by Ice Cream Jonsey » Wed Aug 07, 2002 11:39 am
(Re: Mike's call of the Pats being one of the three worst teams)
The Patriots were something like 19th in offense last year and 24th in defense. That's got to be the worst placement for a Super Bowl winner. So from a pure numbers perspective, missing the post-season seems quite possible. But at the same time I think they have a head coach who was flat-out smarter than everyone else last year and is probably still ahead of everyone else this year. I have no idea how that team will do.
I would say that especially in the playoffs (and probably in the regular season) they were so far ahead of everyone else on special teams that it was ridiculous. Troy Brown couldn't be stopped, Vinatieri became one of the most clutch kickers in playoff history (and totally OWNED Martz when he put Faulk out there to return a kickoff) and even their frigging punter led all playoff teams in punts inside the 20. Special teams really are an equal third of the game, and it's sad just how ignored or badly-managed they are by most coaches in the NFL, especially since Marv Levy demonstrated that superior special teams were a big reason why he got four straight Super Bowl appearances.
(Re: Mike's call of the Pats being one of the three worst teams)
The Patriots were something like 19th in offense last year and 24th in defense. That's got to be the worst placement for a Super Bowl winner. So from a pure numbers perspective, missing the post-season seems quite possible. But at the same time I think they have a head coach who was flat-out smarter than everyone else last year and is probably still ahead of everyone else this year. I have no idea how that team will do.
I would say that especially in the playoffs (and probably in the regular season) they were so far ahead of everyone else on special teams that it was ridiculous. Troy Brown couldn't be stopped, Vinatieri became one of the most clutch kickers in playoff history (and totally OWNED Martz when he put Faulk out there to return a kickoff) and even their frigging punter led all playoff teams in punts inside the 20. Special teams really are an equal third of the game, and it's sad just how ignored or badly-managed they are by most coaches in the NFL, especially since Marv Levy demonstrated that superior special teams were a big reason why he got four straight Super Bowl appearances.