Next year's schedule is brutal - has BB even looked at it?

[emoney_33]

This thread is just filled with objectivity, it's so awesome!

Actually I think I have the wrong "-ity"

 

[Rob0729]

So you're claiming you have a clear view of how the NFL teams are going to do for 2010 on March 11th?

Nah, he is just trying to start with me. That is why I ignore him.

He knows I am right and that when we look back on the 2010 season in December that teams we thought were going to be good won't be and teams that we thought were going to be bad will end up being good. No one knows for sure which teams those will be. It could be a lot of the teams the Pats face.

 

[jmt57]

so why talk about anything? just go home and come back in september

I don't, what should people talk about? how great the pats offseason moves have been?

I think you may be so focused on how poor the Pats defense is, specifically the pass rush, you missed what was being discussed. Predicting a team - any team - to have an 'easy' or 'brutal' schedule in early March is ridiculous.

I agree that there is a huge need at OLB, as well as at WR. Look back at the post you responded to though. He didn't say the Pats are all set and don't have areas of concern; he was saying it's impossible to say if the schedule will be easy or hard, and you responded by saying 'head in the sand'. To me that answer implies that you already know the schedule will be extremely difficult and anyone that doesn't see that is foolish.

 

[emoney_33]

So you don't think Troy Polamalu will be returning for 2010, then?

but but but he'll be a year older

 

[Rob0729]

I think you may be so focused on how poor the Pats defense is, specifically the pass rush, you missed what was being discussed. Predicting a team - any team - to have an 'easy' or 'brutal' schedule in early March is ridiculous.

I agree that there is a huge need at OLB, as well as at WR. Look back at the post you responded to though. He didn't say the Pats are all set and don't have areas of concern; he was saying it's impossible to say if the schedule will be easy or hard, and you responded by saying 'head in the sand'. To me that answer implies that you already know the schedule will be extremely difficult and anyone that doesn't see that is foolish.

I purposely didn't mention the Pats in any way shape or form. This thread is about the Pats' strength of schedule and I purposely only addressed that one issue. I did not say a single thing that could be classified as homerish or for that matter doom and gloom. I stated there are a lot of uncertainty with other teams and that the SOS is not set in stone.

 

[Deus Irae]

I think you may be so focused on how poor the Pats defense is, specifically the pass rush, you missed what was being discussed. Predicting a team - any team - to have an 'easy' or 'brutal' schedule in early March is ridiculous.

Most teams play somewhat near expectations, barring major injury or spectacular offseason additions. Last season was actually a pretty good example of this. There are usually a couple of surprise teams, but they are the outliers, not the general rule.

There's nothing wrong with predicting forward. The key is realizing that things remain in transition, and therefore, in not becoming entrenched in your positions at this early stage.

Of course, that's just my $.02

 

[FarScapeR]

I'm not sure this defense has as many needs as we think it does. Although Green's gone, our D-line is in good shape, assuming Brace shows even some development. There are lots of question marks (Crable, McKenzie, Wheatley), but being a year older might actually be a good thing for this team.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm not sure this defense has as many needs as we think it does. Although Green's gone, our D-line is in good shape, assuming Brace shows even some development. There are lots of question marks (Crable, McKenzie, Wheatley), but being a year older might actually be a good thing for this team.

Brace is a NT. The hole on the line is at DE. Brace is irrelevant in the equation.

 

[A.C Vegas]

Based on what has or has not been done this offseason so far, unless Belichick is making this into a 2-3 year project and conceding next year, I think he needs to look at the 2010 schedule.

Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions

I can see the patriots losing to the Ravens, Colts, Packers, Vikings, Steelers, Chargers and splitting with the Jets and Dolphins. That means an 8-8 season.

I am not trying to troll or be a pain, but reality is realty. Next year's schedule is brutal. With the team the way it is right now, I can't see a great season. and i don't think the draft is going to help for next year either because it will take guys like Brandon Graham to develop. Add to that Welker is basically done for the year and we have a problem.

My gut feeling is BB is trying to restore this team to greatness but realizes it won't happen until 2012 or so. This is why the pats are refusing to throw money at old guys like Peppers and Boldin.

Thoughts?

So are you predict that the Pats are going to go 8-8 or just begging for attention cause someone as also said they are going ot go 8-8 put money on it you willing to go that far.

sure they could go 8-8 but i don't think that is likely the scheduale is softer then last years (not by much but softer none the less) and they went 10-6 and very close to 12-4 at least and they are bringing back most of the same people with more age/experence so it doesn't make sense that the team will revert by 2-4 games with a slight easier schedule

 

[Wolfpack]

I think there is a lot of needless arguing over something where y'all are all half right and half wrong. Yes, sitting here in March, we cannot predict with absolute certainty which teams will be good or bad in the upcoming season. Even if we set aside the randomness of potentital injuries, the Packers or Vikings could tank, the Bills or Browns could step up.

But having said that, I think I can safely predict that the Colts game will be a tougher one than the Lions game. So it's not entirely out of line to say we have a tougher schedule than the Bills, who IIRC get the Jaguars and the Chiefs instead of the Colts and the Chargers.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

The old saying goes...

The only thing for certain is Death and Taxes......This years team might suck or it might be in the top 5 best teams.

No one but Jesus knows at this point

If I had to guess with the current roster and no other FAs added in,the Pats record would be anywhere from 8-8 at worst to 11-5 at best

 

[Rob0729]

Most teams play somewhat near expectations, barring major injury or spectacular offseason additions. Last season was actually a pretty good example of this. There are usually a couple of surprise teams, but they are the outliers, not the general rule.

There's nothing wrong with predicting forward. The key is realizing that things remain in transition, and therefore, in not becoming entrenched in your positions at this early stage.

Of course, that's just my $.02

I don't know if that is neccessarily true. Looking at based on preseason expectations last year, the following teams either significantly over performed or underperformed to their expectations:

Steelers
Dolphins
Falcons
Panthers
Giants
Jets
Bengals
Broncos (eventhough they fell apart in the end many expected them to be a 3-4 win team)
Bears (many thought Cutler would be the Bears' ticket to the playoffs)
Seahawks
Colts (many people expected a drop off)
Eagles (a favorite to be the best team in the NFC)
Patriots (thought to be the most stocked team in the NFL and a Super Bowl favorite)

 

[Rob0729]

Brace is a NT. The hole on the line is at DE. Brace is irrelevant in the equation.

Not neccessarily. Brace did play a lot of DE in the preseason and a little bit in the regular season. There was a lot of talk before the season started last year that Brace might move to DE permanently.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

well.....I believe the 2010 schedule will be much tougher than the 2009 schedule......I really don't think its a stretch to say so

maybe the pats will get lucky and everyone else will stink

 

[Sicilian]

I don't have a problem with people trying to predict what will happen based on the schedule. That's part of the fun of being a sports fan is looking at factors before the game, and trying to predict how they will play out during said game.

My aversion to this thread is in the attitude. It's not a "this looks like a tough schedule, I don't think we're equipped to handle it" thread. It's a "is BB stupid or something? Look at this!" You can't expect to get a reasonable discussion when you start a thread with that kind of bias.

At work, an employee came into my office with a very legitimate concern regarding his work schedule. His position was entirely correct, and I sympathized with that, but he came into the office starting with the line, "I feel like I'm getting d**ked!" At that point, I was less inclined to feel sorry for him. Still was able to take care of the issue, because I try to look past those things, but I still don't look at him the same way.

 

[mmasterkillah]

Brace doesn't have the burst to play DE on a regular basis, even in the 2 gap 3-4 scheme we run. He really needs to just focus on one position, which is obviously NT for him. I think he can be a great backup NT who maybe occasional moves to E on obvious running downs, but he isn't ready yet.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

Not neccessarily. Brace did play a lot of DE in the preseason and a little bit in the regular season. There was a lot of talk before the season started last year that Brace might move to DE permanently.

he would be the slowest DE the pats have ever had. IMO, playing brace at DE is a recipe for disaster

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't know if that is neccessarily true. Looking at based on preseason expectations last year, the following teams either significantly over performed or underperformed to their expectations:

Steelers
Dolphins
Falcons
Panthers
Giants
Jets
Bengals
Broncos (eventhough they fell apart in the end many expected them to be a 3-4 win team)
Bears (many thought Cutler would be the Bears' ticket to the playoffs)
Seahawks
Colts (many people expected a drop off)
Eagles (a favorite to be the best team in the NFC)
Patriots (thought to be the most stocked team in the NFL and a Super Bowl favorite)

Steelers: Loss of best player for much of the year = "barring major injury"
Dolphins: finished just about where expected
Falcons: Given injuries to Ryan and Turner, finished about where expected
Panthers: Delhomme.
Giants: A disappointment
Jets: Finished about where expected
Bengals: Finished generally better than expected, although improvement had been predicted.
Broncos: Finished about where expected
Bears: Finished about where expected
Seahawks: Disappointment
Colts: Finished about where expected
Eagles: Were 11-5, so I don't see what your point is here. They finished as expected
Patriots: Finished about where expected. Last game was a throwaway, and this board had them around 11-5.

So, one could definitely point to the Giants and Seahawks. To a lesser extent, one can point to the Bengals and Carolina, but the Bengals were expected to be better, and people had a big question mark in Carolina because of how poorly Delhomme had finished up the season before.

As I noted, most teams play near expectations.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not neccessarily. Brace did play a lot of DE in the preseason and a little bit in the regular season. There was a lot of talk before the season started last year that Brace might move to DE permanently.

Merlin Olsen is faster than Ron Brace right now. Brace will not be solving this team's DE problem this season.

 

[Grizzafted]

hey remember that one time that we had doug gabriel and reche caldwell and were one drop away from probably winning another super bowl? no? didn't think so.