Mike Dussault

I know there’s still one game to be played but for all intents and purposes we can say goodbye to the 2010 regular season for the Patriots.

I’ve always tried to make it a point to enjoy the regular season as much as possible because if you base your fan satisfaction solely by how the season ends you’re probably going to be disappointed most of the time.

This 2010 Patriots season has been remarkable.  We didn’t know what we had with the defense, and even though statistically they were probably worse than any of us expected, this team will finish with the best record in the AFC. Amazing.

The list of teams they beat is impressive. Not always dominating, but close, heart-filled victories with players making clutch plays. And sometimes dominating too.

Even I would’ve thought 13-3 or 14-2 was a little too optimistic of a record prediction given the schedule the Pats faced. Throw in the fact that they jettisoned Randy Moss mid-season, and it was a memorable season that surely has a place alongside the great regular seasons of the last decade.

Being a Pats fan is all about surprises, and this year I think just about everyone can say the 2010 Pats have been surprising to say the least.

Offensively they’re just as unstoppable as the 2007 team was, yet this group looks like it’s peaking as the playoffs start, whereas the previous team began to fizzle.

Defensively they gained a ton of great experience in a lot of big games in the national spotlight. They performed well every single time. What the defense lacked they made up for by getting turnovers, lots of them. The pass rush continues to be a concern due to injuries and inconsistency. Look for that to again be an area of focus in the offseason.

This is what a rebuilding year looks like in New England. The future looks even brighter, but for now there are three more games to be won.