AzPatsFan

I think many of you remember yesterday with foggy rose colored glasses. Those Pats Super bowl clubs struggled too, in the Marathon to the Super Bowl.

This club is much better than when it began the season. Then it was not being able to pass; or last years club at the end of the season that couldn't run.

Earlier, Brady had to introduce himself to the WRs in the huddle before each pass play. Every game there was a new guy. The passing was atrocious, and Brady was completing 52% of his passes and most were dump offs. Now he is back at his historical 63% completion rate, which means he has been recently completing passes at a higher percentage ,than he ever did before, to get back up there.

There is still a quarter of a season before the Tourney in which to improve
and they are doing so. Out depth is depleted now, but it has served its purpose. We are twelve games into the season, lead our division by two with four to go, and have 11 guys on IR, but we still have no glaring holes anywhere, yet.

Not many other clubs can say that at this time of year.

• For instance, the Colts have no Stokely and no Clark and they aren't scoring 40 points a game. They have a glaring hole where Corey Simon, and Larry Triplett used to be.
• The Phish have no Rickey, no Brown, no running backs, and no O line, and their star DE is dinged up and Chambers has disappeared.
• The Broncs have conceded the season, and are breaking in a rookie QB.
• The Bolts are having problems at WR, and Gates isn't the superstar TE any more. Keenan is showing his age, IMO. They are having to stage spectacular rallies to pull out games in the fourth quarter, and not come back from a single score down, but three or four down...
• The Bears are suffering with youngster Rex GROSSman and gross he has been.
• The Giants team is in the infirmary, and they are losing and sliding out of the playoffs.
• So are the Philly hopes dashed as McNabb is gone and no running game exists to partially tide them over.
• The Ravens offense is still quite offensive, it is still struggling even after importing McNair and firing Fassell.
• The Bengals are still running weekly pickups to the local jail to see if some players are getting out of stir for the next game.

Its a battle of the walking wounded, but the Pats, bowed but upright, are still fielding a more complete team than the other contenders.

unoriginal

You're giving short shrift to the Bengals and the Chargers, the latter of which has not offended any worse than the Patriots in recent weeks. If we're "bowed but upright," they must be as well.

I think your strongest points are about the Colts, but they had the same problems last time we played them and they acquited themselves well.

There's no reason at this point to get ****y and flash the horns.