Bob Lobel: Patriot Pain

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

That was difficult to watch.

Even after Gronk caught the TD to get it to 20-18, somewhere in your head you knew the two-point conversion was anything but what you wanted to rely on to get to overtime.

It's a testament to this team that they even had a chance to be in that position. Gronk and Brady got them there. Gronkowski and Gostkowski kinda were at both ends of the spectrum. Gronk and Gost.

You know, you just take your kicker who never misses for granted... 

Well, his missed extra point was the reason they had to go for two. Who knew? Gost, Gronk and a the Patriots offensive linemen, who apparently chose to watch the game at the hotel. Where else could they have been? Not on the field, certainly. 

Remarkable that watching the game at home made it as difficult to breathe as it must have been in the thin Denver air. 

Someday there will be mini oxygen packages each player will have sewn into his jersey.  

There is a startup for you.  

Still, for a kicker that never misses, it was a shock. A shock to the Patriots, and a shock to the Broncos. It was all difficult to watch, especially when your team, that is so hated because they are so good, looked very ordinary. 

The weeks of yapping by talk shows and self appointed experts can now be erased. No free trips to the west coast in two weeks for the media. When some systems break down and you rely on four or five position guys, you need those guys at full strength. They weren’t…

Hey, the Broncos out played the Patriots. Hold the retirement speech for Peyton Manning. Many had him buried long before kickoff. And what's with winning the coin toss and taking the ball? I think right away if you were a fan that made you very uneasy.

It falls under the rule that says “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it.” 

Final question: Did the NFL measure the air pressure at the mile high point to bring up in the upcoming appeal of the Tom Brady ball issue, that was a year ago in focus. Start the year with deflate issues, end it here. 

Kind of the Gost to Gronk thing. 

You've got to be exhausted sitting at home or at a bar breathing the thin air. Belichick said it all when he muttered at the presser after the game that, in the NFL, when you lose the last game, it's like a crash landing. 

In this part of the nation, most people didn’t think their seat belts were necessary.