BIG_FISH_RI said:
it could be argued that we really did not beat any team of quality other then SD at the end of the season. Is there really a big reason to be optomistic this year. Just throwing it out there to see what others think.
First of all "welcome to FH..."
Next, points well taken on your opinion, and optimism is very high around here as you have seen,,,
Yes we mostly beat teams that were less than mediocre through our last 6 games, and as many in the media as well as us fans have stated, that is the reason for the streak...
but what is not stressed in the same sentence is... that teams with talent good coaching and gameplan are supposed to win those games against bad teams, no matter if winning by 1 or more points...
what else is not stressed is that we were not suppose to win more than 4-5 games last year, according to all the "so called" analyst's predictions, so they came out with the "soft schedule" at season's end excuse...
Funny how thinds work out, we had the 2nd toughest "Strenght of Schedule of all 32 teams (based on last years standings) starting in 2005. The Pats had the toughest and IMHO, what got them their 10-6 record was those 4 games they won againnst the Jets and Bills...
What goes by un-noticed is that we were at least 4-4 against winning teams last year (not counting the win against NE at the end). The Pats were 4-5 against winning teams (MIA in the mix). The Pats also went under .500 against winning teams since 2002 (9-7) and did not make the Post Season then...
Many are seeing the Pats as still the team to beat in the AFC, they lost game changing players last year, Vinitieri, McGinest, and great coaches (Weis, Crennel and Mangini). Vinitieri will surely be missed, even with Brady at the helm. The 2005 Pats performed poorly compared to the 2004 team full of backups in their Defensive unit. Hell, we gave up fewer points through the air then they did last year...
Injuries to the Pats was the excuse given this year as to what hurt the team this year, but the team won the SB in 2004 with most of the Defensive starters out most of the year still only loosing 2 games...
Bottom line, good or average teams are supposed to beat bad teams, and people as well as analysts, only use the "on any given Sunday," quote, when ever they want to fit it in. Writers were not allowed to use that quote on the Fins in the last 6 weeks of the year...