What we learned after Sunday...

[Sicilian]

I agree and disagree with the OP. I would be very surprised if we don't win the division, simply because with Brady over the course of a 16 game season we are a better team than any of the three.

That being said (and as numerous others have pointed out), I'm not going to be surprised if we lose any of the division games. Rivalries like that don't happen like normal games, guys get amped up for them and the teams know each other so well there's very little surprise factor.

I'm disappointed when they lose ANY game, but most teams don't go 6-0 in their division for a reason.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

In the '04 season we lost to the Jets at home and Dolphins on the road
In the "05 season we lost to the Dolphins at home
In the '06 season we lost to the Jets at home and Dolphins on the road
In the '08 season we lost to the Jets and Dolpins at home
In the '09 sesaoin we lost to the Jets on the road

You can minimize the mantra of on "any given sunday".. but the above bears it out... intradivision games give us a lot of trouble...

Those were all VERY different teams. Both ours and theirs. So it's something of an apples and oranges comparison. The 2007 Patriots didn't lose to either of them. Tom Brady didn't play in 2008 and he was just returning from a yearlong injury absence in week 2 of 2009.

 

[DarrylS]

Those were all VERY different teams. Both ours and theirs. So it's something of an apples and oranges comparison. The 2007 Patriots didn't lose to either of them. Tom Brady didn't play in 2008 and he was just returning from a yearlong injury absence in week 2 of 2009.

take it or leave it, no biggie, the reality is that intradivisional games are tough as we know each other so well and the tendencies... with that being said hope we run the table.

 

[aluminum seats]

Those were all VERY different teams. Both ours and theirs. So it's something of an apples and oranges comparison. The 2007 Patriots didn't lose to either of them. Tom Brady didn't play in 2008 and he was just returning from a yearlong injury absence in week 2 of 2009.

Well, of course they're all different teams, but the point of the unique difficulty of divisional games stand. The disparity between the Pats and the Dolphins in 2004 was greater than now, but the Pats lost. It happens.

 

[Rob0729]

Here are some of the things I learned:

1.) I learned that no one on this board should ever complain about the Pats' play calling. I watched to teams competiting for this division call some of the worst and predictable calls on the planet. And people on this board still complain about McDaniels who could have called a better game blindfolded than either the Dan Henning or Brian Schottenheimer did yesterday.

2.) The Jets swaggerlicious nature is more of hinderance than an asset. Even in a loss, they crown themselves in classlessness and rather blame flukes than look at themselves. I think this is part of the reason they have lost four of the last five games. In their minds, they have never lost a game rather than giving the games away. They feel they should be 7-1 right now and if not for a few errors, they would be. They do not want to look at themselves realistically and fix the problems.

3.) There are two realities in this universe. One that most of the world lives in and one where JaMarcus Russell lives. In JaMarcus' reality, he is a very good QB who has good games. In everyone else's reality, he may be the biggest QB bust since Ryan Leaf.

4.) The Texans are the quietest good team in the league. I was shocked to find out they were 5-3. Hopefully, they will shock the world next weekend vs. the Colts.

5.) Even with all the hype Mark Sanchez and Chad Henne have gotten this season, both are not very good QB although have potential to possibly be good QBs in a few years. Sanchez can easily get rattled and makes bad decisions. Henne has no accuracy on passes over 10 yards.

6.) All the talk of Eli Manning being one of the top QBs in the league was premature. He didn't deserve the contract he got and he is showing that he is capable of being a mediocre QB for stretches.

7.) Mangini has one foot out the door. It looks like Randy Lerner is going to try to make life miserable for Mangini so he quits. He has fired one of his closest assistants and looks to want to hire another layer of management to take away power from Mangini. I think Mangini will force Lerner to fire him. A divorce will come at the end of the season.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

. If Sean, who is the ultimate worry wart can see that



I resent that Mo


But Im still worried about the thrid reciever.. However, I feel alot better about our chances winning the division.after watching the division battle between Miami and NYJ .

Colts game will be huge in 2 weeks, but still not looking past Miami, however, I feel we can move the ball on them after watching the last 2 fish performence..

 

[aesop]

I've opined on more than one occasion that some people here don't watch enough other teams play on Sunday. I guess the bye week proved some of you don't just watch alternate feeds, you live an alternate football reality.

The JETS and Miami are both extremely inferior teams. Any given Sunday for the 'Fins went out the window with Noodle Arm's last injury. Any given Sunday was what you saw from the JETS before other teams got film and a bead on their newest Sanchise.

With the loss of their young corner the Miami secondary has become less than pedestrian. Their defense crumbles down the stretch. Long drives exhaust their older core players. Even their coaches have no faith in Henne, justifiably I'd guess, since they can't help themselves from clinging to a gimmick that has run it's limited course.

The JETS play with more emotion than discipline and that ultimately takes a toll. Unlike his fan base, there is a reason Bill avoids the high highs and low lows, because the JETS are what results when you embrace that ****. Superbowls are never played in September. You can't even sniff one unless you consistently improve heading into November and December.

They are at best 2 .500 teams. If Sean, who is the ultimate worry wart can see that, there is something lacking in those of you who cannot.

No team brings it's A game every week, as Indy showed in struggling against SF yesterday, which is why there have been so few undefeated seasons and that is what any given Sunday is really about. But in the end they prevailed against SF because they are just too much better and more talented and prepared across the board to lose to truly inferior competition midway through the season. Injuries and coaching are the great equalizers at this juncture, but everyone is dealing with injuries and we have the superior coaching expertise on our sidelines. And a HOF QB under center.

There are only two seriously tough matchups left on our schedule. Both are on the road making them tougher yet. One is against a perennial contender who has yet to face anything resembling a contender, and the other is against a domed NFC team who has yet to prove they can handle a competent AFC team.

Miami (3-4) still has to face NE twice, plus the Steelers, Colts and Houston. The JETS (4-4) still have to face NE on the road plus Atlanta, the Colts and Cincy. .500 is almost the best either can hope for at this point.

Talk about someone who doesn't watch enough other teams. Didn't see the Dolphins play Monday night against the Colts in week 2?

With the loss of our young corner (Will Allen, 31 years of age) we became pedestrian? If anything, this guy was blowing coverage left and right this year. The problem with the Miami defense is the safeties, particularly Gibril Wilson.

The Patriots are fumble away from being 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the division. For someone talking about reality, you sure can't seem to find it. Great, you guys beat up on Tennessee and Tampa Bay. I can assure you the Dolphins are not like these teams. The losses for the Dolphins have been against the Indianapolis (game that should have been won, although I know you didn't see it obviously), Atlanta, New Orleans (who we gave the biggest run for their money so far this year), and the Chargers. Then we get to play the teams you guys beat up on. The toughest part of the schedule will be done with after this week.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Third receiver is WAY down on my list of worries as long as the first two remain healthy. Besides the obvious targets of Faulk and Watson, there are enough quality contenders for the purist WR spot to keep pass defense honest.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The Patriots are fumble away from being 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the division. For someone talking about reality, you sure can't seem to find it. Great, you guys beat up on Tennessee and Tampa Bay. I can assure you the Dolphins are not like these teams. The losses for the Dolphins have been against the Indianapolis (game that should have been won, although I know you didn't see it obviously), Atlanta, New Orleans (who we gave the biggest run for their money so far this year), and the Chargers. Then we get to play the teams you guys beat up on. The toughest part of the schedule will be done with after this week.

Unfortunately for you and the rest of the Phish fans, the Dolphins will be DONE too. They'll have 5 losses, way too many to win the AFCE.

Does anyone else see the irony about being 1 fumble away from another loss??

 

[aesop]

Unfortunately for you and the rest of the Phish fans, the Dolphins will be DONE too. They'll have 5 losses, way too many to win the AFCE.

Does anyone else see the irony about being 1 fumble away from another loss??

Not looking to make smack talk. The Patriots have been far from impressive this season. Not much denying that, unless you want to get all pumped up after beating 2 of the worst teams in the league.

And no, I don't see the irony in the fumble statement. Maybe you should look up what the word irony means and get back to me.

 

[Kontradiction]

I never take the Dolphins, Jets, or Bills lightly. They are divisional games and each team knows our tendencies extremely well. However, we've had two weeks to prepare for the Wildcat now (one week with a pretty good blueprint provided to us, ironically, by the Jets on how to shut it down) and I'm not quite sure the Dolphins are going to be able to gash us with their running game that much more than that. On top of that, we should be able to exploit their ultra-weak secondary.

The Jets I still don't think much of. They got extremely lucky last time facing Brady while he was still really rusty in Week 2. That's not going to be the case this time around. They are about as overrated by so many people as it gets. I think we'll run away with that game, sweep the Bills by winning our second meeting with them, and then lose in Miami (we gotta give one to the Fins, that's looking like the game we lose to them). All in all, we finish the year splitting with the Jets and Dolphins while sweeping the Bills. With as competitive as this division is in divisional games, I will happily take that.

 

[JSn]

Not looking to make smack talk. The Patriots have been far from impressive this season. Not much denying that, unless you want to get all pumped up after beating 2 of the worst teams in the league.

And no, I don't see the irony in the fumble statement. Maybe you should look up what the word irony means and get back to me.

Far from impressive? Check out the defensive stat-sheet. The Pats have beaten the bad teams like a rented mule, but also beat the Falcons and Ravens. Even the two losses were narrow margins. Who have your guys beaten so far? Oh right, the Jets and Bills, who are a combined 7-9. And only one of those wins could even be considered decisive.

C'mon, man!

 

[Rob0729]

Talk about someone who doesn't watch enough other teams. Didn't see the Dolphins play Monday night against the Colts in week 2?

With the loss of our young corner (Will Allen, 31 years of age) we became pedestrian? If anything, this guy was blowing coverage left and right this year. The problem with the Miami defense is the safeties, particularly Gibril Wilson.

The Patriots are fumble away from being 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the division. For someone talking about reality, you sure can't seem to find it. Great, you guys beat up on Tennessee and Tampa Bay. I can assure you the Dolphins are not like these teams. The losses for the Dolphins have been against the Indianapolis (game that should have been won, although I know you didn't see it obviously), Atlanta, New Orleans (who we gave the biggest run for their money so far this year), and the Chargers. Then we get to play the teams you guys beat up on. The toughest part of the schedule will be done with after this week.

And the Dolphins are a phantom illegal shift call from being 2-5. What is your point?!? The Dolphins have three wins and they are against the Bills and Jets. The Dolphins needed two kick returns for TDs to win yesterday which won't happen every week. They lost to Atlanta who the Patriots beat rather convincingly (26-10).

The Dolphins haven't shown up in the fourth quarter yet this season. Their only convincing win this season has been vs. the Bills. The Pats have three wins of 2 TDs or more (Atlanta, Tampa, and Tennessee).

I'm sorry, but the Dolphins have far more flaws than the Pats. The Dolphins do not play 4 quarters of football. They don't have much of an offense beyond the wildcat. Their pass defense is suspect. The Pats are far better than the Dolphins and appear to be improving much more than the Dolphins have.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Not looking to make smack talk. The Patriots have been far from impressive this season. Not much denying that, unless you want to get all pumped up after beating 2 of the worst teams in the league.

And no, I don't see the irony in the fumble statement. Maybe you should look up what the word irony means and get back to me.

Perhaps you were busy during the Phins-Jets game and missed some plays...

-10-MIA 49 (7:32) 23-S.Greene to 50 for -1 yards (96-P.Soliai). FUMBLES (96-P.Soliai), RECOVERED by MIA-99-J.Taylor at NYJ 48. 99-J.Taylor for 48 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Bonus question: by how many points did the Dolphins win?

-phil (supplying clues to the Clueless)

 

[aesop]

What about your "extremely lucky" win against the Bills? The Jets beat you guys outright. There was no foul play involved in that game. You guys got beat. You guys should have started out the year 0-2. I see you guys with 1 impressive win against the Ravens, that's about it. Obviously you have better passing attack, but your defense is ranked 15th against the rush. You may know that the wildcat is going to be used, but it's a whole different animal actually stopping it. No one has really stopped it completely, except for yesterday against the Jets but part of that can be attributed to the offense not even seeing the field in the 2nd half until a few minutes into the 4th.

 

[Kontradiction]

Not looking to make smack talk. The Patriots have been far from impressive this season. Not much denying that, unless you want to get all pumped up after beating 2 of the worst teams in the league.

And no, I don't see the irony in the fumble statement. Maybe you should look up what the word irony means and get back to me.

We have one of the hardest schedules in the league this year along with your Fish. It isn't about how you play in the beginning of the year, it's about how you play at the end. So far, schedule included with a very rusty Brady, we're still 5-2 right now and at the top of the division. This next gauntlet we're going through is going to be a great test for the team.

As for the Dolphins, they are not going to be able to match up well with Pats. We've had two weeks to prepare for your running attack (though I'm sure Sparano saved a few new wrinkles just for this game) and are well capable of executing it. The only question is this: is your secondary capable of matching up with the Pats passing attack? The Dolphins have been exploited there time and time again this year including that Monday Nighter against Indy that you all seem to be so proud of. You know? The game where you only allowed Indy about a quarter in the TOP and still managed to lose because your weak secondary got exploited time and time again?

 

[aesop]

Perhaps you were busy during the Phins-Jets game and missed some plays...

-10-MIA 49 (7:32) 23-S.Greene to 50 for -1 yards (96-P.Soliai). FUMBLES (96-P.Soliai), RECOVERED by MIA-99-J.Taylor at NYJ 48. 99-J.Taylor for 48 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Bonus question: by how many points did the Dolphins win?

-phil (supplying clues to the Clueless)

LOL. So because our offense didn't step on the field in the 3rd quarter, we get faulted? Henne stepped up and got us a TD when we needed it. That was in the third quarter. The fumble you guys got would have been on a drive where the Bills would have ran out the clock and won the game. Not even close to being the same. Nice try though.

Look, I'm not saying the fins are the better team. But you guys lost to the Jets and still claim our 2 wins against them are meaningless. So why couldn't you guys take care of Sanchez in his 2nd NFL start?

 

[Kontradiction]

What about your "extremely lucky" win against the Bills? The Jets beat you guys outright. There was no foul play involved in that game. You guys got beat. You guys should have started out the year 0-2. I see you guys with 1 impressive win against the Ravens, that's about it. Obviously you have better passing attack, but your defense is ranked 15th against the rush. You may know that the wildcat is going to be used, but it's a whole different animal actually stopping it. No one has really stopped it completely, except for yesterday against the Jets but part of that can be attributed to the offense not even seeing the field in the 2nd half until a few minutes into the 4th.

LMAO. Have you even been watching your own team's games? The Wildcat got COMPLETELY shut down in the second half against the Saints. Then, again, COMPLETELY shut down in the entire game against the Jets. This was the same Jets team that didn't have Kris Jenkins in either.

 

[aesop]

And the Dolphins are a phantom illegal shift call from being 2-5. What is your point?!? The Dolphins have three wins and they are against the Bills and Jets. The Dolphins needed two kick returns for TDs to win yesterday which won't happen every week. They lost to Atlanta who the Patriots beat rather convincingly (26-10).

The Dolphins haven't shown up in the fourth quarter yet this season. Their only convincing win this season has been vs. the Bills. The Pats have three wins of 2 TDs or more (Atlanta, Tampa, and Tennessee).

Obviously the Fins have more flaws than New England, never denied that.

Phantom illegal shift away from being 2-5? Gotta be kidding me.. You don't watch the games, do you? And we haven't showed up in the 4th quarter? Really? Didn't watch the Jets Monday Nighter then.. No point in arguing with people that haven't even seen the games nor do they even know who we have played.

 

[Kontradiction]

LOL. So because our offense didn't step on the field in the 3rd quarter, we get faulted? Henne stepped up and got us a TD when we needed it. That was in the third quarter. The fumble you guys got would have been on a drive where the Bills would have ran out the clock and won the game. Not even close to being the same. Nice try though.

Look, I'm not saying the fins are the better team. But you guys lost to the Jets and still claim our 2 wins against them are meaningless. So why couldn't you guys take care of Sanchez in his 2nd NFL start?

The Bills shouldn't have even been in the position to win that game or run the clock out. It's funny that nobody seems to acknowledge that (probably because it's just not convenient). You should remember there were two REALLY iffy penalties that extended drives during that game... the second of which went for 7 points.