What AFC team poses the greatest challenge to the Patriots?

Call me a homer if you want, but the biggest challenger to the Patriots is Themselves. There better then the other 15 teams in the AFC. Our 2nd and 3rd units would be a playoff contending club.

The Jets are in the strongest place to stop the Patriots potentially winning a Superbowl.

The Patriots have to play them twice and they could potentially beat us out to the AFCE title.

I'd love the Jesters to fall flat on their faces, but they are a definite rival - they will be the biggest challenge the Patriots face to making the playoffs.

The Pats went 14-3 last year. 2 of the 3 losses were to the same team; the Jets. Anyone who doesn't consider them the biggest threat is a blind homer. I hate the Jets as much as anyone, but they've won what, 3 of the last 5 against the Pats? Absolutely, positively no doubt they are the biggest threat. And what is this "Jets haven't been injured" crap? Jenkins has been lost for the season two years in a row, and last year their #1 corner was slowed by a pulled hamstring all season. Sure, they aren't as banged up as the Pats always seem to be, but to attribute their success to luck that they haven't gotten hurt is amazingly stupid.

My answer is a bit nuanced. I could choose the Rats but it's really more the Rats and Goodell combo.

It's probably about time for Goodell to strip the Pats of another pick or two. The 2007 theft has pretty much run it's course, and now the Pats appear to be building up too much momentum. Goodell will need to act if he has any hopes of seeing the Rats winning a Superbowl.

It's interesting to note that as of this moment the two polls have noticeably different results thus far.

Thread on Message board: (adjusted so total is 100%)
34% - Jets
22% - Steelers
21% - Ravens
11% - Chargers
8% - Colts

Poll on Home Page:
32% - Steelers
30% - Jets
17% - Ravens
12% - Colts
6% - Chargers


Is there a different audience that primarily visits the threads on the main forum, than those which visit the rest of this website?




I do agree with the train of thought that because the Jets are in the same division, they could cause the Pats to be a wildcard, have to play one extra game, and lose homefield by winning the division (god forbid; the meltdown here would surely crash the servers if that were to happen.)

However, I take the 'Pats lost to the Jets twice; therefore the Jets are the greatest challenge' logic with a bit of skepticism. Playing a team more often is most likely going to result in more losses to them (as well as more wins); to me that does not automatically make them a team's biggest challenge on getting to the Super Bowl. If Miami was typically 7-9 but always at least split with the Pats, and often swept the Pats, would that make them the Pats biggest challenge to advancing to the Super Bowl? No.

Even though the Pats have had, for the most part success against Pittsburgh to me they are the best team in the AFC outside of New England. On top of that they are the defending conference champions and have been conference champions two of the last three years and three of the last six. In my opinion a lot of people here are overlooking them as a challenge to the Pats returning to the Super Bowl.

for the last eight years it had been Patriots, Colts, or Steelers representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. That should tell you something.

patfanken said:

I agree. The Jets have down graded in talent this year, and unless Sanchez makes a quantum leap in his QB growth, the I see the Jets as good team, a team that can beat you on any given day, but not one of the elite teams, at least at THIS point.

The Steelers were my 2nd choice, but as tough as they are we seem to have their number offensively,

BOTTOM LINE - if last season taught us anything its that in the playoffs, ANYTHING but yoiur A game could very well mean disappointment with the results, regardless of who you are playing. ANY team can knock you off....and you don't get a 2nd chance....til next year.

Click to expand...

Forget it dudes. It has nothing to do with the players on the field. Norv Turner is still the head coach and Norv just can't resist clutching his throat and playing not to lose the bigger the game gets. Poor Norv has a bad case of Marty Schottenheimer-itis. Sad.

That is not the case with the coaching staffs of the Ravens, Steelers or Jets. Stone-cold killers if their guys execute. The Colts, on the other hand are led by a guy who has yet to win a big game on his own. The Chargers couldn't even win their own division last year. Great work, Norv.

Unfortunately, it's currently the Jets. The Steelers are getting old quick and have never been able to stop Brady. On top of that, they seemed to have a hard time containing our TE's. The Colts are also getting older and there are rumors that Manning is still having trouble turning his head from side to side. The Ravens would probably be a traditionally tough match-up, but we've improved a lot since that playoff debacle in '09. In the AFC West, we own the Chargers, the Raiders are the Raiders, the Broncos are rebuilding with question marks at QB (sorry Timmy T), and the Chiefs don't appear ready... yet.

The Jets brought in Plaxico Burress and retained Santonio Holmes. Their defense doesn't have a lot to speak of outside of Revis, but they haven't had a lot to speak of outside of Revis since Ryan came there. That doesn't mean that they still haven't been tough. They look to be tough once again this year. They have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL as well. If Sanchez makes another stride this year, they're going to be our top competition in the AFC.

Clicked on Jets-Steeelers-Ravens.


Ravens may be getting old on D; but the O is getting younger - possibly better. I think they are #1 threat (talent basis).

Steelers are just always in thick of it even if getting old in tooth. #2

But IMO Jets are #3 and only clicked because div rivals w/ all that implies - 2x yr and any given sunday. but I think the cap issues hurt them more than Rex can game plan compensate for (depth wise). May take a few weeks to show up.


San Diego - has some good components; but Norv Turner, Norv Turner, West Coast team w/ low fan support at home and that they are prime candidate for disruption of move to LA talk are 3 reasons why I doubt they are a challenge - win the div but have to play on road in PO and lose.

Colts - I think this is the year the stake finally goes through the heart of this one. My Darkhorse surprise this year is I think Texans surprise them for Div and they are outside looking in at playoff time.

KC - again some good components; (and can feast on Den & Raiders just like SD); but SD will beat them when it counts -edge out for div. Could be a hungry WC team though.

KontradictioN said:

Unfortunately, it's currently the Jets. The Steelers are getting old quick and have never been able to stop Brady. On top of that, they seemed to have a hard time containing our TE's. The Colts are also getting older and there are rumors that Manning is still having trouble turning his head from side to side. The Ravens would probably be a traditionally tough match-up, but we've improved a lot since that playoff debacle in '09. In the AFC West, we own the Chargers, the Raiders are the Raiders, the Broncos are rebuilding with question marks at QB (sorry Timmy T), and the Chiefs don't appear ready... yet.

The Jets brought in Plaxico Burress and retained Santonio Holmes. Their defense doesn't have a lot to speak of outside of Revis, but they haven't had a lot to speak of outside of Revis since Ryan came there. That doesn't mean that they still haven't been tough. They look to be tough once again this year. They have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL as well. If Sanchez makes another stride this year, they're going to be our top competition in the AFC.

Click to expand...

Yep.

I agree fully with this. Jets will be our biggest competition this year, I hate to say it even though it seems that they didnt upgrade alot. I think we get the best of them this year though, hopefully a sweep and them missing the playoffs would be awesome.

All the above.

I actually think we have a clean sweep of the NYJ this year.

BB and Brady are pissed about the playoffs last season. Every game vs. The Jets from now on will be played as if it were the SuperBowl.

Elijah said:

Jets are the main team on that list that seems to know how to beat us. Probably Colts after that, then Ravens. The Colts are my pick to represent the AFC in the next SB, although I'd prefer if the Patriots made it of course.

Click to expand...

all the JETS knew how to do is to beat an INCOMPLETE Patriot team. We have all the necessary pieces know.

I can't wait to see the QB w/ the 2nd worst completion percentage in the NFL "air it out" this year as all the reports claim that he will.:singing:

I'm just thinking about week 1..anyone want to talk about the dolphins? Week one? Want to talk about Miami?

JetsfaninPeace said:

Its posts like these that make Jet fans think all Pats fans are border line ******ed. Our defense declined from '09 to '10, but we still managed to finish 3rd in the NFL, something the Pats defense couldn't even come close to bragging about (25th). Also, we declined because our defense was so dominate in '09 (the next best team was 30 yards behind us in the stat rankings).

I don't even want to know who you think our best pass rusher is that we lost. I'm assuming you think its Jason Taylor. If thats your answer, then again, I feel sorry for you. Taylor was a complete bust last year minus the tackle of Moore for a safety in Pittsburgh. He was a rotational player that appeared mostly on 3rd downs. He was probably the 3rd or 4th best pass rusher on the team last year, for a team that wasn't known for pass rushing at all.

What depth have we lost besides receiver? QB, no. RB, no. OL, no. DL, we lost Ellis, but drafted 2 beasts with 1st and 2nd round grades attached to them. You can argue that they need time to develop, which I agree with, I fail to see that is losing depth. LB, no. CB, no. S, no.

We're fielding almost the same team as last year minus our receiving corp. Unless, you think we're in trouble because we didn't resign our punter?

Click to expand...

It's posts like this that make Patriots fans KNOW Jest fan are completely ******ed.

-The "dominant" 09 defense.....gives up 5 4th quarter leads that result in a loss.

-Rookie "beasts". Ahhh maybe play a game.

It's gotta be the Jets. They're in our division and our games are extremely competitive. Rex has shown to be a capable coach and Tanenbaum a capable GM. I don't see why it's hard for some Pats fans to admit this.

Indy comes close because of recent history. Even with them appearing to be declining, Peyton is still Peyton. Other teams declared us done at the beginning of last year and we go 14-2. Peyton can carry that team.

Ravens also should be mentioned. Our games are competitive like the Jets. They have a good core of players, a smart coach, and a great GM.

We own the Steelers.

Chargers are still coached by Norv.

And KC is unproven.

I have to go with the Jets as well. They have proven that they can beat the Patriots when the chips are down.

Steelers don't scare me too much, Rapistburger tends to fall apart when he faces the Patriots and the Pats offense seems to do an excellent job of taking advantage of 1 on 1 matchups.

Ravens could be dangerous, but they just don't scare me, yet.

Colts are having a tough time with Manning not practicing and their defense still questionable as always.

Jets added Derrick mason, the guy is a Patriots killer, Sanchez is in his 3rd year and should be taking another step forward and of course Rex is in charge of that defense.

Ravens, Jets, Indy, Steelers.

Any given Sunday any of those teams are capable of beating us, and we're sure to run into one or two of those teams in the playoffs.

patsfaninpittsburgh said:

It's posts like this that make Patriots fans KNOW Jest fan are completely ******ed.

-The "dominant" 09 defense.....gives up 5 4th quarter leads that result in a loss.

-Rookie "beasts". Ahhh maybe play a game.

Click to expand...

I think JetsfaninPeace should change his name to "JETSfanINshortbus"

The biggest threat to me is obviously the Jets, even though they've lost a lot of players, as AndyJohnson pointed out so thoroughly. Woody, Taylor, Ellis, Coleman, Smith, Edwards... those are guys that won games for them last year, and to debate that is ludicrous. Outside of Sanchez (whom many here will debate), their draft picks the past couple years have not distinguished themselves at all, so I'm not worried about their 2 newly drafted DL having a major immediate impact. Maybe both of them put together can match Ellis' production, but I wouldn't count on it. We happily passed on both of them despite an obvious need, one that we addressed multiple times during FA.

Colts are in steep decline, but always give us a real challenge. Manning won't be ready for the beginning of the season. He'll play, but he won't be ready. I think there's a good chance they miss the playoffs because of an early season slump, but they'll play us tight when they come to Foxborough.

Ravens aren't on the schedule. They have a comically easy slate of games, and with a SB hangover looming for the Steelers, I could see them winning the first seed with an inflated 13-3 or 14-2 record. Age may catch up to them, but I definitely consider them a threat. They're a team I'd prefer not to face in the playoffs, especially if we have to hit the road.

Steelers have a similarly easy schedule, but are facing division winners instead of runner-ups. Even with a hangover, they're as likely as anyone to win it all once they're in the playoffs. That being said, they can't beat Brady. They can only hope to avoid him.

San Diego should be a tough team. I'm happy we have that one at home and early in the regular season. They always start slow. Outside of when they play the Colts, they tend to struggle in the postseason, as well. Unless they get the top seed, I don't see them having much shot of going all the way.