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Final Score
Patriots 38
Giants 35
View from Mt. Olympus: Talk about closing it out in style!
It sure wasn’t a good feeling while the game was going on, but now that it’s over, it was nice that the 16th victory came the way it did…with the Giants playing all out and making the Patriots earn it! Of course, I could have done without the near heart attack along the way. However, what a great football game that was…emotion from both sides…big plays everywhere…a fitting finish to a fantastic regular season.
What began as a joke became reality as the Patriots ran the table against some very good opposition. Check out the playoff teams...Indy, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Dallas, NY Giants, maybe Cleveland and maybe Washington. All crossed paths with New England. All fell victim. Unlike the '72 Dolphins, who beat only 3-teams with winning records, the Pats did it the hard way.
I’m also glad the record breaking TD pass didn’t come on a meaningless, running up the score just to get the record, type of play. Brady to Moss for #50 and #23 respectively was the game-winner in a contest most of America was watching…poetic justice! Now if they can only find a way to split that football!
Laurence Maroney continued to show he’ll be a force in the playoffs. Sure, there were some no-gainers in there, but the kid is running harder than I’ve ever seen him run, and he’s developing a little nose for the end zone there. Notice, you’re not seeing Heath Evans in there anymore at the goal line.
Kudos to the defense as well, which really stepped up from the middle of the 3rd quarter till garbage time. Richard Seymour is really starting to play like Richard Seymour, and I thought Adalius Thomas was huge last night.
I also have to express a lot of admiration for Tom Coughlin and the Giants for playing their “you-know-what’s” off. This was a totally meaningless contest for them from a playoffs standpoint, yet they played to win all the way. It’ll probably come back to bite them in the form of fatigue, injury and letdown next week against Tampa Bay, but in this day and age of tanking games late in the year like Dallas and Indy are about to do in games with playoff implications for others, the Giants are to truly be commended!
Finally, the 16-0 is a fantastic accomplishment, something they'll be talking about and comparing other things to decades from now. But it’ll mean absolutely nothing if the Patriots don’t close the deal. A loss anywhere along the way will completely ruin it all.
Thankfully, what I’ve seen the last few weeks has made me even more certain that the loss won’t come until next season. The Patriots have been challenged, they’ve had to fight, they’ve had to struggle, and they’ve had to survive, just like their 3 previous Super Bowl winning squads had to. When the chips were down and they absolutely had to make plays to win games, they did so.
That is what champions do. That is why the New England Patriots, after a little scare along the way (probably from the Colts), will become NFL Champions again!
That’s the view from here…how did you see it? Shappy? DB? That loss “somewhere along the way” never came. Will it come in the playoffs? You really want to bet against this team? Anyone else as impressed by the Giants effort as I was?
I think the Lowell Devils have looked pretty good this week!
And the River Hawks... wow... "Florida College Classic Championship" -- *im*pres*sive*!
Yeah, they're out of town, but Bill Ballou still writes two stories a night about the Worcester team even when they're on the road...
Posted by Terri | December 30, 2007 3:35 PM
Posted on December 30, 2007 15:35
Ted
I'll give Coughlin and the Giants an "A" for effort. But they get an "F" for common sense. What did they accomplish? they may have lost 3 players, and they blew their wad. A FRESH and HEALTHY Tampa is going to kill them. Nice work.
Posted by Legend Killer | December 30, 2007 6:50 PM
Posted on December 30, 2007 18:50
Terri, in case you have not noticed this entry was about the PATRIOTS!!!! Lowell Devils???
However i do sympathize with you, being a hockey fan as there is no hockey talk to be found on this blog. Where the heck is Gayle? And we sure don't want Panos talking about hockey as he knows absolutely nothing about it.
Posted by Popopomaria | December 31, 2007 12:15 PM
Posted on December 31, 2007 12:15
Are you serious?? Bill Balou still writes twice a night even when the team is on the road.... that's because Bill Balou is a huge LOSER!!!
I would now like to take a few minutes to adress Legend Killer. It is true that the Giants did "blow their wad" against the pats. But, let's remember that they'd be making an early post season exit anyway. And we all know that coughlin and Mangini are best of friends.It is a known fact in new york that the two often have lunch together And you know the saying my enemy's enemy is my friend... so they were trying to end the pats streak as a favor to mangini who hates bellicheck. So coughlin was trying to help out a friend and if that meant blowing his playoff chances, so be it. Friendship and loyalty are a little more important in new york than it is around here
Posted by Dexter Carter | December 31, 2007 1:01 PM
Posted on December 31, 2007 13:01
I'm just wondering if there is truly a team out there who can beat the Patriots this year? I'm predicting a smooth run for them, although they may have some tough teams along the way challenge them like the Giants did!! They just seem to pull it out no matter what..........
Posted by Marcia Torbett | December 31, 2007 3:04 PM
Posted on December 31, 2007 15:04
DEX
Coughlin's best friend is Coughlin. Not buying it.
Posted by Legend Killer | January 2, 2008 12:37 AM
Posted on January 2, 2008 00:37
I do applaud the Giants for the effort. I do think that game will give them something that no team (outside of the Redskins) has in the NFC right now which is MOMENTUM. Every NFC team is playing some of their worst football right now except the Giants and the 'Skins. LK and Dex- do you REALLY see TAMPA beating the Giants?? Tampa has gotten it done with smoke and mirrors all year. As much as I dislike the Giants... give Eli some confidence and that guy can play. Their ground game is pretty good and their defense is fairly solid. The NFC playoffs will be a complete crapshoot. I could easily see the Skins or Giants winning the NFC just as well as I can see the overrated Cowboys or Packers getting to the "Big Game". No matter- whoever does is going to get killed in Glendale...
Teddy- I will not "bet" against the Pats but I do think these next two games, against whomever they play, will be a very good test for this team. They will be playing someone with a great running game (Jax, SD, or Indy) with something to prove (SD to prove they can actually win a playoff game, Indy to prove they can defend their championship when very few think they can, and Jacksonville as a young team to put themselves on the map). Surely the Pats will be favored against any of them but, as you have seen lately, the margin for error in the NFL is very small and if one of these teams plays with the effort that some of the lesser teams have played the Pats with it could be a very different outcome.
Posted by dboisver | January 2, 2008 11:12 AM
Posted on January 2, 2008 11:12