John Kerry was campaigning to be president. Facebook was initially launched. Martha Stewart went to jail. "Passion of the Christ" hit the big screens and Andrew Luck was in middle school. Yes things have changed since the New England Patriots last won the Super Bowl in 2004.
But one thing has remained constant. When Mr. Hoodie and #12 walk onto the football field in mid January, fans optimistically and confidently, cheer and hope for the Lombardi trophy to come back to Gillette for the fourth time.
And they have reason to be confident. Since 2004, the Patriots have reached the Super Bowl twice and have played in four AFC championship games. Nothing to show for it, but they're always in the running. Consistent successful seasons have made this organization a dominant force in the most recent decade.
It's now 2014. Yes, as hard as it is to swallow, it's been ten years since Belichick has hoisted that silver trophy, with red, white and blue confetti sticking to his sweaty forehead and that rare grin of relief on his stoic face showing. It has been a decade of drought. Dominance and drought usually would create a wordplay paradox but when attaching these two words to the New England Patriots, it creates a logical, synonymous grouping.
A combination of things have led to the Patriots being ringless since 2004. Poor managerial decisions, a deteriorating defense and just pure bad luck. Their the closest thing to knocking on the door but not being let in that I've seen in pro sports recently.
In 2005, they had a bit of a Super Bowl hangover season. They did make it to the divisional round of the playoffs but fell to Denver. It was the first playoff loss in the Belichick/Brady era.
In 2006, Tom Brady took an offense with high school caliber wide recievers to an AFC championship game. Which was a massive over achievment. If Kraft had kept David Givens and Deion Branch, it is highly likely that the Pats would've earned their fourth title. Imagine having four championship banners before the 2007 team? Scary and bitter to think about.
Speaking of that 2007 season (although I really don't want to talk about it ), it was the best sports team that never won it all. Pee-wee, high school, college you name it. There is no debate. Why it didn't happen, why 19-0 didn't come true just comes down to awful luck.
You will never see a catch like that, under those circumstances again. David Tyree had God on his side that night. Or like Michael Felger says, maybe you should blame Rodney Harrisons PED distributor who got caught early in the season thus perhaps making his strength diminish. Who knows maybe if Harrison had been juiced up for that game, he would've ripped the ball off Tyrees bubbalicious helmet.
The next year Brady got hurt. Cassel stepped in, did a masterful job and led his team to an 11-5 regular season record. Although they failed to make the playoffs. Making them the first 11-5 team since the 1984 Broncos to miss the playoffs. If Brady was healthy, I think the divisional title would've been locked up and a playoff spot as well.
Brady did return the next season and the rust was visible. A wild card playoff exit, illustrated that as the Baltimore Ravens embarrassed us on New England's home turf 33-14, handing Brady and Belichick their first home playoff loss. Questions aroused if Brady was still as superior as he once was.
Well he silenced the critics in 2010 with the first ever unanimous MVP season in the history of the NFL. They went 14-2 and looked like Championship stuff. Although their defense was still meteoker due to Belichicks failure to rebuild, they were winning games convincingly against tough opponents. They got shocked once again at home in the post season to their arch rival, the New York Jets.
After two years of bitter defeats, something had to give. And it did. The Pats reached the Super Bowl setting up a revenge match against the Giants.And they lost. Again. Wes Welker dropped the ball. The defense made no pivotal plays. There was no Law's, Mcginesst's, Brushci's, Harrison's or Seymour's playing in this Super Bowl.
Last year we all know the story. Tom Brady played average. Talib got hurt. And Ray Lewis danced around victoriously on the Gillette turf.
So what makes this year different? Well for the first time in a long time, this team is balanced on both sides of the ball. If injuries and guns didn't exist, they'd be a close replica of the 2007 squad. But even so, our defense is the best it's been in a long time.
Devon McCourty is maturing into a solid safety. Aqib Talib, when healthy, is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Rob Ninkovich, quietly but statistically is one of the best players on this team. Clutch play after clutch play. Chandler Jones has proven to be worth the draft pick with 11
.5 sacks this year. The recent loss of Brandon Spikes is tough to bear but as long as Talib stays upright, this defense will be just fine. Alfonzo Dennard is also a promising young secondary player who has played solid this season.
Tom Brady has done a brilliant job without Hernandez, Welker, Gronkowski and Llyod this year. His fourth quarter and late game magic has resurged in a big way as well. Which will help in the playoffs when it's crunch time.
This is the best Patriots running attack since the days of Corey Dillon, which ironically was 2004. Blount has been the breakout player of the year on this squad and single handedly beat the Buffalo Bills a few weeks ago. Shane Vareen has been stunning out of the back field and has become one of Brady's favorite recovers. Stevan Ridley, despite fumble issues, brings an upbeat tempo and can strike a fifteen yard burst at will. This balanced running core has produced a very balanced offense.
This team has seemed to be the "cardiac kids" this year as well. Huge comebacks and game winning drives have been their signature. The Pats are winning close games and have a lot of grit. This is a mentally tough club and they seem poised for some playoff battles.
This team will always be dominant with BB and TB at the helm. But will the drought finally end? Let's hope so. because The 01', 02' and 04' championship banners are starting to look like ancient artifacts. Some new winning memories would be nice to look at. If the ball bounces our way, some key pivotal plays are made, there is no doubt I will see a fourth banner hanging at opening day next year.
