Yes or No... Do the Patriots make the Superbowl this season?

[TruthSeeker]

Bandwagon? lol. It's just that my expectations for this team are as high as they've ever been.

Excuse me. I thought the definition of a bandwagon fan was someone who only followed the team when they were winning. Since that's what I heard you say (If my honest answer was "no" I wouldn't even bother following the team.), I thought the term fit. I must have misunderstood.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

No. Not if they continue to break bodies on their nasty turf practice fields

Perhaps they should sit and crochet?

I may be crazy,but I as a fan want my players to practice and stay in shape throughout the year.

Injuries happen...it's a part of the game.

If injuries were not a big issue then we wouldn't need 53 guys + the practice squad

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I disagree with your assessment. I will argue that only 2004 the Pats were a complete team. In 2001, the defense was great and the offense just really wasn't asked to lose. In 2003, the Pats had one of the most underrated defenses in league history and the offense was mediocre.

In all of the Pats' Super Bowls, you can point to one or two plays (or at least no more than a handful) which could have made the difference in the Pats winning and losing. In 2001, 2003, and 2004 the Pats were on the right side of those plays and 2007 and last year they were on the wrong side. Are you going to argue that it was because of the winning teams were complete and the losing teams weren't?

Sorry, but I would say that the 2003 team and the 2007 team were mirror opposites of each other. One had an amazing defense and middle of the pack offense and the other had an amazing offense and a middle of the pack defense.

The 2007 defense was #4.

It seems to be continually overlooked that the last time the defense was on the field for SB XXXVIII.....they got promptly lit up for a TD that tied the game and witnessed the 29th point scored.

The difference between 2003 and 2007 was getting the ball for the final realistic scoring chance.

Based on the June standing, the Patriots are much better than any team in the AFC.

 

[PatsSox363804]

The 2007 defense was #4.

It seems to be continually overlooked that the last time the defense was on the field for SB XXXVIII.....they got promptly lit up for a TD that tied the game and witnessed the 29th point scored.

The difference between 2003 and 2007 was getting the ball for the final realistic scoring chance.

Based on the June standing, the Patriots are much better than any team in the AFC.

Absolutely. That and Ty Law picks off Eli or at the very least doesn't give up on Tyree on the catch like Asante. You're right though, the biggest difference in both of the last 2 games was not having enough time although in 2007 I'd argue that they had time to get into field goal range but instead went for the bomb to Moss, which much like the Welker play, I thought he caught on first glance.

 

[Elijah T.]

Yes.

2012 New England Patriots = 2011 Miami Heat.

Just as

2011 New England Patriots = 2010 Miami Heat.

 

[mgteich]

WOW!

I agree that we are the clear favorite to go to the Super Bowl.

OFFENSE - better than last year, by more that people think?
We were the 2nd or 3rd best offense last year.

DEFENSE - better than any since 2004?

You do realize that we had a team since 2004 that was 4th in defnese (both in points allowed and in yards allowed? You think that we will have better than the #4 defense in the league?

BOTTOM LINE
If, as you say, our offense is much better than last year, and our defense is better than 4th best in the league, then we should be strong favorites to win the division, and favorites to be Super Bowl favorites. If this be true, we will be comparing the team to 2004 and 2007.

Well clearly injuries play a big role in the NFL.

With that said YES they wiull go back to the SB.

The Offense will be better than last year, by more than people think.

The D will be the best since 2004 in NE.

 

[Rob0729]

The 2007 defense was #4.

It seems to be continually overlooked that the last time the defense was on the field for SB XXXVIII.....they got promptly lit up for a TD that tied the game and witnessed the 29th point scored.

The difference between 2003 and 2007 was getting the ball for the final realistic scoring chance.

Based on the June standing, the Patriots are much better than any team in the AFC.

And the Jets' defense was 5th this past season and they clearly weren't the fifth best defense. I don't think the Pats' defense was nearly as good as their stats made them to be. The Pats were consistently up by 2-3 TDs by HALFTIME in a lot of games that year. It made opposing offenses become incredibly one dimensional. Also, the pressure on the opposing offenses to score on every drive lead to a lot of decision making and just a lot of mental errors in general. When the Pats' offense slowed down at the end of the season, the defense started to give up a lot more yards and points.

 

[PlainOldEd]

I'm pretty sure you can't make the Super Bowl before training camp starts.

The Jets do it every year.

 

[Guimond3434]

This is a very interesting question to me, as it forces me to try to separate my biased feelings towards the Patriots.

Let me start off by saying that if you take the current Patriots team and put them in last years Superbowl, we would of won. I truly believe that.

Looking at this team now, and looking at the rest of the AFC....has any team really gotten any better? One can make a case for Denver (adding Manning), Pitts and Balt will always be hanging around and tough, Houston should be good again (but even they lost signifigant pieces). Then I look at the Patriots....and they have drastically improved their already-contending team by leaps and bounds. Not trying to sound like a homer here, but it's really hard to imagine anyone in the AFC truly competing with them, outside of Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Can they make it back to the Superbowl? I definitely believe they can. They didn't lose a single signifigant player this off season that isn't being replaced by a younger, better stud.

Light > Solder
Anderson > Jones
Guyton > Hightower
Ihedigbo > Gregory
Molden > Dennard
Ocho > Lloyd
Solder > Fells (TE-wise)

Unless I'm missing someone, every single player we lost this offseason was replaced by a younger, faster, or better overall player. This team picked off all it's scabs and didn't regress at any position. Not to mention you'll be getting a healthy Spikes, Chung, Carter (i'm assuming), and Dowling.

I see no reason why this team can't make the Superbowl next year. They made it last year and almost won it, and with a team that is arguably better? They definitely have the chance.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

And the Jets' defense was 5th this past season and they clearly weren't the fifth best defense. I don't think the Pats' defense was nearly as good as their stats made them to be. The Pats were consistently up by 2-3 TDs by HALFTIME in a lot of games that year. It made opposing offenses become incredibly one dimensional. Also, the pressure on the opposing offenses to score on every drive lead to a lot of decision making and just a lot of mental errors in general. When the Pats' offense slowed down at the end of the season, the defense started to give up a lot more yards and points.

They gave up 17 points in SB XLII.........29 points in SB XXXVIII.

A TD was given up the last time the defense was on the field.

Ofcourse, if you sat around a VFW twenty years ago, one would get the impression the WWII years were the greatest ever.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Absolutely. That and Ty Law picks off Eli or at the very least doesn't give up on Tyree on the catch like Asante. You're right though, the biggest difference in both of the last 2 games was not having enough time although in 2007 I'd argue that they had time to get into field goal range but instead went for the bomb to Moss, which much like the Welker play, I thought he caught on first glance.

Ofcourse, if the offense in SB XLII was close to the offense in SB XXXVIII we would be looking at one of the more memorable blowouts in Super Bowl history.

 

[LivinLovin&Breathin_Brady]

Not only will they make it, but they will win it.

Patriots and Cowboys.

 

[Reckedtrek]

break bodies? nasty turf?


GTFO troll

Fred must sell Scott's or Pennington grass seed out in Dartmouth. He's obsessed with the artificial surface and has been since they put it in.

 

[NewFeep]

I have no idea if they will make it to the Big Dance 2 years in a row. History says they won't but I fully expect them to have an outstanding chance by winning the division again and having a good regular season record to propel them there.......

 

[chicowalker]

Barring major injury, they will win the SB this season. And next.

 

[lurker1965]

Long season. Other teams may have improved so much more, key injuries can happen at the worst possible times, etc. That said, yes. Of course asking that on a Patriots board is going to affect the sample a tad.

 

[lurker1965]

...
My way-too-early prediction: 13-3, #1 seed in the AFC, top 5 offense of all-time, top 15 in the NFL defense, make the Super Bowl, and, as usual, that game will come down to the last minute, no matter who the opponent is.

Would everyone here sign on for that right now?

No. Seen that movie before - hated the ending.
Thanks and FU for the offer.

 

[Joker]

Yes or No... Do the Patriots make the Superbowl this season?

No..the Patriots make the Super Bowl...

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

yes......I'll even say yes, if there is a major injury. I'm very confident in the depth this year. Last year, not so much, and they made it to the SB anyway.

Im more confident about this roster, than the roster in 08.....

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I hope yes, I think no.

(But my thinking is clouded by my hope enough that I could happily spend an afternoon explaining how our unproven new additions are first-round hall-of-famers, and how our shiny new toy in the receiving game will perform even better for the Pats than elsewhere, etc.)

Deep down in my heart I fully believe that it's an unconscionable injustice if they don't win the AFC (and of course the Super Bowl after that,) and if you measure by an 11-year window, we have more reason to believe that than any other fans in the NFL. If you measure by a 4-year window, we should expect them to go and to lose, provided they got "more better" than the Steelers and Ravens of the world, and provided the Donks had further to go than what they get through the addition of Seyton, etc.

Truth? We don't know **** yet. But hell, we have to post about something, and this is a natural.

Wake me up when September begins.