Deja Vu

Not a lot to say about the game tonight but here are my instant reactions while they are still fresh in my mind. You can't take a quarter off and win the Super Bowl especially against a good team. I will never figure out how someone as good as Brady comes out for a game so rattled that he causes a safety on the first play. That combined with Gronk injury, three failed fumble recoveries and Welker's drop our the standout memories of this game. The Patriots had three drives late in the game where a touchdown would have iced the game and failed to convert on all of them. Just like 2007 it feels more like a championship the Patriots lost rather then a championship the Giants won.

Coach Belichick did not have a great game tonight the team came out flat, had some big defensive penalties and it was the wrong decision to challenge the Manningham catch. While there is still no other person I'd rather have roaming the Patriots sidelines being personally owned by Tom Coughlin is a major indictment. It also is damning that the team continues to have no running game, no vertical receiver and a total lack of defensive play makers.

Tom Brady is human, but he remains one tough quarterback. A 16 for 16 stretch is amazing and he was clearly hindered by a major left shoulder. His performance was made even greater by the fact that Gronk was so limited by his ankle injury. He handled the rush pretty well and if not for Welker's drop would have another Superbowl MVP award. I think he has one more run left in him even though he will be 35 next season.

I feel really bad for Wes Welker and I hope that's not his last moment in a Patriots uniform. He's a free agent just like Assante Samuel was when he dropped a game winning interception in 2008. I don't know if I give him #1 wide receiver money but he deserves to go out better then this. On a separate note Eli Manning is elite and their was no doubt in my mind he was going to score when we gave him the ball back.

 We were clearly not the best team this year and still came up only one play short of the Super Bowl. I feel very bad for Robert Kraft who clearly wanted to win badly for his wife, but it was a very memorable season. I've had season tickets since 2001 and this year was the most fun I've ever had following the team. We might have lost to insufferable New York fans but I will most remember an October 9th win against the other New York team and all the great things that came after it. The Patriots might have come up one play short but they were responsible for so many great moments in my life this season and I'll remember that far longer then I remember this loss.