The Patriots had a ridiculous season this year.  They won the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.  They won 15 games in a row and went 10-0 against teams with winning records. They also played some of the closest and most exciting games I’ve ever seen.  So what was the best part of the season?  The incredible run and great wins?  The amazingly entertaining games?  Or just all the incredible memories I have of the season?

Reasons why the 2003 Patriots may be the best team ever:

• Super Bowl XXXVIII Champions
• 17-2 Overall
• 15 Wins in a row
• 10-0 vs winning teams
• Beating both co-MVP’s not once but twice
• Beating Denver in Denver, Miami in Miami, and Indianapolis in Indianapolis
• Shutting out Dallas, Miami, and Buffalo
• Allowing only 22 points in their last 6 regular season home games
• Going 6-0 against teams that made the playoffs last year
• Doing all this with injuries to their best LBs, WRs, CB and OLs
• Never even trailing in a game from November 23rd until the Super Bowl
• Making the Colts punt for the first time in the playoffs after scoring on every drive the week before
• Making Peyton Manning throw his first interception of the playoffs, then intercepting three more
• The Patriots used a record high 45 different starters and still went 17-2

Reasons why the 2003 Patriots season may have been the most exciting ever:

• Winning ten games by 8 points or less
• Winning 4 games on last second scoring drives
• Beating the Jets 23-16 at home with an interception return for a TD in the final minutes by rookie Asante Samuel
• Defeating the Titans 38-30 at home with an 78 yard interception return by Ty Law in the final minutes to clinch the win
• Beating the Dolphins 19-13 in Miami in OT with an 92 yard pass to Troy Brown after blocking a Miami FG attempt to even make it to OT
• Beating the Broncos 30-26 on a winning TD with 30 seconds left after an intentional safety to save time
• Beating the Texans 23-20  in OT after coming back from a fourth quarter deficit to tie the game on a TD pass to Graham with seconds left in regulation
• Scoring on a kickoff return on the last second of the first half to regain momentum against the Colts
• Defeating the Colts 38-34 by stopping them from reaching the endzone on four consecutive plays from the two yard line
• Maintaing the shutout and matching 31-0 score against the Bills with the interception in the endzone in the final minutes
• Defeating the Titans 17-14 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs
• Defeating the Colts 24-14 in the AFC Championship game in the snow with 4 INTs
• Winning the most exciting Super Bowl ever 32-29 over the Panthers, with 37 points scored in the fourth quarter plus 24 points scored in the last 4 minutes of the first half

All the amazing memories this season brought me:

• Bob Kraft’s speech after the AFC Championship praising the fans for braving the various weather conditions and screaming until we had no voice left:
• The Patriots incredible 32-29 win over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII
• Throwing snow in the air after Tedy Bruschi’s touchdown against the Dolphins
• Going to four games in the snow
• Going to any game while the Patriots were on an incredible win streak, were the best team in the NFL, and everyone in the stadium was just full of happiness.
• Singing “let it snow” at the stadium and dancing in the stands to another Pats win.
• Watching the Patriots defeat co-MVP Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship Game in the snow, with 4 interceptions, after the Colts scored on every possession the previous week.
• Chanting “PUNT!!!” at the Colts in the AFC Championship game for their first punt of the playoffs, which proceeded to be snapped over the punter’s head.
• Watching the Patriots defeat the Tennessee Titans and co-MVP Steve McNair in the 5 degree weather in Foxboro in the playoffs.
• Watching as the Patriots made the most incredible goal line stand ever, stopping the Colts for four plays from a yard out to win the game, eventually earning them home field advantage.
• Watching the Patriots win 15 games in a row as a team.
• Watching the Patriots defeat former coach Bill Parcells in a 12-0 shutout.
• Watching the Patriots shutout three teams at home and give up no touchdowns for 4 straight home games.
• Screaming my lungs out for the defense to stop the other team, and then always seeing them do just that
• Did I mention throwing snow in the air at any of the four snow games?

The Game

This game, Super Bowl XXXVIII was one of the best games ever. It was absolutely insane. 37 points scored in the 4th quarter!!! This was a supposed to be a very defensive game and it was for a while. There were no points scored in the first 27 minutes of the game or in the third quarter as well. But it got down to the end of the game and the Panthers scored to make it 21-16. The Patriots drove down the field to try to put it away and give the Patriots a comfortable lead, but Brady got picked off in the endzone. The Panthers hit an 85 yard touchdown pass and took a 22-21 lead after failing on the 2 point conversion. But the Patriots drove right back down the field and scored on a touchdown pass to LB Mike Vrabel. The Patriots also got the two point conversion on a direct snap to Faulk, so the game was 29-22 all with 2:51 left in the game. But the Panthers were able to drive down the field again and tie the game with a pass to Ricky Proehl. This drive was helped by the fact that both the Patriots starting safeties were now out with injuries. Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson had been replaced by Chris Akins and rookie special teamer Shawn Mayer. Now the Pats were going to get the ball back with a score tied at 29 all and a 1:08 left. They got a little help with Kasey’s kick going out of bounds and the Patriots started at the 40. Brady made some huge passes to Brown, Graham, and Branch, including one that was called back, setting Vinatieri up for a 41 yard game winning field goal. And so, with Vinatieri’s kick, the Patriots were world champions once again, with a 32-29 victory.

The Win

This was another incredible win and concluded an amazing season. It feels a lot different than the win in Super Bowl XXXVI though. I think there’s a number of reason for that. For one thing, Super Bowl XXXVI was a terrific upset over a heavily favored Rams team. And also I was at that Super Bowl and I think that makes a huge difference. Being at the game not only gets you so much more involved in the game but it also is a much better way to watch it. On TV you’re not allowed to see the receivers down field at all. But I think mainly it’s that that season they had no respect unless they won that game. This game was just another part of the season. Just the 15th straight win in the bunch. It was important to get but they had an amazing season whether they won the game or not. And it was expected for them to win, rather than such a shocking Super Bowl win. But it marks the end of an amazing season where they won 15 in a row, won the world championship, and went 17-2 overall.

The Players

There were some amazing performances in this game. Just amazing. Tom Brady, obviously, had a great great game, completing 32 of 48 passes for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns. Then there’s Mike Vrabel, who had 4 tackes, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, and a touchdown catch! All the receivers came up huge, with Branch catching 10 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Brown had 8 catches for 76 yards and had some huge catches on the final drive to get the winning field goal. Even Ken Walter managed to kick a 51 yard punt at one point in the game. But I think the best performers in the game were probably the offensive line. They were facing the best defensive line in the league and they held them to 0 sacks. They also were able to produce 127 rushing yards in the game. For the offensive line to be able to give Brady that kind of time that he had and to get all those rushing yards, was amazing.

How good?

How good were these Patriots? They won Super Bowl XXXVIII. They won 15 games in a row. They went 17-2 on the season. They were 10-0 against winning teams. The only team to win more games in a row were the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who were undefeated at 17-0. But they had a much easier schedule. The 2003 Patriots were 10-0 against winning teams and 6-0 against teams that were 10-6 or better. I would say one of the best teams of all time.

The future

The future looks great. I mean, what holes and problems do they have? You can always improve the offensive and defensive lines. And the linebackers are getting fairly old. The only other question is how much we’re willing to pay to keep Ty Law and if we try to upgrade at running back. But with Roosevelt Colvin coming back from injury next year and 4 picks in the first two rounds of next years draft, the team looks really good. The one thing to consider is that the Patriots were able to win the Super Bowl two years ago with a much less talented team. Belichick is that good of a coach that even with a less talented team they can win and with the draft picks they have the team should only be getting better. It’s really exciting.

Some quotes

Here are some interesting quotes I found in the Boston Globe after the Super Bowl.

“Here’s all you have to know about our team,” Belichick said. “We won all those games in a row, and not one person wants to take credit for it. Not one guy. Brady credits the offensive line. The coaches credit the players. Ty [Law] got three interceptions in the AFC Championship game, and he says the pressure from the defensive line made it possible. How cool is that?”

And here is a description of Belichick’s pregame speech. Belichick said something to the effect of, “Everybody’s talking about the how Panthers are similar to us. They’re not us. They’ll never be [expletive] us. They’ll never be champions. We’re the [expletive] champions, and the trophy is coming back where it belongs.”

HOLY SHIT!!!!
completely unbelievable!

4 plays for the colts to get 1 yard and Ted Washington and Willie McGinest come up HUGE!
and Bethel Johnson’s 160 yds of kickoff returns whenever they needed it. that defense is absolutely incredible.

oh and ken walter sucks. an 18 yard punt??? with 3 minutes left?????
and what strange play calling and some odd throws by brady at the end.

This defense is absolutely incredible.  Amazing.  I don’t understand how that is possible.

Who would have thought that after going scoreless in their first games, the Patriots and Eagles would be on 8 and 7 game win streaks and be two of the favorites for the Super Bowl??