Sports- NFL- Football- New England Patriots: A New Era of Excellence
by truth_is_here34
(Boston, Massachusetts, United States)
Sports- NFL- Football- New England Patriots: A New Era of Excellence
Sports- NFL- Football- New England Patriots: A New Era of Excellence
16-0 is a record that seems too good to be true.
Well, that is because the New England Patriots are not just a good football team or a great football team.
They have surpassed both of those superlatives because they have achieved perfection.
Perfection is something very difficult to accomplish in the NFL as only one other team in history (the 1972 Miami Dolphins) have done so.
The question on everyone’s mind however should be what differentiates these two perfect teams?
After all, they both had perfect regular seasons.
The answer is simple: class.
New England Patriots are in a class of their own and there is no disputing it.
December 3rd, 2007 is still fresh in our minds as the Baltimore Ravens almost handed the Patriots their first loss of the season.
I am sure that most Patriot fans truly thought that their perfect season would be obstructed right there and then.
However, Tom Brady and company found a way to pull it out as they usually do.
As the Ravens held a one touchdown lead midway through the 4th quarter, I vividly remember an elated Don Shula in the commentating booth recalling old times and discussing how great his 1972 Dolphins team really was and truly believing that his beloved team was going to hold on to that record.
But after a Gostkowski field goal and TD pass from Tom Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds to go, Don Shula’s facial expression suddenly turned from an ear to ear grin to a full blown pout.
At that moment, I knew, along with perhaps the rest of the world that if they could dig themselves out of the type of hole the Ravens placed them in, they truly are worthy of perfection.
People and fans in particular do not remember perfection by mere winning alone.
They remember it by the character of team and its coaching staff.
Bill Belichick’s team is perfect because he never lets them think they are for one second.
Room for improvement is constantly a theme in his plan for success and this is evident in every single post game interview he has with the press.
Belichick has an uncanny way of keeping his football team
humble and therefore they are able to stay hungry for every game.
That is the ultimate formula for success.
I can promise you that if the Patriots end up 19-0 and go on to win the superbowl this season, you will not see Brady, Moss and Belichick toasting each other year after year celebrating their perfect season like Shula, Csonka and Buonticonti have been doing for the past 35 years.
Finally, we can shut these annoying gloats up and introduce a new era of champion.
2007 has generated a New England Patriots team that does not get caught up in the hype but simply wins football games with not much conversation in between.
That is a measure of a true champion. Now after 35 long years, we finally have the beginning of a new era of excellence.
