New England Patriots Three Games to Glory III

Introduction

Three Games to Glory III is a two-disc video compilation of the 2004 New England Patriots playoffs, including their Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. This Super Bowl victory was the Patriots third in four years, marking them as the team of 2000s.

For New England Patriots fans it’s a chance to relive the glory of back-to-back Super Bowl victories and three championships in four years. Non-New England Patriots fans probably would not particularly enjoy this in-depth video.

Main Features

Three Games to Glory III provides extensive highlights of both New England Patriots’ playoff wins and Super Bowl victory after the 2004 season.

These playoffs found New England once again schooling the Indianapolis Colts in yet another year where Peyton Manning and the vaunted Colts offensive choke under playoff pressure.

The high flying Colts offense was throttled by the superior schemes and tough play of the Patriots in a 20-3 AFC Divisional Playoff win at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

This is followed by New England’s dramatic defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-27, in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Patriots entered this game as decided underdogs to the 15-1 Steelers after being throttled by Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

Finally, you get to enjoy the extensive highlights of New England’s impressive 24-21 win over the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. This is yet another game where New England’s superior execution and stamina in the later stages of the game brought them ultimate glory. The Super Bowl was played in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 2005.

The highlights of each game are very extensive and seem to cover nearly every play. They are also mostly well done, but frankly the highlights often fail to capture the real drama of the game.

Of course no highlight reel can match the excitement and drama of a live contest, but there are times when key turning points of the game really just become another quick hit in the video.

There are a few disappointments in this video though and it’s not quite as well done as the preceding Three Games to Glory II (covering the Patriots playoff run and Super Bowl victory after the 2003 season).

First, there is not as much pre-game drama and preparation presented in these videos compared to last year.

Secondly, there are not as many close up, on the field shots that bring the game right into your living room. It’s much more distant and not as close up as previous editions in this series.

Despite these drawbacks, it’s still great to relive a great season through these videos.

Bonus Features

The bonus features on this edition of Three Games to Glory are not nearly as good as the ones on Three Games to Glory II. The bonus features are nice they just didn’t live up the standard in the previous edition. Following is a brief rundown of what you’ll get on the DVD.

There are some “Bill Belichick” breakdowns of key plays for each game but there are very few of them and really leaves the viewer wanting more.

There’s also a “Points After: Sounds of the Game” which shows post-Super Bowl press conference features, but again, it’s really short and leaves you wanting more.

The “Patriot’s All Access” which appears along with each of the playoff and Super Bowl wins shows locker room scenes and practices, team meetings, and other shots of players as they prepare for games. These are pretty well done short features that add a great deal to the video.

The “All Access” section for the Super Bowl of course included pre-game plane trip, post game party and the parade. I find these a bit boring frankly, but I guess it’s nice to see the players up close on their daily routines.

The Super Bowl Highlights are shown twice, once with the regular commentary and once with commentary from Rosevelt Colvin (LB), Ted Johnson (LB), and Matt Light (T). Matt Light is a funny guy and this was more entertaining than the one last year.

I thought the best bonus feature was one on Disc Two called “Views from the Past” with interviews with three great players from previous decades—Gino Cappelletti of the 1960s, Michael Haynes of the 1970s, and Andre Tippett of the 1980s and 1990s.

This conversation was mostly about comparing this current Patriots’ team with teams of the past and how the game has changed over the decades.

Finally, the video has the 2005 playoff roster, Super Bowl stats, and 2005 game by game results—just like you can get in any book, it just shows it printed on the screen.

Overall, while all these bonus features are nice, Three Games to Glory III is not nearly as good as Three Games to Glory II.

It did not include an extensive behind the scenes segment on the Super Bowl, which I found fascinating on the previous edition, nor did it have highlights for each game of the regular season like the previous edition.

I found the lack of these too items very disappointing as I thought they were outstanding editions to last year’s disc.

Nevertheless, the bonus features overall are nice, just nice as nice as last time.

Bottom Line

All New England fans should enjoy reliving a third Super Bowl win through this highlights package. It’s mostly well done and certainly brings back great memories of a great season. Those who are not Patriots fans I am sure would find the video quite boring.

Disclaimer: I am a die hard New England Patriots fan and am totally biased in this review.