Can Someone explain to me?

Why all of the sudden is there a sentiment on this board that the Broncos are guaranteed to go 13-3 while the Pats chances of doing the same is in doubt? I just don't get it. Here is my reasoning:

• Both have Buffalo at home (although they may be out of the playoffs by the time they come to Foxboro at the end of the season otherwise they will be playing for their playoff lives in both games)
• Both play the Chargers in San Diego
• Both have a game against a bad division rival (Oakland for the Broncos and the Jets for us)
• Both have a game against a playoff contender (Broncos in Cincy in late December and Pats at home vs. the Dolphins)
• Manning has been wildly inconsistent lately especially on the road. He was mediocre at best last night and if the Chiefs had a decent offense, the Chiefs might have won.
• The Pats blew out the Broncos, Bengals, and Colts. All three of those teams are arguably better than any team they will be facing. In fact they had a shot to beat Green Bay in Green Bay who is better than any team the Broncos have faced.
• The Colts are 3-3 on the road. And played like crap on the road in all their losses and at least one of their wins.
• The Pats' home field advantage is as good as the Broncos if not better. So both should win their home games.

Why do people think the Broncos are a slam dunk to go 13-3 while the Pats are likely to lose a game or two?

Prisoner of the moment/chicken little syndrome. The whole world runs on instant gratification and has a hard time seeing the big picture.

New England Pride said:

Prisoner of the moment/chicken little syndrome. The whole world runs on instant gratification and has a hard time seeing the big picture.

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But the Pats played the Packers tough in Green Bay and the sentiment last week was "if the Pats were going to lose another game this season, it would be in Green Bay".

I know a lot of people turned off the Broncos/Chiefs' game after the first quarter and missed the Broncos struggle on offense for most of the second half and almost let the Chiefs back into the game, but they didn't look like world beaters after the first quarter last night (except at the very end of the game when the defense could just pin their ears back and rush the passer).

Rob0729 said:

But the Pats played the Packers tough in Green Bay and the sentiment last week was "if the Pats were going to lose another game this season, it would be in Green Bay".

I know a lot of people turned off the Broncos/Chiefs' game after the first quarter and missed the Broncos struggle on offense for most of the second half and almost let the Chiefs back into the game, but they didn't look like world beaters after the first quarter last night (except at the very end of the game when the defense could just pin their ears back and rush the passer).

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But the last thing they remember is a Patriots loss and a Denver win. You're giving the general population to much credit. Just be happy you have what others don't. Perspective.

New England Pride said:

But the last thing they remember is a Patriots loss and a Denver win. You're giving the general population to much credit. Just be happy you have what others don't. Perspective.

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LOL! Perspective on a fan message board. What a novel concept.

Exactly! Aside from Oakland in week 17, Denver's schedule may be even tougher than ours down the stretch. Them losing one more game is very plausible, and I predict that they likely will lose one of these next three.

That all being said, we still need to win out. You don't want to rely on Denver losing one more game.

Part eof it, IMO, is concern over the final stretch of divisional games. Some on here think "Oh no, Miami beat us back in September" or "The Jets almost beat us at home" and are scared that an upset will happen.


The other reason why, is as New England Pride pointed out: The Pats lost whilst the Broncos won last night. I would point out that the Chiefs game was considered the toughest remaining one on Denver's schedule by some members of this board. Because they won it, a sentiment emerges that they'll win out.

Furthermore, after a good stretch of dominant play, fans on this board were reminded that yes, this Patriots team still has weaknesses. The pass rush in particular, has concerned a lot of people, and now the fear exists that the remaining QBs we'll have to play (Rivers in particular) are going to give us a lot of trouble.

Personally, I think it's a bit premature to start fearing for our chances at HFA. We do need to win out, it's imperative. But right now, I'm just concerned with beating San Diego.

the jets are a much better team then the raiders

I personally think we will win out and get homefield but I can understand the concern. Each of the last 2 years we've beaten Denver man to man in the regular season but they've managed to weasel their way to the #1 seed over us despite that. I guess to their credit they have for the most part been a little better at winning the games they are supposed to while we've pulled stinkers here and there against teams that are not cakewalks by any means, but teams we should beat.

Because people on this board don't take losses well. So the negativity spreads to the future.

If Chiefs had even a bad offense and an average special teams unit they might have won that game. I think San Diego will be the difference maker one way or the other. They will be tough on Sunday night. Then again, their crowds kinda suck. In the end, if we get HFA and the Ravens aren't in the playoffs (not that I'm scared of them, but they certainly don't fear playing us in Foxborough) we should have a really good shot at making it to the Super Bowl. I feel like we're going to wreck the NFC winner if we make it there with a classic BB & Brady **** you game. Then hopefully BB acts like it wasn't even a big deal in the press conference afterwards.

Joey007 said:

Exactly! Aside from Oakland in week 17, Denver's schedule may be even tougher than ours down the stretch. Them losing one more game is very plausible, and I predict that they likely will lose one of these next three.

That all being said, we still need to win out. You don't want to rely on Denver losing one more game.

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I agree with not relying on the Broncos losing another game. But this year I am not all that worried about going into Denver. One of the most underplayed story in the NFL right now is Manning looks to be in serious decline. Hence why I think Fox is so committed to running the ball. Manning was awful last night and this is the third game in five gamed where he has been mediocre to bad.

It's the same negativity that we see every offseason that basically implies that every team in the NFL has improved except the Pats.

Rob0729 said:

"if the Pats were going to lose another game this season, it would be in Green Bay"

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Even the most even tempered fan succumbs to irrationality after a tough loss. Hell, I expected NE to lose and still was upset about how the game went. It brought about a fascinating inner dialog around what kind of loss would have left me feeling more satisfied, but my sanity is probably a topic best left unexplored.

New England Pride said:

Prisoner of the moment/chicken little syndrome. The whole world runs on instant gratification and has a hard time seeing the big picture.

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+1,......i think new englanders run on what have you done for me lately, negative nancy syndrome. ive read many a game day thread where poster are saying "its over, we're not going to win" "the dynastys over" after someone drops a pass on the first drive of the game.

Oswlek said:

Even the most even tempered fan succumbs to irrationality after a tough loss. Hell, I expected NE to lose and still was upset about how the game went. It brought about a fascinating inner dialog around what kind of loss would have left me feeling more satisfied, but my sanity is probably a topic best left unexplored.

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it may be that because the game could have easily have been won but slipped away at the end. I'm disappointed in that fact. after all the lousy play in the first half we could have still won the game but didn't

If I were to predict the end if season, both teams win out. Probably more negative feelings online than in general

chasa said:

the jets are a much better team then the raiders

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Or to put it another way as a friend of mine once said:

"Better than s*** is still crap!"

terabthia2 said:

Or to put it another way as a friend of mine once said:

"Better than s*** is still crap!"

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hey man there is different kinds of crap,

Some crap is good for fertilizer(Tampa, aka the patriots farm system), some is good for maintaining a fire in the outback(the jets, Keeping the patriots at the top of the AFCE through incompetence), and then there is cat ****(the raiders) cat **** aint good for nobody.

Honestly, I wouldn't even be concerned about Denver if they didn't have Terrance Knighton. He alone is their run defense at times. And we have the guys to match up with their receivers.

My true fear is that one of our divisional rivals sneak into the playoffs and knock us out like 2010.