Pats Schedule...After 2 games

Sep 10 Buffalo Won 19-17
Sep 17 @N.Y. Jets Won 24-17
Sep 24 Denver 8:15pm
Oct 1 @Cincinnati 4:15pm
Oct 8 Miami 1:00pm
Week 6 BYE
Oct 22 @Buffalo 1:00pm
Oct 30 @Minnesota 8:30pm
Nov 5 Indianapolis 8:15pm
Nov 12 N.Y. Jets 1:00pm
Nov 19 @Green Bay 1:00pm
Nov 26 Chicago 1:00pm
Dec 3 Detroit 1:00pm
Dec 10 @Miami 1:00pm
Dec 17 Houston 1:00pm
Dec 24 @Jacksonville 1:00pm
Dec 31 @Tennessee 1:00pm

After 2 weeks, 5 teams on this schedule are 2-0 with Chicago emerging as the surprise team so far. Indy and Cinn are playing as expected. Jax's D is a scary force and Minn is an unknown in my book. I am still thinking 12-4 but I have shuffled around my losses a bit...Cinn, Indy, Jax and torn between at Miami or Chicago...going with Chicago because I am like sheep I guess.

borg said:

Sep 10 Buffalo Won 19-17
Sep 17 @N.Y. Jets Won 24-17
Sep 24 Denver 8:15pm
Oct 1 @Cincinnati 4:15pm
Oct 8 Miami 1:00pm
Week 6 BYE
Oct 22 @Buffalo 1:00pm
Oct 30 @Minnesota 8:30pm
Nov 5 Indianapolis 8:15pm
Nov 12 N.Y. Jets 1:00pm
Nov 19 @Green Bay 1:00pm
Nov 26 Chicago 1:00pm
Dec 3 Detroit 1:00pm
Dec 10 @Miami 1:00pm
Dec 17 Houston 1:00pm
Dec 24 @Jacksonville 1:00pm
Dec 31 @Tennessee 1:00pm

After 2 weeks, 5 teams on this schedule are 2-0 with Chicago emerging as the surprise team so far. Indy and Cinn are playing as expected. Jax's D is a scary force and Minn is an unknown in my book. I am still thinking 12-4 but I have shuffled around my losses a bit...Cinn, Indy, Jax and torn between at Miami or Chicago...going with Chicago because I am like sheep I guess.

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I think Jacksonville might finally be getting its act together as a legitimate playoff threat, although Leftwich doesn't wow me. I'm not convinced Chicago is the real deal beyond its defense, and Minnesota should come back down to earth soon. But the whole schedule looks like a slugfest for us at this point aside from Tennessee, Green Bay, and perhaps Detroit. And who knows -- anything can happen playing Minnesota and Green Bay away. Except for the Titans and Packers, most everyone seems capable of giving us a run for the money.

We will hit the toughest two straight games of the season next. If we can walk away with a victory over either the Broncos or the Bengals I'll feel satisfied, but we cant allow ourselves to lose two straight, so buckle up for a tough few weeks.

Jacksonville and Indy will be the other good teams we face.

Maybe I'm just overestimating the Pats, but out of Indy, Cin, Jax, Min, and Chi I really can't see them losing more than 1 or 2 of those games. The Patriots, these last few years, have won by playing good teams well. Yes it's kinda obvious that you win by beating the good teams, but the Pats have shown a penchant for playing up to and above good competition.

On the flip side of this, it wouldn't really surpise me if they lost 2 of their remaining divisional games. I don't care how they look against divisional foes as long as they pull out a W.

NEM said:

The Bears have an awesome defense.


The Vikings play very well at home, in the dome.


By December Saban will have the Fins playing much better, especially at home.

Nothing is a gimmee.

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I never said any game was a "gimme". The toughest teams we will have to face are the Bengals, Broncos, Jags and Colts.

Of the home games, only Denver, Chicago and Indy worry me at all. Neither Miami or NYJets at home seem too bad, Houston's as close to a gimme as you can get in the NFL, and Detroit isn't far away. And, of those three challenges, I have a funny feeling at least one of them isn't as good as most people expect. Indy, in particular, seems a bit of a paper tiger (unless the Pats D-backs continue to forget how to tackle). Chicago beat a bad team last weekend ... it's tough to expect them to suddenly morph into an offense that can win in Foxboro.

On the road ... anything can happen, but Jax and the Bengals are legit toughies, you never know in Miami but I'm not too worried, and the Bills are suddenly interesting. I have no fear of Green Bay or Minny. The Titans suck, but by then at least we'll probably get to watch Vince Young run around ...

If the Pats are good enough to split the next two games, this looks like a 13-3 schedule to me. If they lose both, they could be an 11 win team. If they sweep them ... watch out, NFL.

A tougher than expected schedule is a good thing, this team needs some fire to harden them for the playoffs.

How are the Bears a surprise 2-0 team? They beat the Packers & Lions! Those 2 combined rosters probably couldn't compete with Buffalo right now & they have a rookie filled DB. The Bears won the easiest division in football last season & it remains the same.

Here's a novel idea: why don't we wait until they actually play the games and then see where we are? The idea that you can forecast wins and losses based on another team's record is fallacious, especially at this time of year. The very fact that some are already revising their preseason forecasts, after only 2 weeks, is proof of that. It may be fun to talk about, but these projections are meaningless.

bakes781 said:

How are the Bears a surprise 2-0 team? They beat the Packers & Lions! Those 2 combined rosters probably couldn't compete with Buffalo right now & they have a rookie filled DB. The Bears won the easiest division in football last season & it remains the same.

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Thank you. I have been thinking the same thing about the Bears. Everyone seems to be ready to say they are an elite team. Their defense does look really good but they have played no one. I am gonna wait for them to play at least a .500 team before i judge anything.

We'll go undefeated this year.
We may have some squeakers but as long as we don't turn over more than 2-3 times in a game....

Notice we aren't on any top 5 lists? No respect.

Notice how the Steelers lose one game and they drop on the ranking-pure b.s.

We will win another SB and they'll still dog us.

I agree the big hurttles are Cincy, Jax and the Bears.....Denver does not scare me until the prove they can score a touchdown.

Shanny can say all day that Plumber starts slow but 8 qtrs without a touchdown Pass is more then merely slow....and as a team they have only put up 1 TD so far.......Just maybe Shanny's little attempt to motovate Jake by drafting Cutler is backfiring into Shanny's face.

Two points that i think help us with the Cincy and Jax games....

First we meet Cincy early and if we stumble BB and this team seem to play a second game against a foe in a season better then the first game, especially if they lose...so if we meet Cincy in the playoffs this meeting early bodes well for us regarless of the outcome.

The Jax game comes at the end of the season and with the way Jax plays the game they will be experiencing two possible deficits....one is fatigue,,,,,they play 100 miles per hr all the time and i did not see alot of substuitions last night....second is injuries, which with their palying style are envitable.

So we will not face the exact same team we saw beat Pitt....we will face at some key locations whomever is their backup....and at other locations players less then 100 per cent.

Yes no one is a 100 % at the end of the year but players who are not 100% and worn down are less effective then players who are not 100% and still have gas in the tank because they had backups capable of spelling them.

It's a long season and i believe that General Fatigue is the Pat's greatest ally because we have far more competent depth then any other team out there and we substitute often.

Look at Pitt last yr....they did not start playing good ball until the final half of the season and finished in the SB.

BB plans for the Pat's is too always be playing their best ball after Nov 1st. It is not a fluke like the Pitt run but by design.

borg said:

Sep 10 Buffalo Won 19-17
Sep 17 @N.Y. Jets Won 24-17
Sep 24 Denver 8:15pm W
Oct 1 @Cincinnati 4:15pm L
Oct 8 Miami 1:00pm W
Week 6 BYE
Oct 22 @Buffalo 1:00pm W
Oct 30 @Minnesota 8:30pm W
Nov 5 Indianapolis 8:15pm L
Nov 12 N.Y. Jets 1:00pm W
Nov 19 @Green Bay 1:00pm W
Nov 26 Chicago 1:00pm W
Dec 3 Detroit 1:00pm W
Dec 10 @Miami 1:00pm L
Dec 17 Houston 1:00pm W
Dec 24 @Jacksonville 1:00pm L
Dec 31 @Tennessee 1:00pm W

After 2 weeks, 5 teams on this schedule are 2-0 with Chicago emerging as the surprise team so far. Indy and Cinn are playing as expected. Jax's D is a scary force and Minn is an unknown in my book. I am still thinking 12-4 but I have shuffled around my losses a bit...Cinn, Indy, Jax and torn between at Miami or Chicago...going with Chicago because I am like sheep I guess.

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I agree with 12-4 with losses at Cincy, and Jacksonville and at home to the Colts. I say they lose to Miami on the road in a fluke game and beat Chicago at home in a low scoring affair.

Do so many people really think the Pats are going to lose to the Colts?

Firstly, the game is at home. No doubt they'll find an excuse to have the field in horrible condition, and will water it and drive trucks on it if need be. And more important than the Pats being at home is the fact that the Colts aren't.

Edge is gone. Thank god. Awhile ago the Pats figured out to stop the passing game and make the Colts beat you on the ground. Whenever Dungy would remove his head from his rear he'd let Edge run and he'd go wild. Inevitably, though, Dungy's head would find its way back to its home and they'd lose the game throwing. This year the Pats don't have to worry or prepare for "what if Dungy figures out he has a Pro Bowl runner?"

The Pats have a great running game. The Colts defense excels at rushing the passer; spinning your way to the quarterback the moment the ball is snapped doesn't work so well at stopping the run.

Now I'm not saying I guarantee the Pats will win or anything dumb like that. They can lose and I won't be too upset because the Colts are a great team. What I do know is the Pats have beaten the Colts many times with less going in their favor. I would hardly chalk it up as a loss, which a few people have done in this thread.