jhoffa

I was curious, what teams do you consider to be your big rivals?
It might sound dumb but it’s not simple.
I would think being a Boston based club you would naturally dispise the Jets, and this is before we mention the Parcells era, followed by Belichick, than Mangini.

However the Jets while not always a doormat, have been a very mediocre team with two division titles in 30 years.
While you competed against them in 2004 and in the playoffs last season you have their number and they simply have never been an annual threat.

The Dolphins were a big threat and were a very popular team in the 1970s along with you competing with them for the division in the 90s and early part of the Belichick era.
Nonetheless they haven’t been a big threat to you lately.

Then the Bills, also a division opponent who had a heyday in the 90s, but it doesn’t seem the cities have bad blood nor teams since you really haven’t been head on together.

I know the Manning rivalry is big now, BUT Indy is not a division team, is a basketball city, and really not even the East Coast. I would think this is more of a short term rivalry than bitter long term.

Same goes with the Steelers who have been winner during this era but again are not a division team and like the Colts I think it is a periodic rival.


I’d like to know
1) What teams do you consider your rivals?
-In what order?
2) Who have been your rivals historically?
3) Is the Boston-NY a big deal in football as it is for baseball and basketball or is it more subdued than long term sustained?
4) Are the Colts and Steelers big rivals or just short term as long as they stay good?

5) I spoke to a Pats fan last year who said he felt those two were there biggest rivals, which I found odd because I always hate my division teams (Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins) far more than another team even if they are a contender.
-We, the Giants, had a big rivalry with the Bears and 49ers in the 80s but since we haven’t been battling in the playoffs it was never sustained.
-I wonder if with the Pats, is it like the Giants were the NY-PHI or in your case NE-NYJ is always first, followed by the Dolphins, and then outside division contenders or if given your history is more recent and the Jets/Dolphins/Bills lack that historically of the NFC East if the Colts and Steelers are bigger?

Thanks!

PatriotsReign

13-0....akuna matada....no worries pal. What the hell is wrong with you? or are you a Squeelers fan in disguise (aka...looser!)?

No Patriots fan would ask such questions after just watching the complete dismantling and domination of one of the supposed "best" teams in the league. In response to ALL of your questions..."Who TF cares!"

TheGodInAGreyHoodie

I am guessing you are a Jets fan who would like to hear it is the Jets.

The answer is the Colts. The two best 2 QBs in the NFL are Brady and Peyton. And we do play them often enough between the regular and post season.

As for biggest AFC East rival -- Bills. They might actually make the playoffs.

Although all Patriots fans will enjoy seeing EM suffer an embarrassing blowout the Jets are not good enough to be considered a rival.

PatsFanInVa

I'd say the Colts; seemless transition from Division rival to their rise to prominence together, right about exactly when the Colts were ejected from the East.

In the 70s, the Bert Jones Colts and the Steve Grogan Pats were a bitter rivalry... and I don't even have to discuss the Manning/Brady teams.

PFnV

glutton79

patriotsreign, if you really don't care, just don't answer the post. he didn't say anything even remotely rude, so there's no need to throw around insults (which presumably is what you meant by "looser"...)

I think it's actually an interesting question, approaching it from the perspective of a college basketball fan. my school has one true rival, regardless of how good each school is during any given season. and even when one team is significantly better, the matchups still tend to be fairly close, simply because of the intensity and emotion of the rivalry.

we also have teams that sort of "become" our rivals because they're successful and contend for the conference championship. these matchups can get pretty intense, but in the end, when they have down years, people don't care quite as much.

so I guess I would put indy and pittsburgh in the later category, and miami and NYJ would be more our "true rivals". this is mostly based on the fact that, if indy sucked, I really wouldn't care about them that much. but the jets suck, and I still hate them I really don't have any antipathy towards buffalo- I think after that 4-year stretch of losing in the super bowl, they're hard for anyone to hate.

I don't think the NY-boston feud is as prominent in football as it is in baseball- probably because the giants tend to be the better team, and they're not even in our conference. basketball, hell if I know, last time I watched the NBA the lakers were our rival.

I think, based on my many eagle-fan friends, that the NFC east is unusually intense in terms of rivalries. I can't think of any other division that hates each other nearly that much, maybe the steelers and browns...

anyway, I think I'd go ahead and put the jets number 1 and the dolphins number 2, for long term purposes. right now, it's obviously the colts and steelers.

glutton79

it's pretty clear from his post that he's a giants fan.

NovaScotiaPatsFan

The Colts without a doubt.

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Patriot_in_NY

The Colts............

However it is fun to go through the ritual of dominating our division rivals on an annual basis.

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FrontSeven

We have a Jets guess and we have a Giants guess. Do we have a Dolphins guess, anybody? Going once, going twice .....

PatsFanSince74

I'm taking the question seriously even though its origin is dubious.

Based on big games played over time, playoffs and regular season? The Colts and Steelers without a doubt.

Based on historical rivalry even when one team is bad? The Jets and Fins.

I also think we have so much history with the Raiders (Darryl Stingley, Ben Dreith, Walt Coleman) that they would qualify if we played them more often.

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