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| Pretender or Contender? That was the question surrounding the 2003 Patriots. The normal hyperbole that comes with winning a Superbowl title was long gone by the end of the 2002 season and their 9-7 finish. What was known is the team was still a work in progress as the team sorely needed to upgrade their defense after its disastourous showing in 2002. The normally tight fisted Patriots which made an art form of low price free agents in 2001-2, made the biggest splash of the free agent season by signing Roosevelt Colvin from the Bears. Belichick and Pioli were not through. As some of the heros of the Superbowl were cut. Otis Smith, J.R. Redmond were the first two, but the most shocking was Lawyer Milloy 5 days before the season was to start. Of course the team that would scoop up the veteran would be the Patriots first opponent, the Buffalo Bills. The same Bills that had Drew Bledsoe and a few other cast adrift Patriots. The shocking nature of the cut or the Bills trying to end a losing streak to the Pats, the Bills came out on a mission and it showed as they demolished the Patriots 31-0. The Patriots first shutout since the 1993 season. The Patriots quickly rebounded with a strong 31-10 victory over the Eagles, but several players were lost. Roosevelt Colvin the big free agent pick-up and Mike Compton the RG were put on IR and lost for the season. Ted Johnson and Ted Washington were lost for significant time with broken legs, but the defense and rookie draft class rose to the occasion. The Patriots would split their next two games, the first a 23-16 win over the Jets, their first home win in 5 years against the Jets and lose a 20-17 game to Washington. At 2-2 the Patriots faced the meat of their schedule. First up was Tennessee. The Patriots trailed 13-7 at halftime and rallied for a 38-30 win that Ty Law sealed with an INT return for a TD late in the game. The Patriots would make it two straight as the defense would score again as the Patriots beat the Giants 17-6. At 4-2 the Patriots next faced off against Dolphins with first place on the line. Miami the scence of many painful and cruel Patriots losses over the years finally was a painful Dolphin loss even if for one year. A typical hard fought defensive battle ensued and late in a 13-13 game the Dolphins Probowl kicker lined up for a very makeable FG. Olindo Mare would push it wide and the Patriots would survive to OT. Again in OT, Mare would line up for a short FG and push it wide. Late in OT with 82 yards between the Patriots and the endzone, Tom Brady and the Patriots decided to strike quick he lofted a pass to a streaking Troy Brown who pulled in the pass between two Miami defenders and scored the deciding TD in a 19-13 OT victory. The Patriots would close the first half of the schedule with a 9-3 victory over the Browns that raised their record to 6-2. The Patriots would travel to another Den of Horrors for past Patriots' team, this time Denver. It was living upto it's billing as an early fumble that was clearly recovered by Tom Brady was given to the Broncos, but these Patriots were different and they rallied to beat the Broncos in the final seconds as Brady hit David Givens on a beautiful pass to the endzone sideline with 26 seconds left to give the Patriots the 30-26 victory. After their bye week, the Patriots faced off against Dallas in a Battle of the Bills. Bill Parcells vs Bill Belichick. While not the offensive show, Patriots/Broncos game was, the game was a hard fought defensive battle that saw the Patriots strike early and hang on for a tough 12-0 victory gave the Patriots an 8-2 record. The Patriots followed this with a hard fought 23-20 overtime victory over the recent expansion team, Houston Texans. In what was likely the Game of the Year, the 9-2 Patriots traveled to the 9-2 Indianapolis Colts. It was not the game of the year early, as the Patriots stormed to an early 17-0 lead and would eventuallu find themselves up 31-10 in the third, when the Patriots turned the ball over in the Colts end. The Colts seized momenteum and tie the game at 31 in a little over 12 minutes. Bethel Johnson's who killed the COlts with a kickoff return for a TD right before half that gave the Patriots a 24-10 lead was at it again. This time his 67 yard return set--up the Patriots at the Colts 31. Four plays later the Patriots would retake the lead on a Branch TD. The excitement was not over, as the Colts cut the lead to 4 at 38-34 and then the Patriots withstood a lasat minute Colts threat with a goaline stand from the 1, that saw Willie McGinest stuffing Edgerrin James on a 4th and 1 from the 1 to seals the 38-34 victory. For the Patriots, there was no rest for the weary as the Dolphins came to town with the AFC East on the line. That weekend saw a storm dump upwards of 30 inches of snow on New England and Gillette stadium. The game was a reflection of the wintery conditions and eerily similar to the Patriots Snowbowl victory 20 years earlier as Tom Brady led an early drive that gave the Patriots an early 3-0 lead. That score would stand up into the 4th, when Tedy Brushi sealed the victory and the AFC East title with an INT of a Jay Fiedler pass that he returned for a touchdown and eventual 12-0 victory. The Patriots would win run their win streak to 10 straight with a 27-13 victory over the Jaguars. The Patriots would push it to 11th straight with a 21-16 victory over division rival Jets. The Patriots final regular season game was against the team that adminstered a 31-0 beating shortly after Lawyer Milloy's release, the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots and Tom Brady came out on fire and disected the Bills #2 defense and won their 12th straight game with an equally gratifying 31-0 victory over the Bills in Gillette Stadium, that ensured the Patriots would have Home Field Advantage for the playoffs. The Patriots opened the playoffs in a chilly Gillette Stadium against the always formidable Tennessee Titans. At kickoff the game temprature was 4 degrees with the windchill making it feel like minus 12 degrees. It did not effect the QBs as they both did a fair job passing and the hero from the last playoff game in the old Foxboro, Adam Vinatieri, nailed a late FG to give the Patriots a 17-14 victory. In a rematch of an early season battle, the Patriots dismissed all the Indianpolis hype and beat the Colts 24-14 in the AFC Championship game. The final score was not indicative of the Patriots play. Peyton Manning who came into the game with a 156.9 QB rtg and 8 TDs and zero picks was forced into 4 INTs and 35.5 rating. In a game hyped as a defensive war of a possible Dynasty in the making team versus 2003's Destiny team, when it came time to play, the New england Patriots and Carolina Panthers had arguably the most entertaining Superbowl ever. While the Patriots moved the ball slightly early and failed on two early scoring opportunities, they finally broke the ice and the longest a opening scoring drought in Superbowl history was over and the offenses took control. In the last three minutes of the first half, the two teams put up 24 points as the Patriots two TDs left them with a 14-10 lead. Both defenses manage to keep the offenses in check for most of theird when the Patriots took control and scored 6 seconds into the 4th and held a 21-10 lead. The Panthers sandwiched 2 TDs and missed 2 point conversions around a Tom Brady pick in the endzone to take a stunning 22-21 lead. The Patriots responded and drove the field and capped the long drive with two memorable plays. the first a TD by LB MIke Vrabel on a 1 yard reception and then a two point conversion direct snap to Kevin Faulk that he ran through the heart of the Panther D. The Panthers responded and tied the game ona Ricky Proehel TD with a little over a minute left. Deja Vu? Yes. With help of a Panther KO that went out of bounds the Patriots drove into Panther territory, overcoming a penalty to give Adam Vinatieri his third try at his first field goal. As he had down 2 years prior, he nailed a perfect kick and the Patriots were again Champions of the World. @Buffalo 0-31 0-1 @Denver 30-26 7-2 @Philadelphia 31-10 1-1 Dallas 12-0 8-2 N.Y. Jets 23-16 2-1 @Houston 23-20ot 9-2 @Washington 17-20 2-2 @Indianapolis 38-34 10-2 Tennessee 38-30 3-2 Miami 12-0 11-2 N.Y. Ginats 17-6 4-2 Jacksonville 27-13 12-2 @Miami 19-13ot 5-2 @N.Y. Jets 21-16 13-2 Cleveland 9-3 6-2 Buffalo 31-0 14-2 AFC Divisional Playoffs 1 2 3 4 F Tennessee 7 0 7 0 14 Recap/Boxscore New England 7 7 0 3 17 AFC Championshp Game 1 2 3 4 F Indianapolis 0 0 7 7 14 Recap/Boxscore New England 7 8 6 3 24 Superbowl XXXVIII 1 2 3 4 F Carolina 0 10 0 19 29 Recap/Boxscore New England 0 14 0 18 32 |
| 2003 AFC East W L T Pct. PF PA Patriots 14 2 0 .875 348 238 Dolphins 10 6 0 .625 311 261 Jets 6 10 0 .375 283 299 Bills 6 10 0 .375 243 279 |
| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Tom Brady 527 317 60 3620 23 12 85.9 Rohan Davey 7 3 43 31 0 0 56.3 Damon Huard 1 0 0 0 0 0 39.6 Kevin Faulk 1 0 0 0 0 0 39.6 David Givens 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs Antowain Smith 182 642 3.5 3 Kevin Faulk 178 638 3.6 0 Mike Cloud 27 118 4.4 5 Larry Centers 21 82 3.9 0 Tom Brady 42 63 1.5 1 Troy Brown 6 27 4.5 0 Patrick Pass 6 27 4.5 0 Deion Branch 1 11 11.0 0 Dan Klecko 2 5 2.5 0 David Patten 1 4 4.0 0 Fred McCrary 3 3 1.0 0 Ken Walter 2 0 0.0 0 Damon Huard 1 -1 -1.0 0 Bethel Johnson 1 -12 -12 0 Totals 473 1607 3.4 9 |
| Receving Rec. Yards AVG TDs Deion Branch 57 803 14.1 3 Kevin Faulk 48 440 9.2 0 Troy Brown 40 472 11.8 4 Daniel Graham 38 409 10.8 4 David Givens 34 510 15.0 6 Christian Fauria 28 285 10.2 2 Larry Centers 19 106 5.6 1 Bethel Johnson 16 209 13.1 2 Antowain Smith 14 92 6.6 0 David Patten 9 140 15.6 0 Dedric Ward 7 106 15.1 1 Patrick Pass 4 21 5.3 0 J.J. Stokes 2 38 19.0 0 Fred McCrary 2 12 6.0 0 Mike Cloud 1 8 8.0 0 Joe Andruzzi 1 0 0.0 0 |
| Sacks: Vrabel 9.5, Seymour 8, McGinest 5.5, Harrison 3, Bruschi 2, Colvin 2, Green 2, Washington 2, Chatham 1.5, Klecko 1.5, Banta-Cain 1, Cherry 1, Pleasant 1, Warren 1 Interceptions: Law 6-1TD, Poole 6, Wilson 4, Bruschi 3-2TD, Harrison 3, Samuel 2-1TD, Vrabel 2, Morris 1, McGinest 1-1TD, Izzo 1 Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS Adam Vinatieri 37 38 25 34 112 |
| 2003 - Pretender or Contender? |
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