JR4

Media are hyping a Miami take over of the AFCE.
Here is one guy not buying it.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5709190

This is what I have felt for some time. Last time
Belichick faced Culpepper ( with Moss no less ) he
wasn't a factor. I believe it will be the same this year.

richpats

(see #2) Does anyone remember that Vinatieri missed a very important kick in Denver this year? Those SB kicks were huge, but this one REALLY mattered b/c we could have cut the deficit to 8 points. It was arguably the 2nd-most crucial kick in his playoff career (snow bowl kick of course is #1).

Welker83

Tom brady has some of his worst games agains the fins and the statistics prove it... BUT he's still 6-4 vs the fins... the game does not come down to a single player...

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mgcolby

I feel relatively confident that one of our losses will be to the Dolphins this year. I think we will go 14-2 or 13-3 based on our schedule which is pretty soft especially if you compare it to last year's.

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JR4

But Culpepper is not just any one player ... he is the QB ... a very important
part of winning ... especially against the PATs.

The reason for the Culpepper debate is that many think he is the missing
link so as to say ... the piece of the puzzle that was missing. That is why
many media guys are buying into the idea Miami an unseat the AFCE champs.
The biggest supposed offseason move Fins made is the QB position ... other
than that what have they done to improve? Especially improve their offense?
Williams is gone ... some say that is a good thing ... well it's up to Ronnie
to make it so. New coorindators who weren't in Sabans system last year.

If Miami is to be much better than last year ... then it must come from
Culpepper ... and his history against Belichick is not too promising , not too
mention his health problem, yet the media hype goes on.

richpats

Right you are - if you take a look at Brady's performances against the Fins and the Broncos you'll find they are very similar. I'd say he's played 2 good games out of 10 against Miami and only 1 out of 5 against Denver. The records (6-4 vs. 1-4) don't reflect that though.

Brady's Pats, on average, have put up nearly as many points against Denver (19.8) as Miami (20.2) - it's our DEFENSE that has made the difference against the Fins, giving up an average of 18.9 ppg opposed to 27.2 ppg against Denver. With the exception of this year's playoff game, our D doesn't do so well against the Broncos, and even then they racked up 27 off our mistakes.

The 3 'good' games combined against Denver and Miami all happened to be road victories, the only road victories Brady has against these teams. Brady MUST play well in Denver and Miami in order to win whereas at home, the D is typically better and will give up less points, so he can be less than stellar and still come out on top. I can say that more for Miami than Denver since we rarely play the Broncos in Foxboro. My gut tells me Brady will have to play very well in order to beat Denver this September, and I believe he can and he will

AllabouttheVinces

It depends. Who's gonna show up? The Culpepper who threw for 6 TDs and 12 Ints in 2005, or the one who threw for 39 TDs, only 11 Ints and 4,700 yds in 2004. Don't sell this guy short. He's never thrown for fewer than 60% in his career, even if he was playing against weak Detroit and Green Bay defenses the last few years.

If healthy, he's a stud. He could be one of the most significant offseason veteran acquisitions of the year. When the Pats play in the Miami heat, we'll have our hands full.

PatsWickedPissah

Brady himself has stated that Miami's D gives him fits. Aside from Jason Taylor and excellent pass coverage, I believe part of it is mental. If we were to win another SB, he has to improve his personal performance at least against Denver and probably against Miami in order to get a good playoff seed. I'm interested in analysis that folks here have that shows just how Miami and Denvah are able to flummox Brady time and again.

5 Rings for Brady!!

'DREW BLEDSOE GOES TO BUFFALO'

Culpepper will look great out of the box and win some games. He'll beat the Pats or come damn close the first time they play. The media will crap themselves with joy that they can finally predict the end of the Pats.

The second time the Pats play Miami, they show the league how to completely shut down Culpepper and Miami's offense.

From then on, Culpepper comes back down to earth. He probably will already have made the 'Pro Bowl' . But it won't matter come playoff time.

I still have to wonder how much attention people pay to Culpepper. He turns the ball over more than any other Q.B. in NFL history by fumbling it. I don't care how many interceptions he has if he is simply going to drop the ball on the ground!

He has NEVER EVER played good under pressure. I used to cheer for the Vikings every week because I hate Green Bay and The Bears.

We are not underestimating this guy by doubting that he is an elite Q.B. Those are the facts if you have watched the many ups and downs of his career, like the times he was benched and booed in his own stadium and Gus Ferotte came in and had three touchdown passes to Moss.

5 Rings for Brady!!

Patswickedpissah:

Miami does not currently own Brady like they did in the past. The same thing that made Miami good against other teams made them good against the Pats. Pass rush and really, really tight cornerback coverage. Both of these elements will continue to diminish unless Miami finds a younger Jason Taylor and Surtain and Madison. The skill players on the Pats never could run the ball or get open against the Fins, and Brady wasn't protected well.

Plus the edge that Miami got by confidence and feeling like they have Brady's number.

The Broncos win because Mike Shannahan is good at picking apart Belichick's 'read and react' two gap defense. The Pats struggle to stop Denver. I think that Shannahan has a field day cutting apart Belichick's style of gap control defense. He knows how to game plan the Pats. The Broncos struggle more against a fast pace defense like Miami, but if the Pats players are going to stand around at the line of scrimmage and wait for the play to develop, it just does not seem to work against the Broncos.

Brady has shown the ability to score against the Broncos far easier than against Miami, when his recievers are getting open or he has a decent running game. The times he plays the Broncos and the whole team is clicking, they have had close games. The playoff game last year was wide open before the refs shut the door.

Plus the confidence thing, they don't fear the Pats.