Season-ending scene at Gillette Stadium
FOXBOROUGH – Patriots players filled large black trash bags, packed boxes and cleared their lockers today at Gillette Stadium after a season-ending team meeting with coach Bill Belichick. The overall mood was somber and reflective.
“There is nothing more dramatic than how it just abruptly ends,” cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. “This is the final day a lot of us are going to see each other.”
Several players reflected on the season, including quarterback Matt Cassel, defensive lineman Richard Seymour, linebacker Mike Vrabel, linebacker Adalius Thomas, running back LaMont Jordan, and Hobbs.
“I think that we did the best that we could,” Seymour said. “Obviously, we wish that we could have had a couple of plays back in several of those games. I thought coming down the stretch we played our best football in December and I think that's what you want to do as a team -- to play your best football coming down the stretch.
“I think when you look at the playoffs you look at the teams that are in there,” Seymour continued. “We lost to Indy. We lost to Pittsburgh. We lost to San Diego. So, how mad at it could you really be? I felt like if we would have played better in those games we would have left ourselves in a better situations. I think in the past we've won those tough football games and this year we came up a little short.”
Hobbs talked about what it was like yesterday as players watched ESPNews on their plane ride home, which is how they kept track of the games that directly affected their playoff fate. Players found out on the plane that their season had ended because of victories by the Dolphins and Ravens.
“When you leave it up for grabs like that, you’re playing roulette, it’s a hit or miss,” Hobbs said. “We needed one of those two options to happen yesterday and we couldn’t get them. I said it’s kind of like having 8 and 3 on the blackjack [table], you double down, and the dealer gives you a 2. It stinks.”
Hobbs, who played through a shoulder injury, said one silver lining for him is that he won’t require offseason surgery. Hobbs underwent multiple surgeries last offseason.
Elsewhere on the health front, Adalius Thomas said he’s confident he’ll be 100 percent for the start of the 2009 season. Thomas previously underwent season-ending surgery for a broken forearm.
Meanwhile, running back LaMont Jordan is one player whose future is uncertain, as his contract expires and he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Jordan, who spoke of how much he enjoyed his one season with the Patriots, is interested in returning next season if the sides could come to an agreement.
“I could definitely see myself wearing this uniform again, but at the same time, this is a business,” he said.
Cassel’s future also figures to be a hot topic of discussion in the offseason, as he is also an unrestricted free agent.
“I don't know, it's one day after the season. We're going to move forward, we'll see how it all comes about in the future,” Cassel said.
Comment
Permalink
Email
BRETT FARVE - WHAT A BUM
Still two plays define this season and keep the Patriots out of playoffs
1) Dave Thomas - I hope you know your immature,stupid, moronic late hit against the Colts cost us that game
2) The unidentified referee in Jets second game against Pats - that bogus holding call against Vrabel. It was not even close to a hold and you know it AND KNEW IT THEN - it cost the Pats the game and the playoffs -- why don't you publicly confess who paid you off
admit t
J.P. You forgot about Jabar Gaffney. His inability to catch the ball also hurt the Pats.
At least I won’t have to stare at a Patriots SB loss on the Pats front page for the next six months.
Ellis Hobbs is happy that he won't require offseason surgery? Great, so maybe he work hard this winter and spring to transform from a bad cornerback to a... bad cornerback?
JP,
I guess you didn't sleep last night. Take 2 DVDs of the 2002 SB win and call me in the morning. Move on dude. A great season all things considered, and Mangini got fired today. Smile, would you.
I blame the coin, in the OT coin toss of the Jets game. DAMN YOU COIN!!!
Seriously though, did anyone honestly think we could win the superbowl this year after Brady went down? Granted, anythings possible but with the injuries we had, it was highly unlikely, even if we got into the playoffs. I think if we would have played the Ravens, we would have lost in the wild card.
The patriots deserve a long offseason, they can leave Gilette with their heads high. We hit big with draft picks this year and we should be even better next year. The future is bright for the Patriots!
See ya next season!!!
Frank J, Ellis Hobbs is NOT a bad corner. He is just not a GREAT corner. He is not a #1 and should not be left on an island. As a #2, he is very solid.
This season was MUCH better than we ever expected after the 8th minute in Game one. How many of us, just dropped our heads and thought the whole season just ended. KUDOS to the boys in Gillette.....get well, get rested, and come back next year and kick some butt.
The must NOT play patty cake with Jordan. Go out and give him a reasonable deal and he will sign. He can smell a ring not far off in the future.
Sean, I disagree. The Pats don't deserve a long off season. They deserve to be in the playoffs. Brady's loss was tough, but the Pats got better as the season went on and Cassel grew into being a quarterback. With Jordan and Morris both being healthy heading into the playoffs, they would have been a very dangerous team despite their makeshift defense. It could have been interesting. It will be interesting to see how they go about filling some of the glaring holes in the defense.......... As far as David Thomas is concerned, I thought then and I still think now that was a BS call. If Gaffney makes that catch, it doesn't matter.
Gaffney's drop...giving up a 3rd. and 15 to the Jets...Thomas' dumb move...add 'em up it equals 11-5.BB says the players gave all they had.I say BB knows football.Godspeed 2008 Patriots.It was a great ride.
You guys are LOSERS!!!!
Sitting here reading the comments, are just stupid ignorant FANS. i dont here you guys complain about Gaffney came up with many difficult catches. Or david Thomas did a nice job blocking, or Steven hammered the ball every kickoff. Do you guys even watch football? or just one of those people that wait for the news and the result? The personal foul from David Thomas was a bad call.
Who would think they would get to 11-5 after the first quarter of the first game. Come on.
-Gaffney got better during the 2nd half and actually made a slew of big catches.
-The running game was great considering what it looked like out of the box. Keep the three guys you finished up with and go from there.
-Hobbs is a solid guy and a plus on special teams.
-Cassel was a real find. Where do you think they would be if they had brought in any of the other names being tossed around the first few weeks of the season? I really hope that he gets a fair shake in the off season. But I can see him getting franchised and dealt to some hell hole like Detroit...hope not.
Sean – I agree that the coin toss was the decisive moment in the Pats season. I guess it’s human nature to dissect every play and every player’s performance of a loss while not looking so closely at the wins. One could find just as many plays that won games this year as ones that lost them.
I disagree that the Pats would not make noise in the playoffs. They have been improving every week and BB et al. are fantastic game planners and the best barometer of future performance is past performance. The Pats have won a Super Bowl with a backup QB and an 11-5 regular season record. I’d take my chances. Hell, we all had Cassel not making the team…I guess your office needs to be inside the Razor to see that he is actually a 10 million dollar (plus?) QB. Our collective apologies Matt and thank you. Good for him good for the Pats this year, they both got more than they expected from each other, shake hands, let him move on and let’s get on with next year. Does anyone else ever sit back and wonder what the Pats "see" in players? Vrabel, Welker, Cassel, Moss, Gostkowski, Izzo, Mayo (is he still on the field). Amazing talent evaluation. Anyway great year and looking forward to next year.
Did something happen in NY today? Where are all the Jets fans that usually infiltrate this website?
sven
Blah blah blah. Everyone knows exactly how to play football (or baseball, or hockey, or...) when they're watching it from behind a six-pack.
I also think it was a great season considering all things; Matt grew into a QB and you would have to figure that Mangini would do anything to hurt the Pats. So now he is out of the picture good! All the Pats needed was a play or two to go different in a number of games but like the SB last year, the ball did not bounce their way. Give them credit for a good season and next year will be even better.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
Everyone knows the rules at the beginning--it's not like the Pats are out on some tricky technicality. Sure, the AFC West is a joke. But there's only one sure way to make the playoffs: win your division. The coin toss might've been the fulcrum of the season, but you could really take your pick. Randy dropped a couple of sure touchdowns this year--one in the Colts game that might qualify. Overall, it was a manful effort by everyone on the team considering the roll call at the infirmary. I think it was a great season, one I really enjoyed watching.
Hey Patriots, go home you bunch of cry babies. Season is over! Wah Wah Wah.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Patriots Twitter
ask reiss
Questions will be considered for Mike's mailbagbrowse this blog
by categoryINside Boston.com