Finished: 1st Place in the AFC East; AFC Champions; Lost Super Bowl XLVI
2012 Draft Position: 31st
Preseason Ranking: 7
Week 1: Defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-24
Ranked - 2
Why aren't the Patriots ranked #1 after their awe-inspiring offensive performance on Monday night? The defense allowed Miami's Chad Henne to look like a poor man's copy of Tom Brady. If the Patriots hope to challenge for another Super Bowl title, they better figure out how to stop opposing offenses. Even the greatest offenses can't win every game 38-34... just ask the 2007 Patriots.
Week 2: Defeated the San Diego Chargers, 35-21
Ranked - 1
Until they are beaten, the Patriots remain the team to beat in the NFL. Belichick's cutthroat tactics, even when they fail (see 4th and 4 from midfield against the Chargers with only a six point lead), still seem to have other coaches shaking in their boots. The Evil Empire is alive and well, though regular season success has been nothing new of late for the Patriots. It's playoff victories they need to secure before everybody should really fear that New England is back to their Super Bowl winning ways.
Week 3: Lost at the Buffalo Bills, 34-31
Ranked - 4
Note to self: Four touchdowns, good. Four interceptions, bad. If possible, pick up a running game before next week. Signed, Tom Brady.
Week 4: Defeated the Oakland Raiders, 31-19
Ranked - 4
With the stumbling of Buffalo and New York last week, the Patriots are in perfect position to take back control of the AFC East. Now if they could just find a defense…
Week 5: Defeated the New York Jets, 30-21
Ranked - 5
New England's offense is scary good, but until the defense starts shutting teams down, opponents will have hope.
Week 6: Defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 20-16
Ranked - 4 Indiana Jones Style Recap
Commissioner Goodell: Now what does this Brady look like?
Rich Eisen: Uh… there’s a picture of him right here. [Opens a GQ magazine on the table and places it before the Commissioner] That’s him.
Commissioner Goodell: Good God!
Rich Eisen: Yes, that’s just what the cornerbacks thought.
Commissioner Goodell: [pointing to a beam of light surrounding a football as it leaves Brady's hand] Uh, now what’s that supposed to be coming out of there?
Rich Eisen: Lightning. Fire. Power of God or something.
Commissioner Goodell: I am beginning to understand Belichick's interest in him.
Rich Eisen: Oh, yes. The NFL Gamebooks speak of Brady leveling linebackers and laying waste to entire secondaries. A football team that starts Brady at quarterback… is invincible.
Week 7: BYE WEEK
Ranked - 3
Out of the bye week and on the road to Pittsburgh - a place where the Patriots have done quite well in the past 10 years. We'll see how well they made use of their extra week to prepare.
Week 8: Lost at the Pittsburgh Steelers, 25-17
Ranked - 6
If New England can't figure out how to beat press coverage and aggressive bump-and-run tactics, the brilliant start to their season will become just a distant memory.
Week 9: Lost to the New York Giants, 24-20
Ranked - 8
Seriously? What happened to the defensive genius that is Bill Belichick?
Week 10: Defeated the New York Jets, 37-16
Ranked - 5
A big win over the Jets has given the Patriots some of their momentum back.
Week 11: Defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-3
Ranked - 4
New England seems to have figured out how to play defense. If they could just get their offense back on track…
Week 12: Defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-20
Ranked - 3
If the Patriots continue to play solid defense few teams will be able to match Brady and Co in a shoot-out.
Week 13: Defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 31-24
Ranked - 6
Did Belichick call off the dogs against Indianapolis last week after building an early lead or did the Colts actually shut this high-powered offense down in the second half?
Week 14: Defeated the Washington Redskins, 34-27
Ranked - 5
The Patriots are a win away from clinching the division, but Brady better keep on throwing the ball if New England hopes to gain a bye-week advantage.
Week 15: Defeated the Denver Broncos, 41-23
Ranked - 2
Doesn’t it kind of feel like the Patriots killed Christmas when they defeated the Broncos last week and laughed at Tebow's fourth quarter magic?
Week 16: Defeated the Miami Dolphins, 27-24
Ranked - 4
The best team in the AFC finds ways to win, but there are still a lot of holes in their defense.
Week 17: Defeated the Buffalo Bills, 49-21
Ranked - 4
Despite their defensive woes, the path to the AFC championship has to go through Foxboro.
Wild Card Round: BYE WEEK
Ranked - 3
Is this weekend's game against Denver the epitome of a "Good vs Evil' matchup in the NFL
Divisional Round: Defeated the Denver Broncos, 45-10
Ranked - 1
Is it just me or did Tom Brady come out against Denver in full on F-U mode? He played cold-blooded... upset that in the year he breaks Dan Marino's passing record, Drew Brees broke it better... when he played lights out during the regular season, Aaron Rodgers - star of the fallen Packers - will most likely win the MVP award... despite winning three Super Bowls already, nary a word was said about him leading up to the match up against the Broncos - it was all Tebow, Tebow, Tebow. A record six touchdown passes later, five in the first half, and suddenly Brady was back in the spotlight and nothing but questions surrounded Tebow's future in the NFL. Unless his defense fails him, a la Green Bay and New Orleans, Brady will likely lead the Patriots to a fourth Super Bowl title.
Championship Round: Defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 23-20
Ranked - 1
Tom Brady now has the chance to become the all-time winningest quarterback in playoff history and also has the chance to win his fourth Super Bowl title, further separating himself from the other quarterbacks of his era. All he has to do is get past a scary good defensive front that has keyed three straight road victories in the playoffs. But how sweet would revenge be for the Patriots if they won their fourth Super Bowl title avenging their loss in Super Bowl XLII?
Super Bowl XLVI: Lost to the New York Giants, 21-17
Final Ranking: 2
Tomorrow, the 2011 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants...
No comments:
Post a Comment