As hard as it is to think about anything other than this weekends playoffs game against the Ravens I'd like to take a quick look back on a somewhat lackluster 2009 season.
We knew coming in that Tom Brady's return was the headline for the start of the 2009 and really that was just about the only really great thing that happened all year. If you were there on opening night (like I was) you probably saw the best game of the season. In the moments after Brady pulled off his greatest 4th quarter comeback of his career all seemed right in the world for the Patriots.
We didn't yet realize how much the Pats were truly starting over on defense. We didn't know Adalius Thomas was going to such a non-factor. We didn't know Joey Galloway would soon not even be on the team. We didn't know how hard it would be for this team to win on the road. We even thought Ben Watson was finally ready to break out.
Of course the first thing anyone will say when discussing the 2009 season is "4th and 2". It's hard not to think about how the season might've been different had the Pats hung on against the Colts. What a win like that would've done for a young defense we'll never know. Maybe it might've helped them hold their own in New Orleans.
Ultimately we didn't know when the season started how much work still needed to be done on this team. Can they win in the playoffs? One game, maybe two, but no one considers them favorites to even get to the AFC Championship, much less the Super Bowl.
Of course with Belichick and Brady anything is possible, but 2009 will forever be known as the first year in the second act of Bill Belichick's reign as coach of the Pats. The end is still unwritten.
Keywords: 2009, Bill Belichick, Indianopolis Colts, New England patriots, Tom Brady
