With a quarter to go, your Patriots playoff predictions?

[blackglass3]

The season is officially OVER.

Funny, I didn't know they stopped the season at week 13. I must have missed the memo.

My fantasy league is in for a very boring playoff round, I guess.

 

[billdog3484]

cant see them making the playoffs. 10-6 is likely, and they have a cruddy conference record, so a lot has to happen, which i dont think is going to

 

[abejarano12]

I think that we can make into the playoff but we will need a lot of help. However the team needs to make sure that it takes care of business and win it's last four games.

 

[Rob0729]

@ Seattle - W
@ Oakland - W
Arizona - L
@ Buffalo - W

10-6, sitting at home

Obviously I want them to go 4-0 and have the Jests screw up amazingly then sneak into the playoffs, but losing those games against the Colts and Jests... ugh.

Still don't see Arizona as a loss. The Cards don't play defense on the East Coast. They are already 0-3 on the East Coast giving up 42.7 PPG in those games. They won't be playing for anything because they will have locked up the 4th seed in the playoffs with no hopes of moving up. Don't be surprised if they sit Warner and other players and rest them for the playoffs. The Pats will be in must win mode and Arizona will be in just stay healthy for the playoffs mode.

Personally, I am more afraid of Oakland than I am of Arizona.

 

[Pats726]

Still don't see Arizona as a loss. The Cards don't play defense on the East Coast. They are already 0-3 on the East Coast giving up 42.7 PPG in those games. They won't be playing for anything because they will have locked up the 4th seed in the playoffs with no hopes of moving up. Don't be surprised if they sit Warner and other players and rest them for the playoffs. The Pats will be in must win mode and Arizona will be in just stay healthy for the playoffs mode.

Personally, I am more afraid of Oakland than I am of Arizona.

I agree,,,funny how so many commentators see NE in...THAT is a surprise...Deion...and some ESPN guys after the game tonight...Just to have teh Pats to kick around some??

 

[shirtsleeve]

The team should reach 10-6 or possibly (I'm not convinced) 11-5. I chose miss the playoffs with a winning record. Still, though, there is a chance for NE to run the table and for the Jests to drop one to either Miami or Buffalo, as slim as that chance may be. So the division title is not out of the question. Still, I do not expect a deep penetration into the playoffs.

 

[VJCPatriot]

The Jets currently have a better division record than the Pats. So they would have to lose both remaining divisional games for the Pats to come out on top in the case of a tied record. Also I believe that the Jets have the better conference record. Losing to the Jets hurt our chances a lot. What the Pats need to do is win out their remaining games and hope the Jets stumble.

Yeah this is probably just wishful thinking, but **** it! I'll say it anyway.

New England:

@ Seattle - W
@ Oakland - W
Arizona - W
@ Buffalo - W

11-5, 1st in AFC East

New York Jets:

@ San Francisco - W
Buffalo - W
@ Seattle - W
Miami - L

11-5, 2nd in AFC East

Miami:

@ Buffalo - L
San Francisco - W
@ Kansas City - W
New York Jets - W

10-6, 3rd in AFC East

Buffalo:

Miami - W
@ NY Jets - L
@ Denver - L
New England - L

7-9, 4th in AFC East

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Im holding out hope for the afc east title, but the sixth seed is more likley .. All we have to do is win out , and hopefully that is good..

the teams to be concerned about Jets, ravens, Dolphins...


Colts are going to the playoffs..

 

[37Harrison]

10-6 or 11-5 record. Won't matter though because we lose the tiebreaker to the Jests, Clots, and Squeals.

The Clots have been the luckiest team this year, they should be 4-8, 5-7 not 8-4. As much as it pains me to say it, I don't see the Jests losing two more games and I am not confident in the Pats winning out. The Cards offense and our D scares me, it's not a good matchup.

I also don't see the Squeals losing enough games to lose their tiebreak advantage against us. It has been an exciting season and I am psyched to see how they end the year but I just don't think the playoffs are in the cards. I hope I am wrong.

 

[fgssand]

The Jets currently have a better division record than the Pats. So they would have to lose both remaining divisional games for the Pats to come out on top in the case of a tied record. Also I believe that the Jets have the better conference record. Losing to the Jets hurt our chances a lot. What the Pats need to do is win out their remaining games and hope the Jets stumble.

If Pats win out and Jets lose a divison game, patriots will win division.

Division record will be tied and Patriots get the nod via better record VS common opponents - (Oak beating Jets will be the difference maker).

 

[PaulThePat]

The Clots have been the luckiest team this year, they should be 4-8, 5-7 not 8-4.

Yep, after 8 games the Colts were 4-4 and should have been 2-6 at best. They had no right to win against the Vikings and Texans and should probably have lost to the Pats. Since then they've been able to grind wins out by the odd score. In many ways you have to give them credit for showing the grit to win games which looked lost.

 

[Ryan]

I'm optimistic that the Pats can win 3 of the last four. Obviously they SHOULD beat the Seahawks and Raiders, and I think they can win one of the last two against either the Cards or Bills. So that would put them at 10-6. Whether that's enough to get in, I don't know, but I have a feeling they're going to end up just short. I see the Ravens getting the last spot on tie-breakers.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

So far 'missing the playoffs but winning record' is the winner I think they'll make the playoffs somehow,maybe as the 6th seed but I went for Homer Broke and voted division winners:singing:

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Arizona will more than likely clinch their division this week so they will have nothing to play for when they come to Foxboro. Warner may be rested some to avoid injury, that would be a huge break for us.

The other 3 games are teams we are clearly superior to. If we can't win 4 in a row against average-below average teams, it may be a blessing because it means we clearly aren't good enough to beat 4 actual good teams in a row and it improves our draft position. With SD's pick, it would give u 3 picks in the top round and a half. If we franchise and trade Cassel, thats at least 4. The only thing that would really really suck is winning out and still missing the playoffs at 11-5, though that's unlikely.

 

[Garbanza]

Pats will lose one more game (Arizona) and miss the playoff's with a 10-6 record.

The future is bright though and BRADY WILL BE BACK!

 

[thechris]

I'm gonna say 9-7 and home for the playoffs. Super Bowl runner-up curse continues.

 

[Lansdowne]

The Jets currently have a better division record than the Pats. So they would have to lose both remaining divisional games for the Pats to come out on top in the case of a tied record. Also I believe that the Jets have the better conference record. Losing to the Jets hurt our chances a lot. What the Pats need to do is win out their remaining games and hope the Jets stumble.

If Pats win out and Jets lose a divison game, patriots will win division.

Division record will be tied and Patriots get the nod via better record VS common opponents - (Oak beating Jets will be the difference maker).

Yup.

With two teams vying for the division lead, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head (1-1 draw).

The second tiebreaker is division record (in my scenario, a Jets loss to the Dolphins in Week 17 results in a draw with both teams sporting a 4-2 record).

The third tiebreaker is common opponent, and the Patriots would have a 10-2 record versus common opponent and the Jets having an 8-4 record.

 

[DESERTPAT]

Patriots will finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs.

AFC will end up as so...

1. Titans (15-1)
2. Steelers (11-5)
3. Jets (11-5)
4. Broncos (9-7)
5. Colts (10-6)
6. Ravens (10-6)

Pats blew games against seeds #2, #4 and #5 that will end up costing us the season.[/QUOTE

I agreeeee

 

[Rob0729]

Arizona will more than likely clinch their division this week so they will have nothing to play for when they come to Foxboro. Warner may be rested some to avoid injury, that would be a huge break for us.

The other 3 games are teams we are clearly superior to. If we can't win 4 in a row against average-below average teams, it may be a blessing because it means we clearly aren't good enough to beat 4 actual good teams in a row and it improves our draft position. With SD's pick, it would give u 3 picks in the top round and a half. If we franchise and trade Cassel, thats at least 4. The only thing that would really really suck is winning out and still missing the playoffs at 11-5, though that's unlikely.

I agree. I think the Cards game may end up being the easiest game on the schedule. The East Coast version of the Cardinals may be worse than either the Seahawks or Raiders to begin with, but add that they have nothing to play for this could be the biggest margin of victory of the season.

 

[Rob0729]

The thing also going for the Pats over the Jets, the Pats are going to play teams playing for nothing and could either be packing it in or shutting it down while the Jets may face three teams fighting for their playoff lives.

The Jets have San Fran this weekend who have to win or they are out of the AFC West race and probably the playoffs all together (luckily the Cards will be playing at the same time so they won't know if the game is irrelevant or not). Buffalo next week who if they win this week are still holding slim hopes for the playoffs at 7-6 with every game being a must win and any loss eliminating them from the playoffs. The last game of the season is the Dolphins who if they win at least 2 of their next three could be playing for a playoff spot.

The Pats on the other hand have the Seahawks this week who are playing for the highest draft pick they can get, the Raiders who are eliminated from the playoffs, Arizona who will most likely locked up the highest playoff position they can get, and the Bills who will most likely be eliminated from all playoff contention by the final week of the season.

So people need to factor the desperation factor of the opponents of the remaining schedule. The Jets may be facing 3 of 4 desperate teams and the Pats will almost certainly be facing none.