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History Made, Just Not The Kind Pats Wanted

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By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2008

GLENDALE, Ariz. - It was supposed to be a perfect end for a team of destiny.

New England was tabbed as one of the best teams in NFL history. The Patriots were 18-0 and one win away from an undefeated season, something which had not been accomplished since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Only the New York Giants, a wild-card team, stood between New England and history during Super Bowl XLII.

The Patriots made history all right, but not what they expected.

New England was defeated, 17-14, in what will be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

"It's not even worth talking about it now because it didn't happen," New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi said.

It did not happen even though the odds were stacked in New England's favor. New England surprisingly seemed flustered after never losing its composure this season. The Patriots, 12-point favorites, also were unable to openly defy their skeptics after a Boston Herald report surfaced this weekend that New England allegedly taped St. Louis' last practice before the 2002 Super Bowl. New England won that game, 20-17.

In essence, this was not the New England team that dominated the majority of its opponents this season.

"We wanted to win the game as bad as the Giants did," New England quarterback and league MVP Tom Brady said. "We laid it on the line. I'm sure we will all wake up tomorrow and be disappointed."

New England's failure to match Miami's undefeated record predictably left members of that team happy.

The Dolphins are notorious for following teams around that are close to tying their mark, rooting against them and then popping champagne corks when that squad finally losses.

"I don't take joy in the fact the Patriots lost - period," former 1972 Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich said. "But I do relish and savor the fact there has only been one unbeaten team in the history of the NFL, and it is the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Of that, I am extremely proud."

New England's offensive line performance against New York was enough to leave their followers ashamed. The Giants recorded five sacks, led by Justin Tuck's two, and added nine quarterback hurries.

"They are a great team," Brady said. "They are very good on defense. They have some great pressure schemes, obviously some great pass rushers. Once we kind of got the idea of what we were doing, I thought we handled it much better, but we just didn't get the ball in the end zone enough. You score 14 points. I think that was our lowest total of the year and that got us beat."

Not only was it New England's lowest point total, but also it capped a very disappointing postseason for Randy Moss.

After re-emerging as one of the best receivers in the NFL, Moss had only two postseason receptions prior to the Super Bowl. Moss had five receptions for 62 yards and one touchdown against New York, but he was overshadowed by teammate Wes Walker's 11 receptions for 103 yards.

"I think their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours," Moss said. "We just couldn't meet that intensity.

"It kind of surprised me, just in the fact that all of the work we put in for the last two weeks. But like I said, they had the better team today. When things like that happen, the only thing that you can do is lick your wounds and try to come back at it next year."

New England will attempt a second run at history next season. Until then, New England will go down in history.

It is just not the history the Patriots expected.

"It was a great ride," Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel said.

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425

or arichardson@tampatrib.com.

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