AFC East Fit To Be Tied

[PatsFans.com Article]

The best way to the playoffs for the Patriots picked up a little steam on Sunday.

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[SVN]

is this accurate ?

The Jets still lead the division based on a better division record (3-1) than the Patriots and the Dolphins (3-2). The Patriots lead the Dolphins because of a better record in common games. That said, if the Patriots can win their last three games (at Oakland, Arizona, at Buffalo) and the Jets manage one more loss, preferably against Buffalo but more likely against Miami, the Patriots could sneak in as division champs and secure perhaps the three seed. If Denver wins the AFC East, the Patriots would win a tiebreaker with the Broncos (Denver is currently also 8-5).

i think we are behind miami.

 

[Rob0729]

is this accurate ?


i think we are behind miami.

I think the Pats and Dolphins are tied in that tiebreaker. The Pats lost both their strength of schedule games (Colts and Steelers) and so did the Dolphins (Ravens and Texans). Those are the only games unique to each team. Take away their head to head match ups and both have 2 losses against common opponents.

 

[VJCPatriot]

"Louis Sanders"? Don't you mean James Sanders?

Also I'd say BB isn't a shoo in for COTY unless the Pats make the playoffs.

Lastly, I'm not sure on this but didn't Vrabel injure his own man or was it for sure Richardson?

 

[PatsSox363804]

The Jets are 0-3 on the west coast and hopefully that doesnt change in Seattle. Seattle beats them and then they beat Miami, or Miami loses to SF which is possible IMO, and we control it from there.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

If Denver wins the AFC East

This isnt accurate, brings into question the whole article.

 

[SVN]

The Jets are 0-3 on the west coast and hopefully that doesnt change in Seattle. Seattle beats them and then they beat Miami, or Miami loses to SF which is possible IMO, and we control it from there.

Sf lost frank gore today so its going to be even harder next week to beat miami in miami

 

[ALP]

This isnt accurate, brings into question the whole article.

mistakes happen.....



but then he goes on for the next two senteces about denver, even calling them broncos....and that was too much

 

[alamo]

mistakes happen.....
but then he goes on for the next two senteces about denver, even calling them broncos....and that was too much

Last I checked, calling the team from Denver the "Broncos" was accurate. Only one word was wrong, he typed "AFC East" when he meant "AFC West", when he was talking about how the Pats had the tiebreaker against Denver and thus the Pats would be seeded 3rd if they win the AFC East.

 

[alamo]

is this accurate ?
i think we are behind miami.

I think the Pats and Dolphins are tied in that tiebreaker. The Pats lost both their strength of schedule games (Colts and Steelers) and so did the Dolphins (Ravens and Texans). Those are the only games unique to each team. Take away their head to head match ups and both have 2 losses against common opponents.

What is a "strength of schedule game"? Why don't you just call them what they are, games against non-common opponents? Much clearer.

Anyway... the most accurate and meaningful calculations show the Patriots are in third place right now. That's because the Jets are in first due to a better division record, and both Miami and the Patriots are 5-2 against common opponents so the better conference record of the Dolphins takes precedence.

The only way you can say the Patriots are currently ahead of the Dolphins is to exclude the second Pats-Jets game (an L) and the second Dolphins-Bills game (a W) from the common games calculations, on the basis that they are not common since the other team has yet to play their own second game against those opponents. Maybe that's what Bob George figures, or maybe he just made a mistake. Calculating common opponents in that way is wrong, as far as I am concerned, but some might claim it's OK if they really want think we're in 2nd place.

In the end, if the Dolphins win out, then the Dolphins win the division, even if if the Pats also win out.

 

[pats1]

The Patriots are behind the Dolphins, I am 99% sure of.

The first three-way tiebreaker is division record, where the Jets are 3-1 and both the Pats and Dolphins are 3-2. That eliminates the Jets from the tiebreaker, making it a 2-way tiebreaker for 2nd place. The tiebreaker then goes to the 1st 2-way tiebreaker. That is head-to-head, where the Pats and Dolphins are tied. The second tiebreaker is division, where the Pats and Dolphins are also tied. The third tiebreaker is common opponents. The Pats are 5-2 (NYJ W, NYJ L, SD L, DEN W, STL W, BUF W, SEA W) and the Dolphins are 6-1 (NYJ L, SD W, DEN W, STL W, BUF W, BUF W, SEA W).

 

[Rob0729]

What is a "strength of schedule game"? Why don't you just call them what they are, games against non-common opponents? Much clearer.

You are right that it isn't strength of schedule games. They are games based on your last year's record games. My mistake. Every team has two of them.

 

[Rob0729]

The Patriots are behind the Dolphins, I am 99% sure of.

The first three-way tiebreaker is division record, where the Jets are 3-1 and both the Pats and Dolphins are 3-2. That eliminates the Jets from the tiebreaker, making it a 2-way tiebreaker for 2nd place. The tiebreaker then goes to the 1st 2-way tiebreaker. That is head-to-head, where the Pats and Dolphins are tied. The second tiebreaker is division, where the Pats and Dolphins are also tied. The third tiebreaker is common opponents. The Pats are 5-2 (NYJ W, NYJ L, SD L, DEN W, STL W, BUF W, SEA W) and the Dolphins are 6-1 (NYJ L, SD W, DEN W, STL W, BUF W, BUF W, SEA W).

If both the Dolphins and Pats win out, they will be tied for both the division record and common opponents. Although Miami would win the next tiebreaker of conference record. The Pats just haven't played Arizona yet who the Dolphins lost to.