Patriots will kick Jags butts or their own
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Tom Brady says One game, we are only talking about One game
Perfectomundo. 16 - 0.
That is an amazing accomplishment. In order to pull that off the Patriots had to play to the end. Tom Brady, Randy Moss, let’s give them a show and win this game.
Now did the winning all 16 games hurt them?
What do you mean? How could that hurt them?
When first you win it is so good. The winning can create a momentum all its own. In other words, winning begets more winning.
Your confidence as a team and as a player can skyrocket!
But the human mind and the human body can take only so much. Doubts and fatigue start to creep in and they tell you that losing one game would not be the end of the world.
Suddenly team focus changes and you play not to lose. We have seen it, oh so many times before. Has this happened to the Patriots?
Some may be wondering if the Patriots will be rusty off a bye week or taxed after 16-0? Will New England succumb to the omnipresent scrutiny? Are Belichick and Co. thinking about the Colts or flashing forward to the Super Bowl?
The Pats are concentrating on just one thing: the Jacksonville Jaguars. source
Now so far those are words.
A few years ago my beloved Pistons entered the NBA finals with an astounding 64 wins in the regular season. They played the starters heavy minutes all season. They wanted home field advantage in the playoffs.
The playoffs arrived and mentally they were a tired team. The Pistons were more interested in being careful and not losing than exhibiting their usual attacking style of offense. Eventually the Miami Heat and Shaq and Wade eliminated them in the Eastern Conference Finals. All that winning had created a unique mental hurdle.
Can the Patriots avoid or overcome that mental hurdle?
The Patriots have a great leader at quarterback in Tom Brady and an explosive receiver in Randy Moss. Is that enough?
Better than any coach, Belichick knows how to deliver a message. And it is no coincidence his players respond. He and Scott Pioli hand-pick intelligent, team-oriented, versatile talented players who buy into the one-game-at-a-time mentality. The cliché is more than an expression in Foxboro; it is the only way of existing.
Jaguars
The Patriots will tell you they are more focused on the Jaguars, even though everyone knows that anything less than a Super Bowl and an undefeated complete season will be considered a failure. The noose tightens.
The Jags of Jack Del Rio and David Garrard are for real and the Patriots had better be ready.
Jacksonville believes it is going to win.
Jack Del Rio’s defense is nasty. Rashean Mathis and Brian Williams make plays at the cornerback position. The defensive line is loaded with pass rushers and dominant physical specimens who can out-grapple the incredible New England offensive line.
David Garrard played his worst game of the year against the Steelers and still made the play of the game with an ankle-breaking, season-saving dash on fourth-and-two to set up the game-winning field goal.
“Dave Garrard doesn’t know fear,” Reggie Williams told us Wednesday. “He’s a true leader and ready for Saturday night.”
If that was all, the New England Patriots would be sitting pretty, but there are also the two running backs, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.
“Those guys play ball,” Warren said. “They are both incredibly strong and elusive. They can cut on the dime and they bring a lot to the running back position. And they are true home-run hitters. If they get lose and they can smell the end zone, they are going there.”
Tom Brady
Now David Garrard may be fearless and have great feet, but Tom Brady will go down in football history as not only a Hall of Fame player, but as one of the greatest quarterbacks in history.
“He’s a very instinctive player,” Belichick said. “He’s very smart in the passing game. He knows how to get open. He is elusive in the open field. He’s tough to tackle and he makes people miss. And he has that uncanny knack of knowing exactly where the chains are and what he needs, where the goal line is, and has the ability to make a play.
With Bill Belichick turning the team into focused role players thinking only of the Jaguars and Tom Brady at the helm throwing to Randy Moss, you can bet that 16 and 0 will be the farthest things from the Patriots minds.
Still, no matter what, the win streak creates its own pressure and it is up to the Patriots and Coach Belichick to find a way to deal with it.
So do the Patriots kick the Jaguars butts or their own?
Wonder if the Jaguars will have something to say about that?
NFL Football Fan Question Who will win this game?
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POSTED IN: David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL Football, New England Patriots, Randy Moss, Tom Brady
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