Just when the door was shutting after Gronk injury, Peyton opened it

scout said:

They currently have home field advantage, and if they go to the Superbowl, it might be cold and windy. WOW, I like those odds.

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We don't currently have home field advantage. That still goes to DEN, who is 11-3 vs our 10-3.

We have the potential to win the next 3 and overtake them with a tied record at the end, as we'd get the head to head tiebreaker with both teams finishing at 13-3.

That said, we're also trying to hold off Cincy, who would take over the #2 seed should we lose a game based on another tied record and their head to head win vs N.England earlier in the year.

If you're an optimist you see a shot at the #1 seed. If you're a pessimist you see a loss and a slide down to the #3 seed. If you're a realist, you probably hope that we win 2/3 and have CIN lose to PIT this Sunday night; thus allowing us to still hold the #2 seed.

Rob0729 said:

I still think people are overrating these six seed contenders. Baltimore still has no running game and their offense in general sucks. They are missing several things that made them dangerous in the playoffs last year most importantly good o-line play and Anquan Boldin.

The Chargers are too up and down to be that dangerous.

I still think the teams in the playoffs to be the most afraid of are the Bengals unless Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton come up small again and the Chiefs (their offense is clicking now and if they get back their defense, they could be the most complete team in the AFC).

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Ravens always play the pats tough...D always gives pats fits...why that away game in 2 weeks will be even bigger then this MIA game.

Playing 2 teams back to back and they both have their backs against the walls will be TOUGH

Brady_to_Moss said:

Ravens always play the pats tough...D always gives pats fits...why that away game in 2 weeks will be even bigger then this MIA game.

Playing 2 teams back to back and they both have their backs against the walls will be TOUGH

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Yes, we will definitely know a lot more about this 2013 team after the next 2 games, that's for sure.

Personally, I am seeing this week's game at MIA as the tougher of the 2, but they are both very hard in my opinion, and that's just under the circumstances.

supafly said:

Yes, we will definitely know a lot more about this 2013 team after the next 2 games, that's for sure.

Personally, I am seeing this week's game at MIA as the tougher of the 2, but they are both very hard in my opinion, and that's just under the circumstances.

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I don't want jump into the Ravens/Dolphins stuff, but I thought I should point out that the Ravens just got Pitta back, and that's likely to help their offense out moving forward. He had 6 receptions for 48 yards and a TD in his first game back.

supafly said:

Yes, we will definitely know a lot more about this 2013 team after the next 2 games, that's for sure.

Personally, I am seeing this week's game at MIA as the tougher of the 2, but they are both very hard in my opinion, and that's just under the circumstances.

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both of these games are going to be brutal...pats lose 1 or both..and 2nd seed may even be gone which would be suicide

Deus Irae said:

I don't want jump into the Ravens/Dolphins stuff, but I thought I should point out that the Ravens just got Pitta back, and that's likely to help their offense out moving forward. He had 6 receptions for 48 yards and a TD in his first game back.

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I never once counted BAL out, and I agree that the return of Pitta makes them more capable in the sense of offensive production. They certainly concern me, and I'd probably be worried even if they were 4-10 this year. Going down there to play a team who has recently had our number isn't going to be a good time.

That said, I just have a feeling that MIA is going to be pumped up this Sunday too. Both teams' backs are against the wall a bit, and the back to back away game aspect doesn't do anything to give me comfort.

One of the most frustrating issues is that once again, we lack a real defender for that TE spot, as these "hybrids" or cover backers of LB/S just don't seem to work out as planned. The coverage last week on Cameron was one of the most pathetic displays I have seen in recent memory when it comes to that problem. A guy like Dennis Pitta surely has the potential to take advantage of that weakness.

Not having Home Field Advantage and losing on the road IS NOT why the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since 2005. Basically they have lost most of those games because they abandoned the running game and there were too many injuries (Welker, Gronk, and Harrison in 06). Unfortunately the latter cause is worse this year, so what they can control is the former. Get Ridley about 60 carries fumble free before the end of the season. And keep Brady upright with the defense being honest on run D.

Brady_to_Moss said:

both of these games are going to be brutal...pats lose 1 or both..and 2nd seed may even be gone which would be suicide

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We will obviously be rooting like hell for Pittsburgh this Sunday night.

I do agree with you that while the inside track for the #1 seed is great news, the odds of falling to #3 are just as good--if not even potentially more realistic.

Only thing to do is take it one game at a time and see what shakes out from there. Weird stuff tends to happen this time of year in terms of upsets etc, so let's hope that CIN loses and gives us breathing room, or at least allows us to keep the #2 seed with two games to go.

jbb9s said:

Not having Home Field Advantage and losing on the road IS NOT why the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since 2005.

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That's an arguable/debatable comment.

Having to go to IND in 2006 where the heat and crowd noise were pumped in, on a week with no rest coming from SD to NE (to practice all week) then back to IND, may very well have prevented us from winning another SB, yes--no doubt.

The same could be argued for the 2005 season when we had to go to DEN at Mile High and lost in their thin air and their distinct home field advantage.

The positive aspects of having a week of rest, a break in the continuation of another potential month of the regular season, an extra week to prepare, the chance to stay at home in the players' own beds, and not having to go back and forth all over the country are obvious. Home field advantage (and more so the chance to have one less game) increases the odds of going all the way tremendously.

If you're just speaking of lately, then yes, I agree with you since we've had the HFA.

supafly said:

I never once counted BAL out, and I agree that the return of Pitta makes them more capable in the sense of offensive production. They certainly concern me, and I'd probably be worried even if they were 4-10 this year. Going down there to play a team who has recently had our number isn't going to be a good time.

That said, I just have a feeling that MIA is going to be pumped up this Sunday too. Both teams' backs are against the wall a bit, and the back to back away game aspect doesn't do anything to give me comfort.

One of the most frustrating issues is that once again, we lack a real defender for that TE spot, as these "hybrids" or cover backers of LB/S just don't seem to work out as planned. The coverage last week on Cameron was one of the most pathetic displays I have seen in recent memory when it comes to that problem. A guy like Dennis Pitta surely has the potential to take advantage of that weakness.

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Another thing worth mentioning about the Miami game is they're expecting their biggest home crowd of the season.

KontradictioN said:

Another thing worth mentioning about the Miami game is they're expecting their biggest home crowd of the season.

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Clearly an influx of Patriots fans then.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

COY
MVP (though it will go to the media darling, Mr. Statman Five-head).

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I'm thinking foreign '5's might have a better ring. Cinco-head? But Chad used that up. French: Cinqhead? Not bad. I am leaning towards the German: Funf-head. Or even the full translation: Funf-Kopf!

ausbacker said:

Clearly an influx of Patriots fans then.

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My thought exactly. I do contract work for an office in West Palm Beach, and was offered a chance to go to the game. There's at least one other Pats fan who works there who WILL be going.

Farewell #1 seed, way to choke that away....

We may be the #3 seed by the end of tonight.

Not often the pats blow their chance when they control their own destiny. Need steelers to win bad

Today again shows how bad they are on the road...they can't end up #3 and expect to go far

And the door shuts right back in our faces again. This team is absolute **** on the road, where they will likely be playing from the divisional round onward, if they even make it there.

Nope, the door is still close.

Personally, I felt that the odds of winning BOTH road games in a row were slim enough in itself, let alone running the table from today until February, so I am happy that we still have a realistic shot at a first round bye and the #2 seed. That is the most important aspect.

Once again, however, we'll have to try and figure out how to go on the road in a very hostile environment where the Ravens are 6-0 this year (edit: 6-1), only this time it will be the back end of a 2 game road stretch. We may be having this discussion about the 2nd or 3rd seed all over again next Sunday night, as unfortunate as that may seem. We have got to dig deeper and play better football, get that 2nd seed, and see what the dice come up in the divisional round of the playoffs.

supafly said:

Personally, I felt that the odds of winning BOTH road games in a row were slim enough in itself, let alone running the table from today until February, so I am happy that we still have a realistic shot at a first round bye and the #2 seed. That is the most important aspect.

Once again, however, we'll have to try and figure out how to go on the road in a very hostile environment where the Ravens are 6-0 this year, only this time it will be the back end of a 2 game road stretch. We may be having this discussion about the 2nd or 3rd seed all over again next Sunday night, as unfortunate as that may seem. We have got to dig deeper and play better football, get that 2nd seed, and see what the dice come up in the divisional round of the playoffs.

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Actually they are 6-1 at home.
Their wins are over
Cleveland by 8
Houston by 21
Cincy by 3 in OT
Jets by 16
Steelers by 2
Vikings by 3

Not as impressive as it sounds.

AndyJohnson said:

Actually they are 6-1 at home.

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Yes, I was actually coming to edit my post after visiting NFL.com.

In my defense, the NBC statisticians must have gotten it incorrect. Either that or the announcers did.

Either way, thanks for the correction.

We'll see next Sunday how it goes, but I'm guessing that it's going to be one hell of a road test again unfortunately; especially since BAL now controls their right to win the division outright.