yep. Agreed. The NFL is mostly rigged anyway. But at least I don’t ever have to only hear about the Dullfins perfect season any more. They’ll never be popping the champagne corks when a team finally loses again. And that’s worth something.
Or ‘super’ bowl XL. That was the rigged travesty that caused me to stop caring about football.
1972-1973 Miami Dolphins’ composite opponent record
Including the losses to the Dolphins 51-86-3 (0.375)
Excluding the losses to the Dolphins 51-72-3 (0.416)
Number of opponents in post season as a percentage of remaining playoff teams: 0.000
2007-2008 New England Patriots’ composite opponent record
Including the losses to the Patriots 108-100 (0.520)
Excluding the losses to the Patriots 108-84 (0.563)
Number of opponents in post season as a percentage of remaining playoff teams: 0.454
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