[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

Bad ending, but all in all a good season. After an unbelievable and unprecedented 20 year run, the team had to go through a rebuilding process. One failed year of the Cam Newton experiment and then back in the playoffs year two. Some franchises take a decade or more to rebuild, the Pat’s did it in a couple years. They found a very promising rookie quarterback, overachieved this year, have several very good young players, and the future looks bright. Hats off to the Bills, they are a very good team that had suffered countless bad seasons (since the Jim Kelly days) until they finally turned things around the last couple of seasons. I’ll be rooting for the Bills the rest of the way, unless they meet TB12 in the Super Bowl.

That is pretty optimistic. Sounds like the Yankees fans that got so accustomed to being in the World Series annually that they expect it and that makes the disappointment so much harder to accept

[ScottGo]

You still have the Tampa Bay Pats. A least my RAIDERS where close, next year! (I say that every year)

[mikemalloy]

Originally Posted by Garywt

…but the football season is over. Now have the long wait until next year to see what the Patriots can do.

I'm a Lions fan. Our season ended last week....again. Are you looking for sympathy???Sorry, can't hear you.

[davem4616]

Originally Posted by Garywt

…but the football season is over. Now have the long wait until next year to see what the Patriots can do.

sorry...the season isn't over until the Super Bowl is over

any true Patriot fan worth their salt is also rooting for TB12 and the Buc's

but, if you choose to take your ball and go home, so be it...

[JayDub]

I was hoping the Eagles would make it more of a game.. oh well

[Garywt]

Originally Posted by davem4616

sorry...the season isn't over until the Super Bowl is over

any true Patriot fan worth their salt is also rooting for TB12 and the Buc's

but, if you choose to take your ball and go home, so be it...

I pay attention to TB12, I just don’t sit and watch entire games. Definite like seeing him win better than anyone else.

[kenoc7]

Originally Posted by Garywt

…but the football season is over. Now have the long wait until next year to see what the Patriots can do.

Go Bills. There is nothing more I li ke than seeing the Patriots lose, especially to the Bills.

[Regorp]

Originally Posted by Garywt

…but the football season is over. Now have the long wait until next year to see what the Patriots can do.

Raiders out as well. 2022??

[Stu from NYC]

How do you think I feel two sort of NY teams both pathetic year after year.

[Woodbear]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

How do you think I feel two sort of NY teams both pathetic year after year.

I wonder how many know that New York state has one pro football team (Buffalo Bills)? The other so-called NY teams play their games in New Jersey.

[BucciVicki]

I’m a Patriots fan too, well said! Looking forward to seeing what the next season brings!🏈

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'm a Patriots fan as well and was very disappointed with their final game. I really didn't think that they had much of a chance to win as the Bills are clearly a much better team. But I thought that they'd make it a game and and maybe get lucky.

But looking back at where they were and what our expectations were at the beginning of the season, this year was a success. After losing the greatest player ever to play the game and having so many players opt out for Covid last year they missed the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. The Bradyless Patriots were much worse than so many of us thought they would be.

So at the beginning of this season, we had a bit of hope. A new rookie quarterback that the coaching staff was and still is very high on and two excellent looking running backs as well as some great additions on defense made us more hopeful.

Then they lose the first game of the year against the Dolphins in Foxboro on a Damien Harris fumble on the six yard line when all they needed was a field goal. Then they had a couple of wins and losses. Then suddenly they appeared to hit their stride and won seven games in a row. Many thought that they were unbeatable and were actually the favorites to go to the Super Bowl.

Then they missed a field goal by about six inches to lose to Tampa Bay. We still were thinking that they were going to recover from that but they didn't.

Thinking back if Harris didn't fumble and that field goal was six inches to the right they would have won the division in spite of their downward slide over the last five games.

The point is that with the 7 game win streak we all got out hopes up and though they might have another Super Bowl win. But looking back, they accomplished exactly what we hoped they would in this first rebuilding season.

The future looks good except for the fact that Buffalo and Miami are now contending teams where in the past we could almost count on those four wins. The AFC East looks very different now. Buffalo is by far a better team and I would be surprised to see them get to the Super Bowl this year. Miami has improved tremendously and is likely to continue doing so.

We've gotten so used to The Patriots winning the division and going to the Super Bowl so many times over the past twenty years that it's a real disappointment to see what is going on now. But they are still a team and can continue to compete and maybe get back to a Super Bowl again in the near future.

The twenty year run was unprecedented in the NFL and it's unlikely that something like that will ever happen again. But hopefully we can continue a great competitive football team that has a chance every year.

[rustyp]

As they say hindsight is 20/20. Fact - Patriots won't play this week, next week, or Feb 13th. Like the song says see you in September. It should be interesting for NE fans now there is competition in the division. My desire is Buffalo totally dominates the division for the next ten years. Time to feel what it is like when the shoe is on the other foot. Best of luck to you.