Don't rub your eyes or slap yourself, you are reading that title correctly. No, this is not an old post. Yes, I know Tom Brady is out for the season. No, I am not completely insane (just marginally).
I'll repeat it so you know it's not a typo, the 2008-2009 New England Patriots will win Super Bowl XLIII.
They will not go undefeated, they might not even win the division, but they will win the biggest game of the year, unlike last year.
Here's six reasons why.
- The team has something to prove, again.
- Belichick will have to return to his roots and coach a simple but solid game-plan.
- The games will be closer, the crowd will be livelier.
- Everyone will try even harder.
- They will lose regular season games.
- Matt Cassel will have a relatively easy schedule to ease himself into the starting role.
One of the biggest reasons the Patriots lost last year's championship is they became comfortable and started believing the media, the fans, and the hype that they were the greatest team ever. I mean, did you see Brady's press conference where he laughed at the Giants defense?
Let's face it, he deserved the manhandling the Giants gave him (let me be clear, he did not deserve to get hurt). The almighty Brady really truly thought he was going to simply walk over the Giants. The young and humble Tom would have stayed home, away from the cameras, and healed his injuries over those two weeks. Instead he was galavanting about New York City (of all places) in the days before his team played the New York Giants.
Unbelievable.
I don't know how many people saw each play of each game of last year's season but I did and many, many times it felt like Bill thought he was playing Madden as the Pats simply heaved the ball down-field to Randy Moss, again and again and again.
Now, it worked a heck of a lot of times, but the old Bill would have came out with a completely different strategy for the Super Bowl. Instead we saw Tom try to throw 10 TD's in one game to Randy Moss.
Boy, that Gillette crowd has really fallen asleep the past couple of years. Here's hoping they rise to their feet again instead of being awed to silence by the Brady-Moss show.
Again, the team now has something to prove. Can they do it with Tom Brady, or was it all just Brady all along? Personally, I see the defense digging in and become a wall, especially as we hit the tail end of the regular season going into the playoffs. Knowing they can't rely on the Brady-Moss show to put up 50+ points a game, everyone will have to give it their all for these Patriots to win the division and go deep into the playoffs. I for one think these Pats are up to the challenge.
Unlike last year, this year's New England Patriots will lose a regular season game, more than once. It will be good though, as it'll remind the players what it's like to lose and that they are not invincible. For all the talk of staying grounded, last year's team lost their grip and seemed to start believing they were unstoppable.
From the sound of the vulturous Boston sports media, you'd think it couldn't get any worse for the Patriots and their fans. Well, actually it could have been much, much worse. This injury to Tom could have happened in week 15, 16, 17, or even later. At least now Matt Cassel gets to take his knocks early in the season against one of the NFL's (apparently) easiest schedules and hopefully learn enough and grow enough to lead this team to and through the playoffs.
Go ahead, call me an overly optimistic homer but I've got a gut feeling all is not as dire as every media outlet makes it. When the 2008-09 New England Patriots are hoisting their fourth Lombardi trophy of this decade, just remember where you heard it first!
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Post written on 2008-09-09.
