Take it like a man

Trying to wrap my mind around the Patriots heart-wrenching loss in Super Bowl 46 and came up with a few quick hits to tide me on my football needs over until the draft starts in earnest:

  • Put me at the top of the list of people who DO NOT want to be running anyone outta town on a rail.  Fire Tom Brady. Let Wes Welker walk.  Who are these bozos? What kind of rocks do these WEEIdiots crawl out of to reach the phone?  The two best players on offense are the last players to run out, regardless of one bad series.  A tough loss to swallow? Sure, but forget churning out a couple of superstars.
  • Yes, it was a terribly frustrating loss.  The Patriots could and even should have won the game.  Most frustrating was the feeling all playoffs that this season felt like 2001.  This Patriots team was not the most talented team, but they were a great team, just like that classic squad. They came from behind. They weren't expected to win and yet pulled games out all year.  I think that was what made this loss frustrating.  This was supposed to another rabbit-out-of-the hat win.
    • Just think, everyone had the bad mojo of the Patriots not winning a playoff game in two years.  It looked like that after the bye week, Pittsburgh, who had beat the Patriots already, would be waiting for them after dispatching Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Instead, the Broncos improbably beat the Steelers in overtime giving the Patriots an easy romp in round one. 
    • Then, when Baltimore was supposed to beat the Patriots soundly, they quite literally dropped the ball.  The Patriots were in the Super Bowl.  The two big guns of the NFC--Green Bay and New Orleans--were already dispatched, and the Patriots had a realistic chance of winning the Super Bowl.
      • THAT is what made it frustrating.
  • So my plan is to appreciate the season.  Ten game winning streak.  Amazing statistical seasons from Tom Brady and Rob Gonkowksi.  A young defense coming together in the playoffs.  A great coaching job by Bill Belichick all year. The return of Josh McDaniels. Beating the Jets twice. Two rounds against the Tebow. It was a fun year. As a survivor of the Ron Meyer, Dick McPherson, Rod Rust,  and Pete Carroll regimes, I cannot take any season for granted.

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