[Merged] Patriots Quest for the #1 seed in the AFC

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

an AFCCG in Houston is very winnable

Gotta get there first

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Does anyone in here really think that if the Patriots played Houston yesterday they would have done any better than the Ravens?

I seriously doubt it,the Texans might have put a 50 burger on this team Sunday.

The Pats were not ready for an Elite team yesterday,let alone a team with a shabby QB who they barely defeated with a little help.

 

[ATippett56]

The D has struggled, but it certainly isn't the worst in the league.

The New England Patriots pass defense is arguably one of worst in the NFL this season.

 

[bud1058]

If Bill doesn't fix the secondary this team will never make it to the Super Bowl! I've been waiting two years for Bill to fix it and all I've heard is "we'll, we have work to do". B.S. bill quit talking and do it! Wakeup mr. Kraft, your coach is sleeping and it's going to cost you money!

 

[FCB02062]

They were lucky to beat the Jets. Perhaps we could follow their quest to play a decent game before worrying about their quest for the #1 seed....

yeah, and so weren't the Patirots.....

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Embarrassing thread. Delusional even at this point.

Talking about how they make the Playoffs is, however, very realistic; let's just be sure they get the 10 wins they will need to win the Division.

Then, let's hope they pull it together and are playing their best football in December and January so they can take a page out of the Giants' Playbook and win it all from the 4--6 seed.

 

[dizi24]

I hate to sound like a grumpy BB in a press conference, but I just want to win against St. Louis right now.

 

[stcjones]

I'm pretty sure we won't be favored in that Texans matchup unless we win huge every game until then.

Agree completely

 

[IllegalContact]

the pats just gave up over 300 yards to sanchez.

playoff seeding just sounds like a joke right now

 

[PatsFanSince74]

...But Baltimore sucks, and we can get the #2 seed.

Huh? They played a bad game yesterday, but they don't "suck" by any definition of that word.

Let's not turn this into a Jets Forum where people make uniformed statements about other teams on a regular basis.

And, a number two seed would require 12 wins and luck. I don't see the team that coughed up another double digit lead in the fourth quarter and made the Sanchize actually look like an NFL QB for most of the game yesterday doing that...at this point.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Considering the Pats have been unable to string together more than a 2 game winning streak, I think a 9 game streak is very ambitious on your part.

It's not like the last time the Pats won 9 in a row was, you know, 20 years ago or anything. . . .

 

[goheels22002]

It's pretty clear that the team, as currently playing, is not worthy of competing for one of the top 2 seeds. That's not doom and gloom. That's the reality of the Patriots not being a good football team right now. They're catching a break, because the Ravens and Steelers are racked by injuries, the Colts are in full rebuild mode, and the AFC is down overall, but that doesn't mean that they are anything approaching worthy right now.

It's the "5" gloating for being better looking than the "2s and 3s". In the meantime, the other conference has a bunch of "8s" and a "9" or two.

Every team with a winning record in the AFC - all three of them - can have designs on getting a first-round bye this year. That would be Houston, Baltimore and New England.

With the parity and injuries in the AFC right now, that bye could be a huge advantage.

The tiebreaker with the Ravens for the bye may become a late season fixation around here. Baltimore has devastating injuries to its defense and a rugged schedule to contend with, so I see them dropping to 9-7 or 10-6 by season's end. The Patriots look like a 10-6/11-5 team to me right now.

The NFC has eight teams with winning records.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

If Bill doesn't fix the secondary this team will never make it to the Super Bowl! I've been waiting two years for Bill to fix it...

Yeah, I hear ya. No way possible we could have even sniffed the Super Bowl last year with all of these ongoing issues.

Oh wait...

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Every team with a winning record in the AFC - all three of them - can have designs on getting a first-round bye this year. That would be Houston, Baltimore and New England.

With the parity and injuries in the AFC right now, that bye could be a huge advantage.

The tiebreaker with the Ravens for the bye may become a late season fixation around here. Baltimore has devastating injuries to its defense and a rugged schedule to contend with, so I see them dropping to 9-7 or 10-6 by season's end. The Patriots look like a 10-6/11-5 team to me right now.

The NFC has eight teams with winning records.

Dream on. Let's just focus on winning the Division and figuring out how not to blow double digit leads in the fourth quarter and make even the Sanchize look like an NFL QB for most of four quarters.

The Pats already would lose a tie breaker to Baltimore, even with it's "rugged schedule" and Houston would have to end the season 5--4 against Buffalo, Chicago, Jacksonville, Detroit, Tennessee, Indianapolis (x2), Minnesota and the Patriots to go 11--5 or 4--5 to go 10--6. You're also leaving both Denver and San Diego out of the mix; each is 3--3 coming off their Bye with pretty good QB's and reasonable schedules.

 

[Disco Volante]

Embarrassing thread. Delusional even at this point.

In your three posts in this thread, you still have yet to post a logical argument as to why one would have to be "delusional" to think the Patriots could surpass the Ravens.

As posted before, since you clearly need a reminder about the reality of the situation.

Head-to-Head (@ Baltimore)
Ravens: 31
Patriots: 30

Record
Ravens: 5-2 (Net Points: 13) (SOV: .364) (SOS: .457)
Patriots: 4-3 (Net Points: 51) (SOV: .444) (SOS: .521)

Offense

PPG
Patriots: 1st (31.3)
Ravens: 11th (26.8)

YPG
Patriots: 1st (436.1)
Ravens: 17th (355.1)

Defense

YPG
Patriots: 23rd (376.0)
Ravens: 26th (400.0)

PPG
Ravens: 16th-T (23.0)
Patriots: 17th (23.3)

Explain how it is "delusional and embarrassing" to believe the Patriots can surpass the Ravens for a first-round bye.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

In your three posts in this thread, you still have yet to post a logical argument as to why one would have to be "delusional" to think the Patriots could surpass the Ravens.

As posted before, since you clearly need a reminder about the reality of the situation.



Explain how it is "delusional and embarrassing" to believe the Patriots can surpass the Ravens for a first-round bye.

I already answered that, but I'll repeat it here.

Let's first look at what Baltimore would have to do to be a game behind the Pats in W/L at the end of the year.

To go 10--6, they would have to finish 5--4 against their remaining schedule. Even if that happens, under that scenario, the Pats would have to go 7--2 to end up at 11--5 (unless you're thinking they could go 8--1 for a 12--4 finish). I just don't see the latter as realistic given the Pats performance to date. Baltimore has a tough schedule: Cleveland, Oakland, Pittsburgh (*2), San Diego, Washington, Denver, NYG, Cincinnati, but to base an argument on their going 5--4 and the Pats going 7--2 over the rest of the season is dubious at best. The Pats have four divisional games left, which are always a crap shoot. They also play San Francisco and Houston. 6--3 looks a lot more reasonable to me; given their performance to date, I'd bet on 5--4 before I'd bet on 7--2.

If you're thinking that Baltimore could end up 9--7 with a 4--5 finish, then you have to bring both Denver and San Diego, both of whom they play, into the mix of teams who could bump a 10--6 Pats team out of the Bye. Way, way too many moving pieces.

As for the stats you cite, I'll just defer to Belichick that this is a case where "stats are for losers."

So, I do think it is "delusional" and shows an "embarrassing" lack of appreciation of how the Pats have actually been playing to focus on that rather than on being sure we are 10--6 or 9--7 and win the division. I stand by my statement.

 

[goheels22002]

Dream on. Let's just focus on winning the Division and figuring out how not to blow double digit leads in the fourth quarter and make even the Sanchize look like an NFL QB for most of four quarters.

The Pats already would lose a tie breaker to Baltimore, even with it's "rugged schedule" and Houston would have to end the season 5--4 against Buffalo, Chicago, Jacksonville, Detroit, Tennessee, Indianapolis (x2), Minnesota and the Patriots to go 11--5 or 4--5 to go 10--6. You're also leaving both Denver and San Diego out of the mix; each is 3--3 coming off their Bye with pretty good QB's and reasonable schedules.

The point is that there are only three teams with winning records after seven weeks in the season - that just amazes me. A bye is in reach for the Patriots.

Denver and San Diego? The Pats handled Denver without too much stress and San Diego is coached by Norv Turner always finds a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Houston's schedule is not all that easy - Chicago, New England, and Minnesota all have the goods to knock them off after what we saw Green Bay do to them.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The point is that there are only three teams with winning records after seven weeks in the season - that just amazes me. A bye is in reach for the Patriots.

Denver and San Diego? The Pats handled Denver without too much stress and San Diego is coached by Norv Turner always finds a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Houston's schedule is not all that easy - Chicago, New England, and Minnesota all have the goods to knock them off after what we saw Green Bay do to them.

You're nothing if not persistent. We'll just have to disagree and see if you're right. I'll bookmark this thread and eat crow if the cards fall out so that the Pats get the Bye (see my longer reply to Disco). I assume you'll do the same when they don't.

As for Denver and San Diego. Denver is getting better as Peyton gets his legs under him so I'm not counting them out of anything; lightening has to strike in San Diego one of these years...just as well could be this year.

I think we do agree that they have to beat St. Louis on Sunday though!!!

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Picking up two games on the Ravens is of course not a given, but it seems not at all unlikely.

Before their injuries, Baltimore was very fortunate to beat the Cleveland Browns in their Thursday night game. Their one convincing win was the opener vs. the Bengals. I honestly think that they may be in for a collapse much like the Bears suffered last year after Cutler went down.

 

[PatriotReign]

Picking up two games on the Ravens is of course not a given, but it seems not at all unlikely.

Before their injuries, Baltimore was very fortunate to beat the Cleveland Browns in their Thursday night game. Their one convincing win was the opener vs. the Bengals. I honestly think that they may be in for a collapse much like the Bears suffered last year after Cutler went down.

I agree with this, Flako is a choke artist who gets bailed out by his defense, Ray Rice, Torrey Smith, and by officials. They could very well collapse.

However unless the secondary suddenly has an epiphany and starts playing competently then I'm not optimistic.

There is no excuse why this defense is still so horrible. It's been in a rebuild since 2008 and has yet to provide results. Even worse other teams have rebuilt their D on the fly and are getting great results while were still in the basement.