Shaughnessy: 'Everybody Out There Knows The Patriots Aren't That Good'
BOSTON (CBS) - Compared to Patriots teams of yesteryear - the ones that were able to take home Vince Lombardi trophies in the beginning part of the millennium - Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe just doesn't think this current team stacks up.
However, that doesn't mean they can't get to and win a Super Bowl, especially because of the path that will take them there, and the "tomato can" (his words, not mine) Colts lined up in front of them this Saturday at Gillette.
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"If you had to design a team that would be the perfect stooge for Bill Belichick to come in here, it would be a team that plays indoors, a team that you scored 59 points against last year, a team that gave up 500 yards, 30 first downs and 44 points last week, a team that fell behind 38-10 in the third quarter of its first playoff game, and a team with a second-year quarterback who gave up three picks in their last meeting coming into Foxboro on a Saturday night," said Shaughnessy about the Colts.
Even though the Patriots were able to finish the regular season with a 12-4 record, an AFC East Division title, a second seed in the conference playoffs and a first-round bye, Shaughnessy simply isn't convinced.
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"Let's face it: everybody out there in the listening audience knows the Patriots aren't that good. This is a myth of the largest proportions, and it's not their fault that they're in this conference and there are no great teams anywhere in the NFL this year."
"But this team compared to the '07, '03, '04 Patriots? It just pales in comparison. A lot of that is the injuries they've had, some of it is the attrition and the way they've drafted, etc. They could be 15-1 you could make a case, but they could also be 8-8."
"This team is simply not that good."
But wait, there's good news.
"However, there's no reason they can't get to the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl, because they have a great coach that's smarter than your guy and they have a quarterback who takes you to victory - they have those two things, and that's why they're going to beat the Colts," Shaughnessy concluded.
Listen below for the full discussion: