I can't really state it any better myself

One of the front page stories on nfl.com:

'George: No give-up in these Pats

Loaded with legitimate excuses, the Patriots could have taken a "what-else-would-you-expect" mentality had they fallen off the map. Instead, they're back in a familiar spot.'

Thomas George goes on to say that after losing the first-round pick (okay, but we did still have a first-round pick), almost going 19-0 (but falling short), having the greatest quarterback in the history of the game get injured (that characterization is, admittedly, mine and not his, but he does state a similar notion), and the laundry list of other injuries, the Patriots have earned the opportunity to go, say, 3-6 and still be able to look in the mirror in the morning.

Or maybe they could even be, oh, I dunno, 5-4 and wouldn't have their star quarterback calling the fans 'spoiled' to the press. I'm trying to find a citation to back me up on this. It happened. Traces of it are to be found on the internet.

(Now, okay, we were called spoiled fans, at least by Ellis Hobbs, for booing at the team at the Miami game earlier this year. However, as an extremely loyal viewer for the past five years, that was one undeniably painful game).