Super Bowl LI | 02.05.17 | Houston | Patriots @ Falcons | 6:30 PM ET | FOX

[soxfan2003]

The Patriots should have won two more Super Bowls in the '00s (2006 and 2007 probably worst losses in franchise history, yes they would have beaten Rex Grossman Bears in '06) so these two wins in 2014 and 2016 are redemption for those years. 2011 the Giants won handily and were just better than New England.

Not making excuses since the Patriots were lucky with injuries this year -- even factoring in the Gronk injury -- and obviously some other years like arguably in the Super Bowl vs Seattle.

But in 2011 as a Patriots fan, I recognized very early on when I saw Gronkowski run his first pass pattern that the Giants would probably win since Gronkowski was playing like a shadow of himself. Real bad ankle injury and couldn't really cut well at all. He was just there to block and be a decoy. That injury killed the teams offense as far as I am concerned. He was coming off of a year of 17 TDs/1327 yards and clearly the Patriots 2nd best offensive player only behind Brady. This years Patriots team had more depth and overall team health to survive a Gronk injury but that team really didn't.

2007 I give the Giants great credit and maybe the result would have been the same but Brady's high ankle sprain injury in that game was serious and may have been what convinced the Patriots not to have him scramble a couple of times to try to get first downs/slow down pass rush a bit. Bradly kind of played that game like he was quarterbacking like Drew Bledsoe and that just wasn't his normal style.Bradly is obviously slow but in the Giants game in 2007, he wasn't taking a few of the easy runs that he would normally do if really available. Not expecting him to run for 15 yards like he did once against Seattle since he rarely does that but just a couple of times running for 3-8 yards instead of throwing it away or taking a sack makes a difference to extend drives/slow up pass rush. Brady in that game was quarterbacking like a player told to never run/scramble.

I honestly think those injuries may have been the difference makers in those 2 games but I realize NY Giants like everyone else has guys hurt/playing hurt.

I actually think the Patriots in 2014 got a bit lucky since Seattle was a bit banged up. Pittsurgh may still have lost but their chances certainly didn't improve against New England when their best back got hurt. Patriots first 3 Super Bowls may have been helped by injuries to other teams along the way as well.

Football is really survival of the fittest. And the Patriots have been lucky that other than the 2007 Super Bowl and the year he missed, I don't think injuries to Brady have really hurt their chances.

[Cactus Jack]

I actually think the Patriots in 2014 got a bit lucky since Seattle was a bit banged up.

Kam, Earl & Sherm were all banged up going into that game. Kam was questionable & had to wear a knee brace. The Jeremy Lane injury in the 1st quarter was also a killer. We basically were down to our 4th CB w/out Lane. Edelmen then took advantage big time. Also, Cliff Avril left the game in the 2nd half with a concussion. Which gave Brady the extra time to pick us apart late. I'm still convinced that with a healthy squad its a different outcome.

[andrewww]

The Patriots should have won two more Super Bowls in the '00s (2006 and 2007 probably worst losses in franchise history, yes they would have beaten Rex Grossman Bears in '06) so these two wins in 2014 and 2016 are redemption for those years. 2011 the Giants won handily and were just better than New England.

2006/2007/2010/2011/2015 were years that we also could have won.

The blown lead in the AFCC in 2006.
The Brady high ankle sprain/fumbles not going our way/missed Samuel INT to seal the game/Tyree catch in 2007.
The choke job against the Jets in 2010.
The Welker drop in 2011.
The injuries and missed PAT by Gost in 2015.

Incredible run that could last until 2020 or beyond.

[laika]

The Patriots should have won two more Super Bowls in the '00s (2006 and 2007 probably worst losses in franchise history, yes they would have beaten Rex Grossman Bears in '06) so these two wins in 2014 and 2016 are redemption for those years. 2011 the Giants won handily and were just better than New England.

2006/2007/2010/2011/2015 were years that we also could have won.

The blown lead in the AFCC in 2006.
The Brady high ankle sprain/fumbles not going our way/missed Samuel INT to seal the game/Tyree catch in 2007.
The choke job against the Jets in 2010.
The Welker drop in 2011.
The injuries and missed PAT by Gost in 2015.

Incredible run that could last until 2020 or beyond.

Let's not forget the season ending injury to Brady in 08 when the Patriots were near their all time peak.
This is why the "Patriots are just lucky" arguments are so ridiculous. In reality, the Patriots have had a lot of bad luck over the last decade. They easily could have won 8 super bowls instead of just 5.

[andrewww]

The Patriots should have won two more Super Bowls in the '00s (2006 and 2007 probably worst losses in franchise history, yes they would have beaten Rex Grossman Bears in '06) so these two wins in 2014 and 2016 are redemption for those years. 2011 the Giants won handily and were just better than New England.

2006/2007/2010/2011/2015 were years that we also could have won.

The blown lead in the AFCC in 2006.
The Brady high ankle sprain/fumbles not going our way/missed Samuel INT to seal the game/Tyree catch in 2007.
The choke job against the Jets in 2010.
The Welker drop in 2011.
The injuries and missed PAT by Gost in 2015.

Incredible run that could last until 2020 or beyond.

Let's not forget the season ending injury to Brady in 08 when the Patriots were near their all time peak.
This is why the "Patriots are just lucky" arguments are so ridiculous. In reality, the Patriots have had a lot of bad luck over the last decade. They easily could have won 8 super bowls instead of just 5.

Agreed, people dont understand how easy the SOS was in 2008.

The only real years where I thought we werent good enough or didnt deserve to would be 2002/2005/2009/2012/2013.

We're looking at a Red Auerbach/Bill Russell-esq dynasty in the history of any team sport (50s Celtics/90s Bulls/50s Real Madrid). When you factor in the salary cap...it should be a slam dunk.

And they're not done.

[soxfan2003]

I actually think the Patriots in 2014 got a bit lucky since Seattle was a bit banged up.

Kam, Earl & Sherm were all banged up going into that game. Kam was questionable & had to wear a knee brace. The Jeremy Lane injury in the 1st quarter was also a killer. We basically were down to our 4th CB w/out Lane. Edelmen then took advantage big time. Also, Cliff Avril left the game in the 2nd half with a concussion. Which gave Brady the extra time to pick us apart late. I'm still convinced that with a healthy squad its a different outcome.

I honestly think both teams 100% healthy, you play that game 100 times, Seattle wins perhaps 53 or 54 times. Las Vegas is often pretty good at picking the spread -- I realize its to put even money on both sides -- but they put the game as even from what I can remember. Patriots arguably had more injuries going into the game including to some of their best defensive players but during the game, Seattle was more impacted and Seattle may have been playing with the tougher injuries to deal with. I will say the Patriots that year was pretty good at attacking Seattle's relative weakness instead of strength. If Patriots strength was long passing that year instead of short passing, Seattle wins 80 out of 100 times IMHO.

Seattle thanks to Russell Wilson AFAIR playing on a bargain contract back then had an advantage that Dallas will have going into next year....

[bwgood77]

Damn, you know people are haters when they're STILL finding ways to hate Brady, and say that he was "lucky" when he was in a 28-3 hole late in the 3rd. Receivers dropping passes, defense giving up TDs, O-line getting owned and letting him get hit on every pass play...and he ends up coming back and winning once the defense finally steps up and his receivers stop dropping passes.

He just led the greatest comeback in SB history, and people will continue to hate.

They deserve props for taking advantage of the Falcons dumb miscues and handing the game right over to them, but I think it just sucked for many to see Atlanta fold like that and just the dumb mistakes. In FG range to ice the game with an easy FG, and you try to pass getting sacked? Still probably in Bryant's FG range after that in then they have a holding penalty? Just ridiculously stupid.

[chrismikayla]

So matt Ryan. . What can we say really ? Biggest choke by QB?

Not his fault this time. Devonta Freeman stands there absent minded resulting in Ryan's fumble loss. Alex Mack plays injured and ends up hurting the offensive line with his multiple porous protection. Dan Quinn somehow forgetting to run with being up 25 points. Falcons secondaries playing like pedestrians in the 2nd half.

Talk about a 4th quarter meltdown... ****

While I agree with your points I disagree that Matt doesn't share some blame. No MVP caliber quarterback can turn the ball over or take a sack when in field goal range to possibly put the game out of reach. A great quarterback throws the ball away. Unfortunately Matt tends to freeze in the most critical moments out of nowhere.

[soxfan2003]

The Patriots should have won two more Super Bowls in the '00s (2006 and 2007 probably worst losses in franchise history, yes they would have beaten Rex Grossman Bears in '06) so these two wins in 2014 and 2016 are redemption for those years. 2011 the Giants won handily and were just better than New England.

2006/2007/2010/2011/2015 were years that we also could have won.

The blown lead in the AFCC in 2006.
The Brady high ankle sprain/fumbles not going our way/missed Samuel INT to seal the game/Tyree catch in 2007.
The choke job against the Jets in 2010.
The Welker drop in 2011.
The injuries and missed PAT by Gost in 2015.

Incredible run that could last until 2020 or beyond.

I agree that all of those years were possibilities heading into the games that the Patriots lost except I thought 2010. In 2010, I don't even think the Jets beating the Patriots was that flukish given the injuries/talent on Patriots. Not enough receivers were even open. NY Jets played well. If Patriots won that game, I just didn't see that particular team winning 2 more games and winning the Super Bowl. And I am someone that wasn't surprised when the Patriots beat the Rams for the first title.

[Ballerhogger]

I'm part of 33% who picked right. Yes yes . That is all. . We need sticky this thread. Let it be known, the 33% were RIGHT.

[chrismikayla]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

[bmurph128]

Atlanta definitely deserved to lose the game, but has nobody discussed the penalties?

Officiating needs to be overhauled anyways, but if you are going to have the penalties at 9 to 4 - 225% more for one team - there better not be a slew of penalties against the other team that went uncalled.

And there were....CBS Sports has an article on two that were missed aside from the facemask.

Patriots won the game and the Falcons lost it, but if you level out those penalties the Falcons may have pulled out the game.

[bmurph128]

I would argue losing SB 49 the way we did was ultimately worse. But, blowing a 25 point lead is up there for sure. Both losses were the result of poor coaching. Simple as that.

That was terrible, but this was worse. But as a fan, I'm sure you feel that is worse as would I in that case.

Up 28-3 with 2 something minutes left in the 3rd?

Maybe because this felt like a way the Chargers blow it. Build a huge lead, then just leave tiny windows open, make one bad turnover at the wrong time, allow 2 pt conversions, almost int a pass only to have some crazy int because it landed on someone's leg/arm, lose the coin toss, and just have a tired defense. I can feel for Falcons fans.

We felt worse in the 2007 season (SB 42).

Imagine an undefeated season (and imo the greatest single season NFL team in history) gets beat by a fluke David Tyree catch. He would go on to never make a catch again. If it was Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees making a great play I can live with that, but on that helmet catch 3 OL player for NYG should have been called for blatant holding.

Its about time luck went our way a little bit.

It's about time luck went your way?

I've worked pretty hard to become unbiased when it comes to the Patriots. I rooted for them to beat Seattle and was thrilled.

But that comment is ridiculous. The Patriots are a great franchise....BB and Brady are the GOATs.

The Patriots have been flat out lucky with the single most important factor in the NFL: their division. Since Tom Brady has reigned, the Jets, Bills and Dolphins have made the AFC the least competitive division - probably since the merger. That's a combined 48 seasons between 3 teams - and the best QB of that group is either Pennington, Tyrod Taylor, or Tannehil. The best QB season from one of those teams probably belongs to Ryan Fitzpatrick. The ineptitude of those 3 teams has been EXTREMELY lucky for the Patriots.

The past few years the AFC in general has short on contenders. Beating up on your division easily lands you a home playoff game. The Patriots are obviously a great team too, so from there they're able to get a first round bye.

Not taking anything away from the Patriots, but they have been very lucky over the years IMO. This past super bowl they were lucky with regard to penalties. 9 to 4 is noticeable in the super bowl, especially when there were blatant missed calls against the Patriots. Maybe Atlanta did commit more fouls....but I think we all know there's a penalty on almost every play - in the super bowl the calls should be more even.

The Patriots haven't had anything happen that other teams don't have to deal with.

[dr3am]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

[bwgood77]

It's about time luck went your way?

I've worked pretty hard to become unbiased when it comes to the Patriots. I rooted for them to beat Seattle and was thrilled.

But that comment is ridiculous. The Patriots are a great franchise....BB and Brady are the GOATs.

The Patriots have been flat out lucky with the single most important factor in the NFL: their division. Since Tom Brady has reigned, the Jets, Bills and Dolphins have made the AFC the least competitive division - probably since the merger. That's a combined 48 seasons between 3 teams - and the best QB of that group is either Pennington, Tyrod Taylor, or Tannehil. The best QB season from one of those teams probably belongs to Ryan Fitzpatrick. The ineptitude of those 3 teams has been EXTREMELY lucky for the Patriots.

The past few years the AFC in general has short on contenders. Beating up on your division easily lands you a home playoff game. The Patriots are obviously a great team too, so from there they're able to get a first round bye.

Not taking anything away from the Patriots, but they have been very lucky over the years IMO. This past super bowl they were lucky with regard to penalties. 9 to 4 is noticeable in the super bowl, especially when there were blatant missed calls against the Patriots. Maybe Atlanta did commit more fouls....but I think we all know there's a penalty on almost every play - in the super bowl the calls should be more even.

The Patriots haven't had anything happen that other teams don't have to deal with.

Oh yeah, Pats have had plenty of luck. Besides spying on the Rams, to even get that Super Bowl they had that enormous lucky tuck rule thing against the Raiders. With their 3 pt SB victory against the Eagles, the Eagles had to cough up the ball 4 times of New England to be able to pull that out. The one against the Panthers was close too...they won by 3...Panthers missed two 2 pt conversions (of course that's part of the game, so give the Pats credit).

But those Eagles and Panthers teams were not really great teams either.

The thing about these Pats is that they have never dominated people. Not in the SB. Not like some of those Cowboys, Packers, and 49ers teams.

The Pats are in the midst of a great era. It will be interesting to see how or if that continues post Brady.

[Mind_Odyssey]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

That's a poor excuse though. The Browns before the last 2 years didn't have problems selling out tickets.

[dr3am]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

That's a poor excuse though. The Browns before the last 2 years didn't have problems selling out tickets.

Georgia & Ohio are waayyyyyy different in terms of states. There's so much down here to do compared to Ohio. Atlanta is quickly growing to be one of the top known places to visit in America. College Football is actually more popular then the NFL down here when it comes to the Dawgs & Georgia Tech. A lot of ATL-iens don't get behind the Falcons and with their history I can't blame them. Not defending them tho but living in Georgia I know how they operate.

[Mind_Odyssey]

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

That's a poor excuse though. The Browns before the last 2 years didn't have problems selling out tickets.

Georgia & Ohio are waayyyyyy different in terms of states. There's so much down here to do compared to Ohio. Atlanta is quickly growing to be one of the top known places to visit in America. College Football is actually more popular then the NFL down here when it comes to the Dawgs & Georgia Tech. A lot of ATL-iens don't get behind the Falcons and with their history I can't blame them. Not defending them tho but living in Georgia I know how they operate.

I understand the night life factor, but Ohio State is insanely popular in Ohio too.

[chrismikayla]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

Hello fellow Niners fan . You think we can pry Romo away from Dallas with a couple draft picks?

[chrismikayla]

I've been in Atlanta 13 years and honestly ALL of the teams have EPIC failures on the big stage from UGA, Hawks, Falcons, Braves, etc. But most lifelong fans have trained themselves to be pessimistic in an "I'll believe it when I see it" sort of way. When I texted a couple friends to congragulate them when up 28-3 they told me that it would be nice if they "held on" since there have been a lot of disappointments in their lifetime but they weren't convinced they should be anywhere near celebrating yet. To be brutally honest it's why many people who here don't become die hard fans and why playoff games don't sell out, etc. It's a self preservation move tp protect against heartbreak like Sunday.

I live in GA as well and what you said here is 100% true. Atlanta doesn't have a die hard fanbase due to teams choking on the big stage or the management being a complete joke when it comes to the Falcons & Hawks. Now I can't lie I am laughing due to a lot of ATL-iens down here bashing my Niners but at the same time feel very bad for them because you can tell by the vibe of the city leading up to the SB that they really wanted to win so badly. Last time the Falcons were in the SB before Sunday was 1998, yikes.

That's a poor excuse though. The Browns before the last 2 years didn't have problems selling out tickets.

More transplants here in Atlanta though.