[dgack]

Not to toot my own horn, but I was also one of the ones who predicted 9-7 for this team, though it sure seemed like that was a pipe dream after that heartbreaker in Buffalo.

I recall a stat I saw after we started 2-0 that showed the percentage chance of making the playoffs for teams that finished 9-7 and it was quite high, something like 60-70%? Knowing that 9-7 was "just" playing .500 ball after a 2-0 start, I felt like it was something we could accomplish with this team, I just thought a couple of the wins would have come against different opponents: I figured we'd lose to Minny and beat Buffalo, for example.

All things considered, I'm much happier peaking now with everything that's happened. We owe Seattle some payback from two years ago (I still haven't forgotten that assclown kicker of theirs talking smack about us), and I think we have a real chance to make some noise in the NFC playoffs. The entire NFC may be just an appetizer for the Patriots at this point, but I don't think there is any team in the NFC playoffs that I'm really truly afraid of if we continue to stay healthy and roll the way we our right now...