The 2004 Patriots are my favorite team of New England’s run. Don’t get me wrong I loved the 2001 squad. But in 2004 Tom Brady had emerged, Corey Dillon was a beast, the defense was stifling at times, and the Pats only lost twice. Just a great season. However, for me it all comes down to the playoff game against the Colts. It was the year that seemingly everyone picked Indianapolis to get over the hump, something that seemed even more likely with Richard Seymour and Ty Law unable to play. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning won the MVP and started his ridiculous run of appearing in an ad during every single commercial break of football games. More on that later. You may also recall that Mike Vanderjagt said New England was “ripe for the picking” in the lead up to the game. Come game time it was a cold, snowy day in Foxborough and the Patriots dominated from start to finish with brilliant defense. They rushed 3, dropped 8 into coverage, beat receivers up at the line, and seemed a step quicker all day. The highlight? You could go with the crowd chanting, “Cut that meat!” in honor of one of Manning’s numerous ads. However, let’s stick with the play on the field. With time winding down in the first half the Colts put together a bit of a drive. It ended emphatically when Peyton Manning went to Dominic Rhodes. Tedy Bruschi stopped him for a two-yard loss and went a step further by ripping the ball out of Rhodes’ hands. Not only did it show the huge difference in aggression between the squads that day, but it also doubled as a “this game is freaking over” moment. I bring this up mainly because I immediately thought of Bruschi’s play when Rajon Rondo ripped the ball out of Lamar Odom’s hands. There were a lot of great plays - KG's and 1, House and Posey going on an 11-0 run, Tony Allen's reverse ally oop, Glen Davis inexplicably dunking, Pierce's drives and assists, a statement block by Perk, Ray Allen raining down 3s, and more. But Rondo's numerous steals in general and the one on Odom in particular were big time. In fact it was a huge night for Rondo – 21 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals. He had as many offensive rebounds (2) as all of the Lakers combined. On top of that Rondo had 2 more steals than LA and did it all with one turnover. In honor of Rondo’s stellar play I’m going to post the Rajon Rondo movie. For the record I made this in the midst of the disaster that was last season. And I recognize that it’s way too long and has numerous other flaws as well. Granted I can’t bring myself to watch it again. It’s painful. But it has its moments. I maintain that the broken glass and Delonte West wire hanger scenes are fantastic. This is for a limited time only. Enjoy after the jump…

The Rajon Rondo Movie: Part 1 (via GreenBandwagon)

The Rajon Rondo Movie: Part 2 (via GreenBandwagon)

The Rajon Rondo Movie: Part 3 (via GreenBandwagon)