11-5 may not be good enough

[NEGoldenAge]

Did borg really just make an insightful post!?!?! Keep it up!

 

[patsfan-1982]

if the playoffs would start today the Bengals would be the #1 seed and the texans the #2 seed, trust me if the pats can go 11-5 not only will they make the playoffs they may even get a by

 

[Tunescribe]

AFC East currently has 3 teams bunched at 5-3
AFC North has 3 six win teams
AFC South has Texas 2 games up with 6-3 record
AFC West is brutal with 3 four win teams.

Looks like the East and North have 6 teams competing for 4 spots. Interesting how 4 of these 6 teams are defense first teams...Pitt, Cincy, Balt, Jets
Cincy has a brutal upcoming schedule with 4 games vs Pitt/Balt plus a date with the Texans

The Bengals will fade so you can count them out. I think the Bills will drop out as well down the stretch.

 

[jmt57]

The Bengals will fade so you can count them out. I think the Bills will drop out as well down the stretch.

Obviously anything is possible, but I think that's the most likely scenario as well.

 

[BlueThunder]

Pats were in the games they lost (except Pitt) and only a couple of bad plays prevented them from getting another win oir two...

Yes, those are the type of games the past Patriot teams usually won, but there are still 8 games left to play.The pass D did make some progress vs the Gints....too bad Eli had a horseshoe up his butt ala the SB helmet catch....this time it was dumb PI penalties and fumbles that gave them ez scores...Like mentioned in another thread I believe, what happened to uncatchable balls and that penalty? They should make it a 5 or 10 yd'er not a spot foul.....Eli was just tossing it up due to pressure.....why should he get rewarded?

I'm not writing the Pats off just yet....

Come out smoking vs Jets and all will be forgotten....:rocker:

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

if we go 13-3, I am pretty sure we make the playoffs. Patriots control their own destiny.

 

[brdmaverick]

In order to win the division, this game is a MUST WIN!

If we lose, it will be 2008 all over again.

 

[QuinielaBox]

The way I see it is that we will lose to the AOGs this weekend unless the offense can run the ball for 40 times for 180 yards and limit Brady to no more than 40 pass attempts. That way they limit playing time for the Defense and make them more effective.

In fact, that needs to be the blueprint for the rest of the season. Still the Patriots are projected to finish 11 and 5 and if those losses are to the AOG's and the Broncos in December that could mean a loss of control of their own destiny just like 2008.

10 and 6 or worse is possible with the way things are going and that will mean no January football for the Patriots.

 

[QuinielaBox]

if we go 13-3, I am pretty sure we make the playoffs. Patriots control their own destiny.

Then you better start calling running plays, Mr grey NEP sweatshirt with BB on it.

 

[QuinielaBox]

The Bengals will fade so you can count them out. I think the Bills will drop out as well down the stretch.

You ought to take a look at their starting QB, he is impressive. But then again the Steelers and Ravens could find a way to slow him down just like they did to Brady.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

Does it? Cincy always does well against the rest of the AFC North; Marvin Lewis is 12-8 lifetime against Baltimore, and the Bengals swept their division two years ago with an inferior team. People keep talking about Cincy's wins over weak teams, but Pittsburgh's wins are against teams with fewer wins than the Bengals! I realize that few people here are likely aware of that face, as those pesky facts always interfere with sports media narratives and are often ignored in favor of pompous windbaggery. I forget, is Tebow/Flacco/Eli the worst QB in football this week or the Second Coming?

In any case: The Bengals are the number one seed in the AFC halfway through the season, with a stellar defense, a balanced offense, and have been relatively injury-free to this point. If I were a betting man, I'd probably look elsewhere for teams likely to fade as the season wears on.

The most-troubled teams in the AFC on the 'would be in the playoffs if they happened today' list are the Chargers, Steelers, and (sadly) the Pats.

Explain how the Jets, Chiefs (if they are in otherwise replace with BUF or whoever), and Bengals have a better shot than the Chargers, Steelers, and Pats?

 

[everlong]

I think it may go the other way in the AFC this year where maybe you have a 12 game winner and everybody else is 11 or less or possibly not even a single 12 game winner.

Baltimore has the inside track on 12 but don't forget the Bengals beat them last year with a crappy team and nearly did it a second time. Then after playing a physical Bengals team they get a physical 49ers team on 3 days rest.

I think there's the potential for a 11-5/10-6 log jam which is just what the NFL wants. The tie breakers are going to be important.

 

[mgteich]

It seems that we will have one team from the West and one from the South, leaving 6 teams competing for 4 playoff spots.

PIT
BAL
CIN
NY
NE
BUF

All these teams are NOT going to win 11 games. The patriots will have a fine shot at the playoffs, whether they sweep the jets or not. At worst, we will be playing BUFF (and or CIN) for a roster spot on the last game of the season, at home, against Buffalo.

Also, the schedule is our friend. The opponents in our last 5 games are probably the weakest 5 of any team in the nfl.

 

[farouche]

Explain how the Jets, Chiefs (if they are in otherwise replace with BUF or whoever), and Bengals have a better shot than the Chargers, Steelers, and Pats?

The Jets and the Chiefs would not be in the playoffs if they happened today, whereas the Bengals would be the #1 seed in the AFC:

NFL.com news: Playoff Picture 2011

The Pats have huge glaring holes in their game right now that that Jets and the Bengals simply don't (the Chiefs have their own problems). The Pats need their Hall-of-Fame QB to play at a Hall-of-Fame level, and their defense to start having a pulse, to hope to make the playoffs, much less make noise in them.

I believe the Pats will make the playoffs, but I also believe in reality-based football talk. You can make the playoffs and do well with a defense as bad as the Pats D, but you really need a stellar offense to compensate, and the Pats offense has not looked stellar these past few weeks.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

That would be assuming that the Bengals play great all season, call me unrealistic but I have to look back at those mighty 6-0 Broncos who beat us and yet we finished much higher, not to mention they didn't even make the playoffs.

I think the Bengals are playing well, but their roster doesn't scream lock just like past teams who have started hot and fell apart. Not saying our roster is great, just that nobody can prove that any team has a better chance after 8 games, unless they are in a division full of 0-8 teams (impossible).

 

[shakadave]

Since 1990 54 teams have finished the regular season with an 11-5 record.

Of those 54 teams, only one did not qualify for the playoffs.

That was us, right?