I have a bad feeling about this one...

[mb6592]

It's probably the least confident I've felt going into a game since Cassel vs. the '08 Steelers and eventual champs. Brady in Miami. Defense stinks. 2nd half offense on the road still a concern. I would be totally ecstatic to come out of there 3-1 (and no injuries of course)

I think, with due respect to Andy, this is why BradytoMoss created this thread. There's something different about this game for many of us. Sort of like the epiphany many Obama supporters have experienced lately (i.e. the wheels are really falling off the bus). I haven't anticipated a Pats loss in a long time.

 

[PittPatriot]

It's probably the least confident I've felt going into a game since Cassel vs. the '08 Steelers and eventual champs. Brady in Miami. Defense stinks. 2nd half offense on the road still a concern. I would be totally ecstatic to come out of there 3-1 (and no injuries of course)

This Patriots Dynasty has trade mark victories when we expected defeat. No bigger stage than Monday Night to do it all over again.

 

[DESERTPAT]

I thought this "squish the fish" stuff had died. Dolphins are not fish!

 

[Froob]

I thought this "squish the fish" stuff had died. Dolphins are not fish!

squish the mammals doesn't have that same ring to it.

 

[JackBauer]

Sort of like the epiphany many Obama supporters have experienced lately (i.e. the wheels are really falling off the bus).

Get this half-baked political crap over to the Politics Forum.

 

[Speedy Welker]

I think the players and the coaching staffs are sick of struggling to get a win on the road, they probably know that by now and also sick of hearing it from the fans and media. So i don't think there is better time for them to get win on the road than Monday night, plus they're going to a bye week and certainly wouldn't want to lose another divisional game. I think they'll come out and shut off the Monday Night crews and get a W.

 

[Bella*chick]

I just wonder....so many have their eyes wide open about this team and its shortcomings. Will this prevent the "We suuuuuuuck!" comments in the game thread every time something goes wrong? I guess probably not.

 

[makoute]

OK, here's something to feel a little bit positive.....

The Patriots are stronger against the run in their base defense than they are against the run in sub packages, and than they are against the pass in any real way.

Since the Dolphins are largely a running team and don't really have multiple receivers that can really threaten a defense, and don't really have a great tight end, the Patriots will be able to run more base.

Only problem with this is, the same thing could be said about the Bills, and the Dolphins running backs are as good if not better then the Bills, and the Dolphins have a better receiver than any of the Bills receiver (probably combined), and I think they're receiving core TE included are better than the Bills.

 

[Deus Irae]

Only problem with this is, the same thing could be said about the Bills, and the Dolphins running backs are as good if not better then the Bills, and the Dolphins have a better receiver than any of the Bills receiver (probably combined), and I think they're receiving core TE included are better than the Bills.

Right now, the defense sucks ass like a vacuum cleaner working on a donkey. I was just tossing out something positive to someone who was looking for it. The Dolphins have the best WR in the group. After that, they've got nothing to really threaten deep, and that threat is what's gotten Butler in trouble, since he gets beaten when he's making his turn to cover deep. As for tight ends, come on now.

 

[Patspsycho]

I think, with due respect to Andy, this is why BradytoMoss created this thread. There's something different about this game for many of us. Sort of like the epiphany many Obama supporters have experienced lately (i.e. the wheels are really falling off the bus). I haven't anticipated a Pats loss in a long time.

Speak for yourself. Don't include the rest of us in your gloom and doom.

 

[Ring 6]

Speak for yourself. Don't include the rest of us in your gloom and doom.

Is it just me or does it seem like there is a faction of Pats fans than seem to be happily anticipating failure so they can complain and say they were right all along to be pessimists?

 

[Patspsycho]

Is it just me or does it seem like there is a faction of Pats fans than seem to be happily anticipating failure so they can complain and say they were right all along to be pessimists?

I am seeing this too. I have no idea where it is coming from. Could it be that we got a lot more fans during the 16-0 season?

That would make sense to me. For them, everything would naturally be downhill from that point on.

 

[WinstonSmith]

Welcome to the NFL where your team is not guaranteed a victory against a decent divisional rival on the road.

The Pats do indeed have a good chance of losing this game, as their defense is more porous than Cromartie’s favorite brand of condoms, but isn’t the fun of following a team is to see if they can improve – to see who will step up and seize the moment – perhaps no one will or perhaps collectively they will skin the Fins.

It’s true that this team is not as good as their Super Bowl teams but I don’t understand the folks who continuously lament the recent decline as if having a perennial Super Bowl caliber team is their birth right.

 

[BelizePats]

I just don't feel all the doom and gloom about this game and I think we'll come away with the win. Yes, the D has been bad. About as bad as is possible really.
I can't help but think that we will see improvement this week brought on by some new defensive schemes.
Brady is ready for this game. Marshall is good, no doubt. But so are Wes and our TE's. And Randy is Randy.
I don't think that Miami is a good as others here seem to think.
31-24 Pats!

 

[Garbanza]

Someone needs to explain to me how being realistic somehow makes you a bad fan. I have been following this team for a very, very long time. Seen the ugly, the bad, the good and the great. I watch for improvement, I watch for the game, I watch because I love this team. Just because someone has a bad feeling about this upcoming game does not make them a bad fan. What have you seen so far this year that has people feeling good about the upcoming game? The tremendous pass rush? The stellar play of the secondary? The ability of the linebackers to keep everything in front of them? This game should be a shoot out. In that case, I'm glad I have Brady on my team. But geez, this defense should scare every one of you. I understand it is a defense in transition. It had to happen. I get it. What frustrates me is the lack of attention paid to the pass rush in the off-season. What frustrates me is Merriweather and Butler regressing. What really frustrates me is that they keep making the same mistakes....and thought that "free-lancing" was a good idea. This is a direct result of lack of leadership on the defensive side of the ball. I am disappointed that the coaching staff did not anticipate this...or maybe they did.....although I doubt it.

 

[PatsFan37]

For all that people want the 'homers' to take a balanced perspective, look at it this way:

Would you rather root for the team that's going up against Henne, Marshall and Brown, or the one that's staring down the field at Brady, Moss, Welker, and Herandez/Gronkowski?

Believe me, no one out there has the Pats in their 'easy win' column.

 

[Deus Irae]

Someone needs to explain to me how being realistic somehow makes you a bad fan. I have been following this team for a very, very long time. Seen the ugly, the bad, the good and the great. I watch for improvement, I watch for the game, I watch because I love this team. Just because someone has a bad feeling about this upcoming game does not make them a bad fan. What have you seen so far this year that has people feeling good about the upcoming game? The tremendous pass rush? The stellar play of the secondary? The ability of the linebackers to keep everything in front of them? This game should be a shoot out. In that case, I'm glad I have Brady on my team. But geez, this defense should scare every one of you. I understand it is a defense in transition. It had to happen. I get it. What frustrates me is the lack of attention paid to the pass rush in the off-season. What frustrates me is Merriweather and Butler regressing. What really frustrates me is that they keep making the same mistakes....and thought that "free-lancing" was a good idea. This is a direct result of lack of leadership on the defensive side of the ball. I am disappointed that the coaching staff did not anticipate this...or maybe they did.....although I doubt it.

You're not a realist. You're a pessimist. There's a difference.

 

[Triumph]

Is it just me or does it seem like there is a faction of Pats fans than seem to be happily anticipating failure so they can complain and say they were right all along to be pessimists?

Do you mean like when NE beat Cinci and some fans pounded their chests about how right they were?

The Pats need to improve on both sides of the ball.

Nobody is happy about it thats a Pats fan.

 

[RayClay]

isn’t the fun of following a team is to see if they can improve – to see who will step up and seize the moment –

I'd see that applies very well to this team, especially the defense.

The entitled believe we have a birthright of 14 to 16 wins because they are frontrunners, most likely.

It is depressing to have an old team with question marks that isn't going to get better, but we have a consistently excellent team, coming off a "disappointing" 10-6 season (sorry Detroit, I know that must hurt) who has double drafted two years in a row with a plethora of high to mid round picks while retaining a top QB and receivers, and replenishing well with Tate and some real good looking tight ends.

The frontrunners, who don't know what it is to build a team, or to struggle to learn a system are farcical in their complaints. They're all busts, let's replay the draft, cut them all and start over. What a joke.

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

/rant

You can "think" that we're going to lose, and there certainly is plenty of reason for you to think that way this Monday, but you're a fan. Your job is to believe in your team and to believe they can win at all times. If you're in a pool where there is money on the line and you think the Fins will win, sure, pick them. But on a message board, amongst your friends, or anywhere else, you HAVE to pick the Pats. Otherwise, why be a fan?
I predicted an 11-5 season this year, but EVERY week I will predict a Pats win, no matter who we're playing because I am a Pats fan damnit! I completely understand that this game has a huge possibility for us to get beaten, but I can't allow that reality to impose itself upon my support of the team. You can call it being a homer, but isn't that what being a FAN is all about? Believing in your team no matter what?

I personally have a very real belief that this game is where we turn everything around and make our march back up to the top of the elite teams. I think it'll be a couple year journey, but I think this game, Monday night in Miami, will be our first step.
I don't fault people for having a bad feeling about this game. I don't think you can be a Pats fan and NOT have a bad feeling as it's a very important, very tough game. However, you need let your faith overcome this bad feeling and go in to Monday confident in our team. Will we give up 30 points? Probably, but if so then we will score 40!

/end rant