It was certainly an exciting Patriots season. The Patriots fared much better in the regular season than anyone had expected. A couple friends asked me about the season just as it was getting started. I remember saying that I was already more excited about the 2011 season because of all the early round picks the Patriots held and that making the playoffs this year would be quite an accomplishment. It was great seeing so many of the young players play well. Then factor in the unheralded players who took advantage of opportunities due to injuries - Woodhead, Cunningham, Gerald Warren, Ninkovich, Graham, Fletcher, Moore and Deaderick all played well. The Patriots weren't the only team to deal with a lot of injuries, but I don't remember a season where so many players picked up in the middle of the season were asked to play key roles on defense. So while it's disappointing to see the team not advance further, it's hard to consider the season itself to be a disappointment.
The highlights for me were watching Gronkowski (I love my new shirt, Dad!), Hernandez and Woodhead this season. Gronkowski is just a beast and I really look forward to both he and Hernandez contributing even more next year. Maybe there really is something about Woodhead's height (or lack thereof) that makes him more of a threat on plays where he seemed to hide behind blockers and wait for something to open up. I'd love to know if defensive lineman had any idea where he was. Green-Ellis also deserves a lot of credit, along with the offensive line, for racking up over a thousand yards while getting very little attention. Brady had a spectacular season. I loved reading about Zoltan Mesko in the Globe. He also made a tackle (I wish I could who he tackled and when) where the punt returner had picked up about thirty five yards before Mesko took him down hard along the sidelines. The punt returner popped up and celebrated a little, then saw he'd been drilled by the punter and decided that celebrating might not be appropriate.
Through much of the season, it felt like the Patriots were winning with smoke and mirrors. While their record was 14-2, they never really felt like a dominant team, even if they stood atop most late season rankings, power polls, etc. The Patriots were more than happy to take advantage of other teams miscues, while trying to minimize their own mistakes. Looking back, the Patriots wins against the Ravens, Chargers, Colts and Packers stood out more to me than blowout wins. I still can't believe how many dumb mistakes the Chargers made (Goodman celebrating a reception by putting the live ball on the ground still cracks me up) and the Patriots still just barely escaped with a victory. If the Patriots could jump out to a lead and force the other team to play catch up (and the other team didn't have Payton Manning behind center) then there was a relaxed feel to the game. Otherwise, the games were tense, leaving us to wonder if the defense would be able to come through with a key stop or turnover despite generating minimal pressure on the quarterback and little experience in the secondary. Plus, despite the fact that this has been a weakness in the Patriots offense for years, the Patriots running game really struggles to pick yards in key situations when everyone in the stadium knows they're about to run. I love Green-Ellis but I think a major reason he's successful is that the defense generally has to respect the Patriots passing game. When the Patriots go with a power running formation late in the game to try to run out the clock and the defense expects it, they rarely pick up the first down.
After the Browns game, the Patriots offense played magnificently from that point, but there was a recurring question before many games of "Will the opposing team be able to frustrate the Patriots offense the way the Browns did?" That question ran through my mind before the games against the Steelers, Jets and Packers in November and December. We kept hearing that those teams had strong defenses and might be able to slow down the Patriots offense. While I still have no idea what the Jets coaching staff was thinking when game planning for their December matchup, they had a much better plan for their playoff game and the players played extremely well.
Speaking of the Jets, congratulations to the Jets on a great game. Their defense did a great job against the Patriots offense. I don't know much about defensive schemes, but it sure looked like their secondary had the Patriots confused. The Jets defensive did a great job putting pressure on Brady, though a lot of the hits came from Brady being unable to find someone open. All the yapping the Jets did after the playoff game, before the playoff game...hell, all season long makes the team look silly, but they played a whale of a game and deserve to have their season continue.
Looking ahead to next year (assuming the labor situation is resolved) I can't wait to see what the Patriots do in the draft and other offseason moves. I hope they find a pass rusher or two and pick up an effective running back. Will Fred Taylor or Sammy Morris be back? Will the Patriots carry Faulk and Woodhead since they both seem to play similar roles? Will McCourty, Chung, and Mayo get better? Will Butler recover and contribute? Will Meriweather ever manage to be half the player Pro Bowl voters think he is? Will Ty Warren, Bodden, McGowan, Gostkowski and Brady come back strong from their injuries? Will Alge Crumpler be back? (I hope so. I loved seeing Gronkowski and Hernandez celebrate Crumpler's touchdowns.) Is there a better name for a blocking tight end than Crumpler? Is there a stat to keep track of the percentage of time a defender has a clear shot at the quarterback and comes up with a sack? If so, is Banta-Cain ranked last or slightly further back? Do opposing running backs' eyes light up when he's in the game, knowing he's gunning for a sack on every play? Do they laugh when they turn the corner to easily pick up 5+ yards because Banta-Cain (unsurprisingly) decided to go wide around the blocker? Will Randy Moss still be in the league?
With a little re-tooling and a good draft, next season should be even more fun than this past one. In the meantime, I already know I'm cheering for the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.
