Patriots pay attention
September 20th, 2007 7:09 am
by
Big Dog
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It’s true, real Patriots pay attention. They pay attention to all sorts of details. Things like formations, patterns and (of course) defensive signals. In the last two weeks, the Patriots have garnered a lot of attention for paying attention to these sorts of things. In fact, it’s been one of those things that is so talked about, it’s actually started to encroach on the game, as Pro Set found out on Monday Night.
It’s amazing to me that this story still hasn’t gone away, that people are still running around complaining that the punishment meted out wasn’t harsh enough, that it doesn’t punish the Patriots this season, that it must be distracting the Patriots from getting on with their season.
In fact it’s even been extended this week with some commentators now suggesting the Patriots are angered and predicting they’ll go undefeated this season. Charles P. Pierce suggests that New England now have a cause to rally around, a symbolic crusade that will bind them together and render them unstoppable. That the rest of the league is in trouble, because now the Patriots are not only talented and professional, now they’re motivated.
Now, when I first heard of this prediction I was as enraged as the proverbial Patriot. In this day and age, with a league this competitive, with the gruelling schedule, with the risk of key injuries, with the thousands of tiny things that can affect the outcome on gameday, it’s virtually impossible for any team to go undefeated. There’s a reason that it’s only been done once, 35 years ago, it’s hard. So to run around after week 2 proclaiming the Patriots unbeatable, well that’s just crazy talk. I don’t care how comprehensively the Patriots demolished the San Diego Chargers.
Of course, crazy talk sells and that’s good business. And, if you’re going to make ridiculous claims about the Patriots’ season, you might as well make them early. After all, if it comes true you look like a genius and if it doesn’t come true you get to claim that you were making a “Hail Mary Prediction”.
In any case, it doesn’t really matter what sort of prediction Pierce is making and it matters even less what I think of that crazy talk prediction. What matters is that in a week when everybody in football was paying attention to anything but football, the only people paying attention to their preparation for the week’s game were the Patriots. If they keep up that level of attention and concentration, then maybe they really will be unbeatable.
Posted in Game, Monday Night Football, NFL, NFL Franchises/Teams, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers |
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