12/21/24
December 07, 2003
SnowBowl: Redux. : Patriots became the first team in the NFL to clench their division, beating Miami at post-blizzard Gillette to claim the AFC East title.
posted by jerseygirl to football at 10:35 PM - 10 comments
It was a fun game. It was also the second shut out in 3 weeks for the 11-2 Pats who are just rolling over all their opponents and have extended their win streak to 9. The seats at Gillette were not cleared from the 27 inches of snow we've received in the area since Friday night. Many fans just sat on mounds of snow, and whenever a play went in the way of the Pats, snow was thrown like confetti. It looked like a great atmosphere.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:39 PM on December 07, 2003
dusted: oops. good analogy though. hah.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:39 PM on December 07, 2003
Still clenching. Good win, though.
posted by Samsonov14 at 11:49 PM on December 07, 2003
The Pats are looking astounding this year. They aren't one-dimensional. It's not that they are one-dimensional, it's that they seem to (and the sabermetric baseball-y guy in my hates saying this) "find a way to win". They can win small, they can win big, they can put forth an offensive torrent or make it a game where one field goal could be the difference. Most impressively is that in addition to being 11-2 for the best record in the league, they are doing so against quality opponent after quality opponent. Unlike the Chiefs with a similar record, they haven't had several games to beat up on weaker teams. They've faced more than half their games against playoff bound or contending teams, and beaten them all; their only loses were at the beginning of the year, against teams (Bills and Redskins) who are both under .500. Their 11 wins come against contenders or locks like the Eagles, the Titans, the Dolphins, the Broncos, the Colts, and the Cowboys. And against all of them, for 9 straight games now, they've walked away victorious. On paper, this team shouldn't be doing this; but the combination of Bellicheck, and the "team" attitude evinced as far back as the 2001 champs that took the field together in the Superbowl... something magical's happening here. Let's just hope it rubs off on the Fenway Nine as well. :)
posted by hincandenza at 01:54 AM on December 08, 2003
Hush. Karma.
posted by Samsonov14 at 02:11 AM on December 08, 2003
Hal, you got the right of it. There are few if any stats that the Pats, or their individual members, lead in. They still make something outta nothing and win it -- and wins are the only stat that really matters in the NFL. I love home-field advantage. Let us hope for at least one more Snow Bowl. I would have given much to have been in Foxboro on Sunday. You've heard the Antarctic expedition story, right?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:14 PM on December 08, 2003
What story? My interest is piqued... :)
posted by hincandenza at 09:12 PM on December 08, 2003
I have been avoiding Sportsfilter because I am superstitious enough to think that even reading about my team's streak would break it, but now that we've gotten home field advantage... It was a great game, after a fashion. I can't recall the last time I saw so many punts in one game. The new Patriots' kicker, whose name escapes me, really got a good workout. Also, I loved watching the fans going berserk with the snow. Usually I find that sort of thing obnoxious, but it seemed to be pretty harmless excitement.
posted by Joey Michaels at 02:10 PM on December 09, 2003
What story? My interest is piqued... :) It was a little team-building exercise that Belichick did in the beginning of the 2001-2002 season.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:09 PM on December 09, 2003
Well, it was butt-clenching cold, but I think they clinched their division.