Is Indy The Patriots' Biggest Threat?

convertedpatsfan said:

Note the Saints logo for avatar

But Atlanta did play an ultra conservative game against the Saints last week. Ryan didn't play well at all, and their offense contributed only 7 points at home.

Can't say a lot about just one game, but it was a bit of a disappointing performance from the Falcons.

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Im not convinced yet. Payton/Brees have beaten the Falcons 8-2, 4-1 in the Georgia dome ( I think we were the only team in the NFL that never believed the Falcons were invincible at home). But they are a good team, and they did beat us once. Ryan has come a long way in a short time. I think the problem with the Falcons is with their depth.
If you can contain, turner,white,gonzo,and confuse Ryan a bit, they seem to struggle.
Sense most of the NFL saw this game, Im sure the Falcons are in for a hard road in the playoffs.

But their defense did a great job vs us. I don't believe they thought their secondary could contain all of our key players so they just desperately blitzed every play, hoping to stop Brees from picking them apart. It kind of worked Now we are in the precarious position of every NFL team seeing that it worked. We will be blitzed heavily in the playoffs.

I think what we saw was 2 teams putting 100% effort on the field, except for the saints OL. The saints OL also had problems with the ravens. That needs to be fixed pretty fast. They are better than that.
.and with Breeses ability to turn over the ball, is keeping every team in the game. The way our defense played was not new, we have kept a lot of teams to 1 TD, so we should have distanced our selves, but we keep turing over the ball.

That said, I think your right, I dont believe the Falcons have the heart or coaching to go deep in the playoffs.

Green Bay does, they are a very good team, very similar to us in ability and depth. The only plus we have over GB , I believe, is at the QB position and RB core. But there defense is better than ours. Until the saints fix these problems, I consider GB your #1 threat in the NFC.

even so, Im worried about our ability to play at the Bears stadium. We truly suck in the cold. We might beat any NFC team in a dome, but out side in the cold/wind, a lot of teams can beat us.

AFC Threats
1.Raven= excellent Run/Pass game balance. elite defense. They are going to be a legitimate threat, and they don't care who they play.

2.Steelers = good Run/Pass game balance. elite defense. You seem to have their number tho.

3. KC = monster Run game/Pass is ok. Good defense but pass coverage is pretty suspect. Great coaching.

I just dont see the Colts going to Foxboro and having a chance, they are way to banged up.

just my uneducated opinion

pherein, I agree that GB is probably the Saints' worst matchup. I think you guys can beat Chicago in Chicago, but I think GB will give your team fits no matter where you play them. However, I wouldn't count out the Falcons just yet either. They had a bit of a down game against you guys. In all honesty, you guys were lucky to come away from that game with the W. Brees has been throwing too many stupid INTs this year, and needs to shore up protecting the ball and making smarter passes before you guys can be considered the premier team in the NFC. If the Saints play the Falcons in Atlanta again, I'm not so sure you guys will come away with the W.

As far as the Pats go, I have to agree that Baltimore is our worst matchup. I don't see Manning being able to carve up our D out in the cold, and the Ravens are much better built for inclement weather. The Steelers don't scare me at all, and I think KC's defense does not match up well with the Pats O. Having said that last bit, Cassel has been excellent with protecting the ball this year, and I think the Cheifs' O is capable of sustaining long drives against our D. I just don't think their D can stop the Pats.

Omega Supreme said:

pherein, I agree that GB is probably the Saints' worst matchup. I think you guys can beat Chicago in Chicago, but I think GB will give your team fits no matter where you play them. However, I wouldn't count out the Falcons just yet either. They had a bit of a down game against you guys. In all honesty, you guys were lucky to come away from that game with the W. Brees has been throwing too many stupid INTs this year, and needs to shore up protecting the ball and making smarter passes before you guys can be considered the premier team in the NFC. If the Saints play the Falcons in Atlanta again, I'm not so sure you guys will come away with the W.

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We agree on this. I would defiantly put GB above us , and we are not completely confident of beating the Falcons again. I dont think they had a bad game, our defense made them have a bad game. But you are completely correct. We might be a better team, but our TO's are outrageous and allow any team the possibility to beat us. The Cardinals and the Browns scored 1TD on offense combined, but we lost both games 30-20 and 30-17, go figure that one,lol. Our only constant has been defense.

sometimes its hard for us to fault Brees, I mean he is putting up amazing #'s again and a 68% comp. and we know he's injured, but the TOs are killing us. If we just controlled the Ball we would have won those games. aww well, we will see, your right GB is #1 right now and I only say that because Vick has never beaten a Payton run team, we know how to stop him, and if we keep turing the ball over the Falcons can beat us. Hel the Cardinals proved that.

The Cravens played the Pats on the first game of the post-Moss offense. The Pats offense is significantly improved from that game, as is the defense given rookie development. The Ravens offense is not high scoring, averaging about 23 ppg. That won't get it done against the Pats the way the offense has been clicking. Flacco will not beat the Pats if Rice can be shut down, and is likely going to be vulnerable to schemes when he has to throw.

Manning is tough because he can figure out defenses and adjust. I expect that is why he can put up a lousy half and return for a great second half. The Pats really have to match score for score in the second half to beat him, and cannot afford a bad series or two. The Colts are certainly beatable, but I view them as the tougher game for the Pats.

pherein said:

I dont think they had a bad game, our defense made them have a bad game.

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I can't really disagree with that. After reading what I wrote, I didn't give the Saints' D enough credit. They did an incredible job with shutting down the Falcons' running game, and proved that Matt Ryan isn't the kind of QB who can carry a team on his back.

sometimes its hard for us to fault Brees, I mean he is putting up amazing #'s again and a 68% comp. and we know he's injured, but the TOs are killing us. If we just controlled the Ball we would have won those games. aww well, we will see, your right GB is #1 right now and I only say that because Vick has never beaten a Payton run team, we know how to stop him, and if we keep turing the ball over the Falcons can beat us. Hel the Cardinals proved that.

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My main fault with Brees this year is that he's often let the pressure get the best of him and has made some dumb throws as a result. That's a big reason why he's thrown so many INTs this year.

Omega Supreme said:

My main fault with Brees this year is that he's often let the pressure get the best of him and has made some dumb throws as a result. That's a big reason why he's thrown so many INTs this year.

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Your right, and we are understandably nervous

The Colts are always our biggest threat so long as they have Manning. They scare me more than any other potential opponent.

Was kinda hoping the Chargers would take care of them again to keep my blood pressure down.

pherein said:

Im not convinced yet. Payton/Brees have beaten the Falcons 8-2, 4-1 in the Georgia dome ( I think we were the only team in the NFL that never believed the Falcons were invincible at home). But they are a good team, and they did beat us once. Ryan has come a long way in a short time. I think the problem with the Falcons is with their depth.
If you can contain, turner,white,gonzo,and confuse Ryan a bit, they seem to struggle.
Sense most of the NFL saw this game, Im sure the Falcons are in for a hard road in the playoffs.

But their defense did a great job vs us. I don't believe they thought their secondary could contain all of our key players so they just desperately blitzed every play, hoping to stop Brees from picking them apart. It kind of worked Now we are in the precarious position of every NFL team seeing that it worked. We will be blitzed heavily in the playoffs.

I think what we saw was 2 teams putting 100% effort on the field, except for the saints OL. The saints OL also had problems with the ravens. That needs to be fixed pretty fast. They are better than that.
.and with Breeses ability to turn over the ball, is keeping every team in the game. The way our defense played was not new, we have kept a lot of teams to 1 TD, so we should have distanced our selves, but we keep turing over the ball.

That said, I think your right, I dont believe the Falcons have the heart or coaching to go deep in the playoffs.

Green Bay does, they are a very good team, very similar to us in ability and depth. The only plus we have over GB , I believe, is at the QB position and RB core. But there defense is better than ours. Until the saints fix these problems, I consider GB your #1 threat in the NFC.

even so, Im worried about our ability to play at the Bears stadium. We truly suck in the cold. We might beat any NFC team in a dome, but out side in the cold/wind, a lot of teams can beat us.

AFC Threats
1.Raven= excellent Run/Pass game balance. elite defense. They are going to be a legitimate threat, and they don't care who they play.

2.Steelers = good Run/Pass game balance. elite defense. You seem to have their number tho.

3. KC = monster Run game/Pass is ok. Good defense but pass coverage is pretty suspect. Great coaching.

I just dont see the Colts going to Foxboro and having a chance, they are way to banged up.

just my uneducated opinion

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Your uneducated opinion is worth a heck of a lot more than my uneducated opinion

And yeah, Atlanta won the first match-up, but that was a bit of luck with Hartley missing an easy kick in OT. They match up well and the games are close but both teams could easily have swept the series with one or two breaks.

What is going on with the Saints OL anyways? It's the same group as last year, and Brees was great against the blitz, but this year they have definitely struggled at times.

Green Bay is very good, I agree. But I think you guys can beat them, especially at your place which is the only time you'd face them. And the Saints defense looks pretty solid this year too, especially compared to last season. Your D is in the top 10 in points and yards which is pretty good. The offensive turnovers are becoming an issue though.

As for the Bears, you guys might suck in the cold, but the good news is so do they Plus they're coached by idiots. You'll find a way to win this or they'll find a way to choke.

What are your thoughts on the Eagles? Could be your first opponent.

Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

This assumes INDY wins v. TENN.

Pats would: (1) Avoid Indy until AFC Title game (if we win our Divisional round game); (2) We don't mind if Jets upset Indy, thus NYJ would be our next opponent; (3) Baltimore and KC both looked shaky today, therefore there is a possibility Ravens could lose at KC next week- whereby we avoid a dangerous Ravens team as our first playoff opponent for the second year in row.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

It doesn't matter who the Patriots play. If they can't beat anyone that comes into Foxboro then they don't deserve to go to the Superbowl. With that said, they will beat any team that shows up.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

JonVaughnTD said:

It doesn't matter who the Patriots play. If they can't beat anyone that comes into Foxboro then they don't deserve to go to the Superbowl. With that said, they will beat any team that shows up.

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Period, I am tired of this scared talk 'oh lets avoid this team they are scary', Pats will whoop anyone who walks on their field, and then dominate the SB like the 85 Bears did to them.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

Eh. IMO, the better matchup was before the Chiefs lost.

Could've been:

KC (3) vs Jets (6)

Indy(4) vs. Balt(5)

I really think Indy would knock off Balt, and get knocked off by PIT in the divisional rd. Jets over Chiefs. Pats over Jets.

Now its looking like Balt will be back in NE for the divisional rd. I'm not thrilled about that.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

Can someone explain to me why the Ravens are dangerous? That offense has under achieved all season, and you can throw all over their defense.

I couldn't be happier if the Colts win the 3rd seed, cos Manning is the only guy i fear, and I still think we'd beat them

Plus this team is gonna be sooooo pumped up if it's the Ravens... no chance we lose that game.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

groundgame said:

This assumes INDY wins v. TENN.

Pats would: (1) Avoid Indy until AFC Title game (if we win our Divisional round game); (2) We don't mind if Jets upset Indy, thus NYJ would be our next opponent; (3) Baltimore and KC both looked shaky today, therefore there is a possibility Ravens could lose at KC next week- whereby we avoid a dangerous Ravens team as our opponent first playoff opponent for the second year in row.

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That would be a great scenario. If I may, I would also suggest hoping for a few plane crashes so we don't have to even play the SB to win.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

Schmo said:

That would be a great scenario. If I may, I would also suggest hoping for a few plane crashes so we don't have to even play the SB to win.

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That's just wrong :nono:

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

Pats don't need to avoid anyone. They've beat every single top team they're going to face on the AFC side except for KC. I say bring it on as well. Whoever it is, the Pats can beat, particularly on their own home field. Foxboro is going to be a madhouse in January!

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

JonVaughnTD said:

It doesn't matter who the Patriots play. If they can't beat anyone that comes into Foxboro then they don't deserve to go to the Superbowl. With that said, they will beat any team that shows up.

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Ditto. The only team that would make me nervous is obviously the Colts. I'm a little histrionic, but at the same time NE used to 'own' Peyton come playoffs so maybe the pendulum has swung back in NE's favor because of the young and hungry "D".

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

Our first opponent could be the Jets, KC or Balt.
- KC, in a meaningful game, looked awful against a mediocre Raider team. KC has played 1 playoff team (lost), and got walloped by SD and Oak recently. Stick a fork in KC. IMHO the worst team in the AFC playoff picture. Because of SP and RC and CW, KC is not our 'optimum' opponent.
- Jets, have swung up slightly since the NE drubbing and loss to Miami but have been outplayed, imho 4 out of the last 5 weeks. They are the 'optimum' opponent. The Jets probably do not beat Indy in Indy.
- Baltimore, playing fairly well though are 1 and 3 against playoff teams since, and including, the NE game. Balt if the least optimum opponent.

I'd put money on NE's opponent being Balt in the Div Rd.

While Baltimore is definitely not the optimum opponent for the Div Rd, I definitely think Pitt and Indy meet in the other Div Rd game. If Pitt takes out Indy and we play Pitt in the AFC Championship, this is 'optimum' (I want Indy the least). So from that view I see the OP's point......

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

How in the world did Jax lose today?

My God, you can't lose that game.

Re: Colts at #3 Seed the Preference

One of two things will happen next week:

1) The Jets will lose, which would be awesome (Rex Ryan said the Jets are going to win it all today after beating up on Buffalo, whatta idiot)

2) The Colts will lose and 18 will be one-and-done

Simkin said:

We prob ll lose again the Ravens again. We win it by miracle and lose our only game in Foxboro in PO against them. Lets pray for a Jets win or we are out

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I hope your joking. This team is completely different from 2009 and much better than when we played the Ravens earlier this year. If I was unable to detect your sarcasm, please ignore this message.