It wasn’t supposed to end this way. The New England Patriots had run off an incredible 18 straight wins against no defeats to find themselves in Super Bowl XLII with a chance to make history and become world champions in the process. Yet in one fell swoop, they lost their undefeated and championship season with a 17-14 loss to the N.Y. Giants.

I sat in stunned silence after this was over. It wasn’t as though I had any emotional investment in the game. I honestly didn’t care who won. On one hand, I wanted to see the upstart Giants overcome the odds (they were nearly two touchdown underdogs) and beat “Goliath.” But on the other hand, I wanted to see history being made by one of the best teams I have ever witnessed. It left me somewhere in the middle just hoping for a good game. And I certainly got just that. (For the record, I picked New England 28-24.)

My satisfaction with the outcome, though, dates back to the first week of the 2007 NFL season. Unbeknown to many within the New England Patriots organization, head coach Bill Belichick broke NFL rules with an illegal videotaping incident (aka “Spygate”) that was certain to mar a perfect or championship season. If, in fact, a perfect or championship season happened. I knew that even if this Patriots team did go 19-0 — winning the Super Bowl in the process — that questions of legitimacy would forever be brought up. I’m on record as saying the rules that were broken had no impact on the outcome of that Kickoff weekend blowout over the Jets. And I still believe that.

The Pats earned their 18-0 record heading into yesterday’s Super Bowl. And I cannot begin to imagine how difficult of a task that was for this team. But in their final game loss, it’s almost as if justice had been served.

Now, in saying that, I want to be very careful that people understand I am not trying to take anything away from the incredible achievement for New England this season. That wouldn’t be fair to those players and coaches who put in so much time and effort. In fact, I doubt 18-0 will ever be achieved again. But when you knowingly break NFL rules — even if it’s the old “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch” adage — you must pay the price as a team. Of course, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down a severe punishment months ago, but it was as if the ultimate punishment was handed down yesterday by the N.Y. Giants. New England won’t have to answer questions about the legitimacy of their undefeated championship season because they didn’t have one.

As an NFL scribe, the New England Patriots gave me a lot to write about this season. Week after week, they were something special to watch. I got to work with them up-close-and-personal in their November 18 game against the Buffalo Bills and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They were an offensive machine. Because of this Super Bowl loss, I know they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal, but they have plenty to be proud of. After the game, players like Tom Brady, Junior Seau and Richard Seymour couldn’t have had more class and respect for the difficult situation and their opponent (too bad I can’t say the same for some of the Giants players). So, my congratulations to the New England Patriots on what was an incredible 18-1 season.

Inset Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

New England Patriots Suffer ‘Giant’ Loss, Super Bowl Setback Ruins Perfect Season

Just as an NFL player watches game film to prepare for his next opponent, I watched my share of previous Super Bowl Media Days on YouTube to get ready for today. But nothing could really replace being here. Media Day at the Super Bowl features a throng of reporters from all over the world. And a record number participated today.

Naturally, 2007 National Football League MVP Tom Brady was the center of attention as he had the most traffic around his podium. And I thought he handled it very well. Which is not surprising for someone who has had to get used to being in the spotlight both on and off the field. I didn’t even bother sticking my nose into that mob scene, preferring rather to talk with those players who were meandering about. But Tom was getting the most questions. He even received a wedding proposal from a reporter from TV Azteca in Mexico. Naturally, he declined, but the way he worked through the sometimes stupidity and absurdity of this “circus” was a thing of beauty. He’s done this before. He knew what to expect. And he more than made the best of it, although he admitted he prefers talking about football over his personal life:

“You just deal with whatever question is asked, and try to handle it the best you can. I’m obviously more comfortable answering the football questions. Those are much easier for me.”

We had one hour to speak to the players. My challenge was to get to as many as possible and take pictures as well. Having never worked Media Day before, I had a ballpark number of players in my mind to talk to (5-10) and had specific questions for specific players. I also had general team questions that any player could answer. But despite all the homework I did, I could not possibly know every single player. So I stuck with those I knew. If one player was busy talking to someone else, I either waited or moved on to another. I found that waiting was more or less a waste of time.

The Patriots who were at podiums/risers were Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Laurence Maroney, Bill Belichick, Asante Samuel, Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau and Vince Wilfork. In designated areas in the stands were team owner Robert Craft, VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, Larry Izzo, Ty Warren and Wes Welker. The rest just mixed and mingled.

For the BIGPLAY Radio NFL Podcast, I spoke with Logan Mankins, James Sanders, Kelley Washington, Ty Warren, and Benjamin Watson. Adalius Thomas, who seemed a little agitated and ready to leave before the hour had elapsed, commented on my meticulous notetaking. “Look at you,” he said. “You’ve got everything written out.” I nodded approvingly: “This is what I do.” (Actually, I would like to have individually laminated sheets and a color-coding system like NFL coaches. Hey, I take this seriously. Maybe too seriously.) Anyway, Adalius was one of the few who refused a cell phone interview from a reporter. I saw quite a few players doing “mobile interviews” which I thought was unusual. I guess my feeling was you should either be here at the event or be out of luck. Otherwise, those of us that are here are standing around waiting for the cell phone interview to end. It’s like being at a retail store and having the clerk attend to a phone call instead of dealing with the customer who’s in the store. That was kind of irritating.

Anyway, it was a quick hour. Of course, I felt like I needed more time but one hour is sufficient and really all that can be expected from the players. The media proceeded to brunch for a 60-minute break while a field crew prepped for the Giants.

Photos by David Kindervater

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

SBXLII Media Day: New England Patriots