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!
I really hope the Jets take the division, haha! Growing up in Wisconsin, I grew to love Brett Favre. We’ll see if they actually have any potential next week when they take on the Pats. If the Jets fail, I always have the Pack to cheer on. They looked pretty decent last night.
Honestly, I’ll be rooting for the Patriots but if they don’t make the playoffs it’ll be OK (I think teams that win championships should get byes from their fans for a few years).
I actually didn’t get a chance to see any of the week 1 games but I’ll try to tune in for the Jet-Pats game, should be interesting either way. Plus I really enjoy rooting against Brett Favre (still hold a grudge from the Packers-Pats Super Bowl).
Hey, you can always root for the Cardinals too!
…haha….
Hahaha, the Cardinals. I remember seeing some Cardinals tickets for like 10 (for the pair) on Craigslist last season. A little different than getting a seat at Lambeau. But who knows, maybe they’ll pull it together this year….maybe
Justin Wrights last blog post..Avenue of the Giants
You should do a blog post about whatever it is you’re smoking. They’re demoralized. They will still be a good team but are going to limp along all season without their key man.
Justin, the Cardinals are leading the NFC West right now!
Matt, I can’t be giving away trade secrets!
Also, I should note that I’ve been picking the Pats to win the Super Bowl every year since about 1990…
😉
I do really think they’re going to do better than everyone expects, especially no that no one believes in them again, they love being the underdogs. Having said that, I should note I haven’t watched a minute of NFL football so far so take my prediction for what it’s worth.
You Patriots fans really have been in your own little world the past 5 years eh? Let me break the bad news to you, you can’t draft backup college QBs and expect starters (let alone guys good enough to make and win the superbowl). You guys got lucky with Tom Brady and now any guy with both arms and both legs is good enough to be your QB? Get real, your franchise is taking the year off.
You mean that world where we won three Super Bowls…you mean that didn’t happen in your world? Hmm…oddd…
😉
I’m not expecting Matt Cassel to set records or carry the Pats, rather I expect him to make mistakes, learn, and eventually end up managing the game well and making a few plays here and there. He won’t be an MVP but he is a starter right now so seems our expectations were correct, eh?
I think new england is the best football team ever!!!!and yes they are going to win thier division….and go on to the Super Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!Hopefully next year Tom Brady will be back to claim back his football team
LET’S GO NEW ENGLAND!<3
Charli left a comment
so I wanted to , too.
XD
New England Patriots is the #1 team in the NFL Lets Go Patriots Lets Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Plus Who is Matt Cassel, I love Tom Brady Now Thats A Hottie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Jets Are Going Down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!