PatsFanSince74

I'm gonna defend the OP and say that, in general, I agree with him.

I liked what happened yesterday for the Pats. They played with some attitude on D, got a couple of sacks, made some key stops and got by without important players on both sides of the ball. I'm encouraged by the progress of the running game and am trying not to get my hopes up too high about Taylor's return; keeping him on the roster and not putting him on IR was a gamble and I have a feeling it could pay off significantly over the next six weeks.

As for the talk that "it was only Buffalo," tell that to the defending SB Champions who lost to "only" Oakland and KC and to all the other teams that have been knocked off by teams that weren't supposed to show up this year. This was a Division Game on the road in the cold. I'm happy with the win and I'm happy with what went down for our guys at The Ralph.

I'm reserving judgment on whether this team is "coming together" and want to see what happens on the field against Jacksonville and at Houston. The last thing this team needs to do is "rest" if it clinches the Division next week; their best chance of making noise in January is to come into the playoffs pissed off and on a surge.

And, yes, I want the number four seed and I want our guys to go into Indy, catch them after a bye and after playing for nothing for a month and smash them in the mouth before they know what happened, like we used to do in 2001.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

borg

There's alot of 7-7 teams that wish they had a win yesterday. Missing 4 starters, holding a home team to 10 points...absolutely take this win. Seems Pats fans are too worried about style points. Wins are difficult and the Pats have 9....this is a good thing.

robertweathers

You are right, but where is the evidence to support that the team is comming together?

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“I'm not really concerned about the other 31 teams,” - Bill Belichick

"If a player has talent and doesn't succeed, that means that they either don't want to be successful or I have failed as a coach." - Bill Belichick

PatsFanSince74

Right. And unlike the 2007 team, this is not a "style" team. If this team is going to do anything in January, it's going to have to do it like the 2001 team did; by smashing people in the mouth.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

BradyManny

In the third quarter of the Colts game, this team looked like the team to beat in the AFC. It's defense was clicking, and its offense was looking like vintage 2007.

Since then, both sides of the ball have regressed. It's just a question of a) can the coaching staff adjust to the way they are being played b) will the team be healthy?

PatsChamp88

How many points do we have to win by so people stop complaining? I guess wins just aren't good enough anymore but hell I'll take them

PatsFanSince74

As I said in my otherwise supportive response to the OP, we won't know whether the team is coming together until we see what happens these next two weeks. But, I like what happened yesterday in Buffalo. It was a gritty performance by a depleted D against a division opponent on the road in December. the running game looked like it might actually be able to be a force, especially if a healthy Taylor returns ready to play. It's a game on which they can build and, given the state of affairs in the AFC and NFL this year, it is by no means too late to build to a strong finish.

There's been a lot of chat out here today and yesterday about "who we want to play" in the Wild Card round (assuming we get there). My answer is simple.

It doesn't matter who our opponent is. If we come into the Playoffs angry and on a surge, we'll do what Pats teams have done all decade in Foxboro in January and send the other guys home in a basket; if we squeak by with one win over the next two weeks, we'll be one and done.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

D-Money

I dont get wrapped up about beating the bills.We have owned them.Its about the elite teams.The only way to beat Manning is by putting heavy pressure on him.

PATSYLICIOUS

I still feel the same way about this team as I did the whole season, cautiously optimistic. A couple wins over bad teams isn't going to change my opinion drastically. The offense is still awful in the 2nd half. The defense is still great against bad teams, and who knows against the better teams. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but it's kinda worrisome that the 2nd half woes on offense still aren't fixed.

If Neal, Brady, Warren, Wilfork can be healthy for the playoffs and we have no more injuries, I will feel alot better. Brady may be struggling but come playoff time there's still no QB I'd rather have. Playcalling needs to be better, with BB/Brady you never know they can always turn that around.

BionicPatriot

I don't think this team is coming together. This team had 2 statement games, they almost beat the Colts and lets not talk about the Saints. Until this team beats a REAL team, they aint **** I'm sorry but we can play these homer games all we want and continue to look stupid as they lose to good teams. I hope they go on a run in the playoffs, but if they lost yesterday we'd be in meltdown mode over a loss to terrible Buffalo.

I don't care how they win, what bothers me is the same issues persist. Defense giving up late drives, offense doing NOTHING in the second half, 3 points? My goodness. When will it ever improve if it hasn't already? The same problems persist, and all we can hope for is this team to get hot in the playoffs.

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Defense, defense, defense