The Board's View on 19-0?

Sydney said:

Strange but true: NFL team could, in theory, score one-point safety

Did you know a 1 point safety is a thing? But since it can only come from a blocked extra point, I don't think a 1 point win in over time is possible in any scenario.

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My God I had no idea. The NFL sure likes adding pages to their already bloated rule book, don't they?

Schmo said:

I don't understand how you can root for the Patriots to win each game, but not care if they win every game.

This franchise is one of only a handful of true dynasties to ever take the field/court/ice in the history of sports. One of the few instances where a team can be playing for more than a single championship year (of course no one on the team will admit it).

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It isn't a matter of not caring if they win every game, it is about caring they win THE game.
Of course I will root for the Patriots to win every time they play, however, once HFA is wrapped up I will root more for the team to be healthy and at full strength going into the playoffs (the point being all games are not created equal -- some games are much more important than others). I would much rather lose after HFA is clinched than have the team at lesser strength to start the AFC divisional round.

As far as the perfect season goes, everyone is fooling themselves if they believe it doesn't have an effect on the players. Players -- some of them barely fully grown adults -- are human and will have their thought processes affected by a high volume of outside voices/opinions (example of loud continuing voices affecting a human, see: Brady, Tom, Deflategate). Going into the SB with an 18-0 record will certainly mean players will have that on their mind that this for all time history. It also means the opposing team is fighting for an even more historic position to stop it (and probably sick to death of hearing how great the 18-0 team is).
Does this mean we should lose? No. Play to win every game within the context of health and playoff strength. When JG is out there with third stringers we still root for the win. And if the Patriots have to suck it up and play through the extra hurdle of the noise of 'perfection' and all that comes with it? So be it. But I strongly believe taking 18-0 into the SB makes getting the SB win just a bit harder. Take that for what it is worth....

aluminum seats said:

Yeah, definitely agree with that.

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Peace.

TheBostonStraggler said:

Players -- some of them barely fully grown adults -- are human and will have their thought processes affected by a high volume of outside voices/opinions (example of loud continuing voices affecting a human, see: Brady, Tom, Deflategate). Going into the SB with an 18-0 record will certainly mean players will have that on their mind that this for all time history.

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Has deflategate left Brady drained of energy and motivation? How has he responded?

I am clueless as to why so many people think that an undefeated season would add unneeded pressure to (especially) this team. These guys play in front of 80k people a week, and are on tv for millions to watch and judge their every move. They compete against up to 350lb men who try to kill them every play (some of them are actual murderers) and say unheard of things between plays. They know at any minute, their career could be over due to injury or simply being pushed out of the league for not being good enough. Then what will they do?.....if they still have a functioning brain.

But ya...the pressure of an undefeated season is debilitating.

There are people in the world who rise to a challenge and, coincidentally, you'll find a lot of them in the NFL. Add in Belichick and Brady (especially after Deflategate), and I think the pressure of an undefeated season could help the team stay focused.

PatsFanSince74 said:

Peace.

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Respect *pound chest twice*

LightSkinSmurf said:

That isn't the question tho. Everyone here would be satisfied with a SB win. The question was, are you rooting for 19-0. If you root for the patriots to win every single game, you're rooting for 19-0.

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Hi Skinsmurf, I will stand by my original statement. No matter the record at the end, just get to the big dance and win. That's really all I care about.

19-0 would be great. There'd also be a certain amount of joy to go 18-1 and win the superbowl and take the black mark off that record the last time we achieved it. But really all I want is a SB win with any record this year, so no 19-0 as cool as it would be is not a remote concern in my mind and if we had to risk health of our players to achieve it pass.