Pats vs Dolphins, a MUST WIN?

[Jimke]

Re: Pats vs Dolphins, a MUST WIN ?

Bingo. A loss puts Miami 3 games down and no shot at a H2H tie breaker.

I am still trying to figure out how Miami is going to keep Brady from throwing 4 TDs. That secondary is a mess.

If Taylor and Porter can put Tom Brady on his ass most of the

game, he won't have 4 TDs. The line has to block for the Patriots

to win.

 

[Xplicit]

Coming off a bye week, I very confident we will take this one and it may not be as close as some think.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Winning nearly eliminates the Dolphins from AFC East contention with a 5th loss and 11-5 at best if they would somehow win out would be their only slight chance..which they won't.

Winning also gives the team 1 win out of the expected 3-2 mark in the next 5 games and since NE rarily loses 2 in a row it bodes well for an even better record in 4 weeks.

Miami losing and thier first loss in the division would drop them to 3-1 if they go to 4-0 they will probably hang onto all sorts of tiebreaker edge later on.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

A very important game considering our upcoming schedule, but in the event we lose we would have a chance to make up for it @ Miami. THAT game would be a must-win.

 

[Frezo]

IMO during a 16 game season all of the games are a must win. Of the 5 loses last year which one of those games was a must win?

 

[Synovia]

IMO during a 16 game season all of the games are a must win. Of the 5 loses last year which one of those games was a must win?

Thursday, Nov 13th. Jets at Patriots. Loss 34-31 in OT.

 

[jmt57]

IMO during a 16 game season all of the games are a must win.

If every regular season game is a must-win game, then how do you account for all the championships won by all the teams over the years that did not have a perfect record?

 

[Frezo]

If every regular season game is a must-win game, then how do you account for all the championships won by all the teams over the years that did not have a perfect record?

I guess we're defining must win differently. Every game I watch is as important as the one before. The season goes by too fast for me to not view every game as a must win. If you ask BB or any player which game is a must win and I'm confident they'll say, "The next one."

 

[jmt57]

I guess we're defining must win differently. Every game I watch is as important as the one before. The season goes by too fast for me to not view every game as a must win. If you ask BB or any player which game is a must win and I'm confident they'll say, "The next one."

I'm with you 100% on that. At the end of the regular season a loss in September counts exactly the same as a loss in December in the standings.

I guess I'm responding to those fans and media members who haven't yet used the term, but now suddenly are. To me "must win" is short for "must win or the season is over", or something to that effect. So unless a loss eliminates a team from the playoffs, or creates a situation where making the playoffs could only happen with a highly improbable chain of events, then it doesn't merit the term "must win".

Now if somebody wants to say something like "must win in order to maintain control of the division" or "must win against the Colts for a realistic chance of finishing with home field advantage for the playoffs", or something like that, then that's fine because the meaning of 'must-win' is very clear in those cases. But the idea of someone thinking, for example, that a team must win a game in week 9 or else it is proof they cannot possibly win a championship is absurd.

 

[spacecrime]

Re: Pats vs Dolphins, a MUST WIN ?

Not sure if it is a must win, but it is a very important win......

People around here define "must win" as "gee, it would nice if the Patriots win this game, but we can still go 13-3 and get home field advantage throughout the playoffs even if we lose this game."

Use that definition, not the old-fashioned version of "must win" as "you must win this or have no chance at achieving your purpose," where purpose could be winning the division, making the playoffs, or whatever. That way "must win" will make more sense in this thread.

 

[Frezo]

I'm with you 100% on that. At the end of the regular season a loss in September counts exactly the same as a loss in December in the standings.

I guess I'm responding to those fans and media members who haven't yet used the term, but now suddenly are. To me "must win" is short for "must win or the season is over", or something to that effect. So unless a loss eliminates a team from the playoffs, or creates a situation where making the playoffs could only happen with a highly improbable chain of events, then it doesn't merit the term "must win".

Now if somebody wants to say something like "must win in order to maintain control of the division" or "must win against the Colts for a realistic chance of finishing with home field advantage for the playoffs", or something like that, then that's fine because the meaning of 'must-win' is very clear in those cases. But the idea of someone thinking, for example, that a team must win a game in week 9 or else it is proof they cannot possibly win a championship is absurd.

The meaning is certainly different among people. Last year's 2nd Jets game may not have been perceived as a must win if one of the losses before it had been a victory. OTOH the animosity some hold for the Jets could make all Jets games must wins. I gave up. Every game is a must win.

On another note this season is flying by. I can't believe it's November. September is a blur. The NFLN starts it's Thursday night games on the 12th so we'll get a little more football out of each week. I'd still love to find a way to slow things down a bit.

 

[NSpatsfan]

On another note this season is flying by. I can't believe it's November. September is a blur. The NFLN starts it's Thursday night games on the 12th so we'll get a little more football out of each week. I'd still love to find a way to slow things down a bit.

So true I was thinking the same to myself today, with the sports world consisting of the NBA and NHL after football is over its to bad there wasn't some way to extend the NFL season well into Feburary, perhaps with an additional game or second bye week, maybe both. Not to rehash the old argument about the preseason but when you think about the amount of football available in Aug/Sept, it would be nice to take some of that and stretch it out another month or so...

 

[dipset617x540]

maybe it depends .i think we really have good shots at beating the saints .we match up really good against them .and for colts all we have to do is stop there passing

 

[fair catch fryar]

Mathematically, it's not a 'must win', but I would dare say that any of the players in the Patriots locker room would consider it a 'must win' in terms of post-season implications.

 

[TruthSeeker]

With back to back to back games against the Saints, Jets & Colts, is Sunday's game against the Dolphins a must win ? If the Pats win, they go up 2 games on the Jets and 3 up on the Dolphins. That gives us some room since we can possibly lose 2 out of the three games against the Saints, Jets & Colts. So I feel this is a MUST win for the Pats, what do you ladies and gents think ?

Of course not.

For those who say that it is, I fully expect you to be engaging pretty much exclusively in threads about our chances in 2010. Yeah, right.

 

[mgteich]

The quick (and IMHO right answer) is that no game is a must win when you are 5-2.

I do think that this is a must win for the dolphins who are 3-0 in the division and are in the mix to fight for the division with a win.

With back to back to back games against the Saints, Jets & Colts, is Sunday's game against the Dolphins a must win ? If the Pats win, they go up 2 games on the Jets and 3 up on the Dolphins. That gives us some room since we can possibly lose 2 out of the three games against the Saints, Jets & Colts. So I feel this is a MUST win for the Pats, what do you ladies and gents think ?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

maybe it depends .i think we really have good shots at beating the saints .we match up really good against them .and for colts all we have to do is stop there passing

Is that all we have to do is stop thier passing game which both teams rank high up?

Why didn't other teams think of this before? ...duh

 

[pherein]

maybe it depends .i think we really have good shots at beating the saints .we match up really good against them .and for colts all we have to do is stop there passing

Personally I dont think you guys have to care about the Saints game, will not mean much to you. Our offense is better than the colts, more weapons, more depth, and very consistent, even with 4 turnovers. Plus Our coaches are pretty good. Colts are the payton Manning show right now, they have a bad run game and Payton is running hot and cold. The 49ers are not a bad team, but if the Falcons destroyed them , I kind of expect Payton to make 1 TD on them.
I think you can shut them down. I don't think your going to shut down the Saints, is going to be 4 quarters of you knowing we can put up 22 pts any quarter if you let your guard down.

Miami is a must win thou, and believe me we know they will come out swinging the 1st quarter, very hard. But thier defense has had allot of problems in the 2nd half.

 

[RyanP421]

Personally I dont think you guys have to care about the Saints game, will not mean much to you. Our offense is better than the colts, more weapons, more depth, and very consistent, even with 4 turnovers. Plus Our coaches are pretty good. Colts are the payton Manning show right now, they have a bad run game and Payton is running hot and cold. The 49ers are not a bad team, but if the Falcons destroyed them , I kind of expect Payton to make 1 TD on them.
I think you can shut them down. I don't think your going to shut down the Saints, is going to be 4 quarters of you knowing we can put up 22 pts any quarter if you let your guard down.

Miami is a must win thou, and believe me we know they will come out swinging the 1st quarter, very hard. But thier defense has had allot of problems in the 2nd half.

Colts offense is better than the Saints....

The Falcons had that game won if not for Elam screwing them over and a stupid red zone pick by Ryan...They actually did a good job against the Saints D, and their defense sucks.

PEyton played a good game agaisnt SF...just cause he didnt get a td pass doesnt mean he didnt play well.....

The Saints offense is NOT consistent...What happened against Buffalo and the Jets? Plus, Brees turns the ball over basically once at least per game...

And on this note, one thing bothering me with ESPN, is they keep saying they are on pace to beat the Patriots 2007 record for points scored on offense. The thing they are forgetting to count against NO, is that they have like 6 defensive TDs that account for a good bit of points that people are counting toward their offense for some reason.


Also, will you explain to me how PEyton is running hot and cold?

 

[RyanP421]

Peyton's lowest QB rating on the season is 86, highest being 133.9

Brees lowest is 58.9, and highest is 137. Also he has had 2 games with ratings lower than 75 and ZERO TDs. Yes Peyton had a game with no TD passes, but he had a great game otherwise passing. Brees didn't.

Brees and the Saints are the offense running inconsistently or hot and cold here.

The Colts offense is better and more consistent.

I'm confident we can beat the Saints. Just play action their over aggressive secondary to death...

EDIT: And don't give me the "The Saints score more points though" line. They have a good bit of points scored on defensive TDs....