From the moment Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went down in week one with a torn ACL, we knew the 2008 NFL season would be different.
It was a year of many firsts, good and bad, and it will be one many fans won’t forget, no matter how hard they try.
So here are the top three things I learned this season.
1. Nine wins gets you a Super Bowl, but 11 won’t get you an extra game
I feel bad for the Patriots. They lost Brady, replaced him with a guy who hadn’t taken a snap since high school, and won 11 games.
I don’t care who you are, that’s impressive.
Yet, they had the misfortune of being in a division that was red hot until the Bills and Jets forgot how to win meaningful games.
In the Pats’ final four games, they averaged more than 33 points, including a 47-7 victory against the NFC Champion Cardinals.
The Cardinals’ season was basically a mirror of the Patriots’. They played in arguably the worst division in football, had a running game that was basically nonexistent and were rejuvenated by 37-year-old Kurt Warner.
The Cards are the first nine-win team to make the Super Bowl. Apparently that’s good enough for the NFC.
2. Rod Marinelli went 0 -16 on comebacks this year
For those who did not see the press conference, after the Lions’ tenth game, a reporter asked coach Rod Marinelli what it was like to go 0-10. Marinelli’s response was as clever as a fourth grader’s, stating that the media was 0-10 rather than the team. Good one, Rod.
A blind squirrel could find a nut before Detroit could have found a win in this league full of parity.
3. Buying Super Bowl tickets in August is a very bad idea
As a Cowboys fan, this season hurt. Despite their recent playoff woes, many Dallas fans and NFL “experts” thought this would be the year for the Cowboys.
They spent the money, they had the coaching – ha – and they had the talent.
Yet, those hopes fell like a house of cards in the overtime loss to the Cardinals when Tony Romo broke his little finger. By the way, this made for a perfect Halloween costume.
The Cowboys couldn’t even give Texas Stadium the farewell it deserved.
I wanted an anonymous player to quote for the end of this column, but the team was heading to Mexico for vacation before I could get to Valley Ranch.
Jono Greco is a journalism sophomore.
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