Case in point the Patriots, as they prepare for tomorrow's playoff game against the New York Jets. New England's active roster includes 34 players who have combined for 231 playoff games, which we are told translates into a whole bunch of experience, especially when compared with the Jets' numbers (27 and 117). Just the thought of all that experience oozing from the home sideline at Gillette Stadium is enough to get Patriots fans booking exotic South Beach accommodations in preparation for Super Bowl XLI.
But put down those cellphones for one second and reflect upon the Rocky Mountain proceedings of just one year ago:
1. Tom Brady had been intercepted just three times in 331 postseason passes. Then in his 11th playoff game, he got picked off twice by the Broncos in 36 throws, one a toss into the end zone that turned into a game-turning 100-yard return by Champ Bailey.
2. Troy Brown (in his 17th playoff game) and Kevin Faulk (in his 11th) fumbled for the first time in the postseason.
3. Oh, and Mr. Super Bowl-Winning Kicker himself, Adam Vinatieri, in his 17th playoff game, misfired on a 34-yard try at a crucial point.
Veteran champs, all of them. But on that mild winter night in Denver, they were veteran chumps as the Patriots saw their 10-game playoff winning streak end. Which begs the question: How did that experience work out for the Patriots last year?
Not very well, did it? Which is probably why more than 125 years after Emerson wrote his essay, another great thinker would sit in his Boston Garden office amid a great many mementos, one of which was a wooden plaque that read: "Experience don't mean [expletive]."
To Red Auerbach, games weren't won with concepts; they were won by players who executed well.
