patriots season preview video
For better,
or worse?
Sure, they went 18-1 in 2007, but the ring's the thing, and the Patriots didn't get theirs. Will it be a perfect marriage of season and Super Bowl title, or will they take a step backward? The Globe's Christopher Gasper and Mike Reiss break down the 2008 Patriots, position-by-position.
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The lost opportunity at NFL immortality left Tom Brady and the Patriots with only one goal: reclaim the Lombardi Trophy.
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19-0! What if the Pats had won?
Suppose for a second that Asante Samuel had made that interception. Think about a world in which the Patriots are coming off a perfect 19-0 season . . . (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
Patriots notebook
Apparently, no breaking news
Tom Brady Sr. was surfing the Internet yesterday when he came across a report that his son had an MRI in mid-August that revealed a cracked bone in his injured right foot. The information ran counter to what the Patriots quarterback had previously discussed with his father. (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
Stand pat? Not quite, but it's close
Impulse is human nature. Action fosters reaction. So, it would have been natural for the Patriots, following their stunning 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, to react by looking at what went wrong and reshape the team based on one unsightly blemish on an otherwise flawless season. (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
- Graphic Patriots 2008 offseason moves
A taste of Capers
The Patriots' biggest offseason acquisition didn't play a down last season. He won't don the shoulder pads once this year. He's not a reclamation project from another team or a veteran looking to reboot his career under the operating system of coach Bill Belichick. (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
On football
Pressure situation unlike any other
Much like he did in Super Bowl XLII, Justin Tuck wasted no time getting after it. Asked the secret to the Giants' defensive success against the Patriots, the defensive lineman put it bluntly. (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
These guys are motivated not to look back
Each year Bill Belichick attaches a catchphrase to the season, a simple reminder of what the Patriots need to do to reach their ultimate goal of a Super Bowl title. The mantra for the 2008 season is "finish." (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)
Sports Media
ESPN's vision is to streamline visuals
As television technology has improved over the years, particularly with sports, networks have tried to cram as much information into a broadcast as possible. At times, the graphics have been so extensive as to hinder the programming rather than complement it. (Boston Globe, 9/4/08)