Are the Pats gonna do it?

I have to tell ya, I believe our Pats have the team to get it done. I'm really nervous about that O line, but Belichick will get them doing their job if anyone can. I love how Belichick has them focused.

Now Blount is obviously lying here. You know he saw that play and that he would like to say something, but he is toeing the company line. Bill has told them what to do and how to do it, and these guys are focused. Here comes win #4!

Asked if he saw the play on which Bell was injured last Sunday against Cincinnati, Blount paused, then said, ''Man, I'm just focused on the Patriots. Obviously, he's a friend of mine and I was concerned, but I'm just focused on the Patriots.''
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/pats-hightower-rooting-2-top-seeded-teams-234518703--nfl.html

Yes. New England finally has the defense to win low scoring, slug it out games. They will capture that elusive 4th Lombardi this year.

I still believe Patriots will have a hard time winning the SB, IF Patriots get there, AND either Seattle or GreenBay gets there.

IMO.

Maybe next year .. (If Seattle Makes It) They will most likely get to the SB, but they can not play with Seattle. Offensive Line is just too much of a liability. Seattle will not even be concerned with any passes outside the numbers, and lock in the middle of the field, Pats have no answer for that ..

No.
The O-line has been part of the reason why we failed to win a Lombardi in the last two Superbowls.
And the unit, as currently comprised this year, is worse off than both 2007 and 2011.

-Jamman

Great, another thread for the chicken littles to cluck about how Pats should be scared of Baltimore and Pittsburgh and have no chance if they get to the SB against Seattle or GB

pork3 said:

No.
The O-line has been part of the reason why we failed to win a Lombardi in the last two Superbowls.
And the unit, as currently comprised this year, is worse off than both 2007 and 2011.

Click to expand...

That's odd. Because I recall Brady had them in the lead both times and it was the defense that couldn't finish the job.

I would be more worried about Seattle. We have seen GB already once so we have film to watch and see what we need to do.

pork3 said:

No.
The O-line has been part of the reason why we failed to win a Lombardi in the last two Superbowls.
And the unit, as currently comprised this year, is worse off than both 2007 and 2011.

-Jamman

Click to expand...

The eye-test kind of tells me the o-line sucks this year (especially at some key moments) but these stats are telling me otherwise:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol

We're #2 in pass protection and #5 in run blocking. I don't think pressures/ hurries are taken into account though. I think I need to be subscribed to PFF to see that. I'd be interested in knowing where we rank with those. Anyone on here subscribed to PFF who can tell me?

JMC00 said:

That's odd. Because I recall Brady had them in the lead both times and it was the defense that couldn't finish the job.

Click to expand...

When you hold an opponent to 17 points and you have the highest scoring offense and only score 14 that is on the O. The D was gassed from being on the field all the time.

The Patriots have no serious rivals in the AFC.

I for one would love to see us play the best of the NFC, be it Green Bay or Seattle. It'll be a great Super Bowl.

All in.

No, pats cant win the superbowl, like 2003, they hate their coach.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is their year.....NO DOUBT folks.

Seattle looks good (certainly playing better now than they did all year)but, they are not what they were last year. They may make it to AZ because of their home field advantage, but, I actually do not think they will be going. I can make a case for GB (if Rogers is healthy) and Dallas. I really think both of those teams are better than Seattle.

In any case, I don't see any AFC team coming in here and winning this go around.

As for AZ -- this time, Brady comes up huge and we'll all be having a party.

I said I'd never go back to that awful desert after my last visit, but I'm going back and this time the outcome will be much different.

Cue those Duckboats baby.......

moejr said:

When you hold an opponent to 17 points and you have the highest scoring offense and only score 14 that is on the O. The D was gassed from being on the field all the time.

Click to expand...

14-10
giants start at their 17 yard line with 2:42 to go.

It was too much to ask for the D to make a stop?


And the D was gassed in '07? giants held the ball for a whooping 56 seconds more in that game.

Yes they can do it. They are going to play football and snap the ball.

The Pats biggest hurdle will be the title game vs. Denver or Pittsburgh. If they make it to Arizona, it will basically be a coin flip vs. the NFC depending on who they play. I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas beat GB and Seattle.I think they match up better defensively with Seattle but the game will likely be low scoring regardless. A game vs. Dallas could go either way, but I'll take Brady over Romo in the SB as the difference maker.

Defense wins championships and i believe ours is the best.

We have a clutch QB and an offense that can take advantage of mistakes. Gronk is a matchup nightmare for everyone (including the hawks). BB's coaching and prep puts us ahead of the rest.

We've had great teams in the past, but mainly on the offensive side. This is our best defense since our last SB.

SunsOutGunsOut said:

Maybe next year .. (If Seattle Makes It) They will most likely get to the SB, but they can not play with Seattle. Offensive Line is just too much of a liability. Seattle will not even be concerned with any passes outside the numbers, and lock in the middle of the field, Pats have no answer for that ..

Click to expand...

pork3 said:

No.
The O-line has been part of the reason why we failed to win a Lombardi in the last two Superbowls.
And the unit, as currently comprised this year, is worse off than both 2007 and 2011.
-Jamman

Click to expand...

Looking forward to seeing you guys proven wrong (especially you, porker). If this offensive line is healthy, it will be fine.

I wanted to be optimistic-homeristic after the annihilation of the Colts, but lately... I'm just thinking about something I said earlier in the season, after the Cinci or Detroit game, about us masking flaws in the regular season that we trick ourselves into thinking are fixed, only to see them rear their ugly heads in the post season.

Our offensive line worries me.

I do hope Denver doesn't get one and done eliminated. I want them in the AFCCG if we make it so Tom can win and be 2-2 against Manning in conference championship games.

I wish we still had Ridley. I'd be a lot more confident if we did.

JMC00 said:

That's odd. Because I recall Brady had them in the lead both times and it was the defense that couldn't finish the job.

Click to expand...

Ugh. Doesn't the logical fallacy just reach out and slap you before you hit the post button? Why only look at one drive out of 10 or 11 in assessing performance????

In the two games you're talking about, the defense allowed an average of 19 ppg. That would have been good for 7th in the NFL this year. The offense scored 15.5 ppg. That would be dead last, 32 out of 32 in the NFL this year. Worse than Blake Bortles and company. But wait, it's Worse! The defensive ppg above includes points scored not by the Giants offense, but by their defense on an idiotic safety caused in part by, you guessed it, poor offensive line play. I just can't understand how anyone could pin those losses on the defense given the ineptitude of the offense.