Are we playing with house money?

Tunescribe said:

I don't buy the "house money" concept for a minute. This seems to suggest the assumption of more shots at a Lombardi down the road. That might never happen (ask a Bills fan).

As far as I'm concerned, the only way to be a fan of this team is going all-in -- ESPECIALLY when an unexpected gift is laid at your feet.

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Yeah, that’s the thing. This might be Drake Maye’s only shot at a Lombardi. I think the dynasty fools people into believing we’ll have chance after chance.

NFL Mystique said:

The regular season record does not matter as much as long as they get a top two seed & injuries are not to key guys.

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No I’m saying the bar of improving vs. declining is about as high as it can be.

Teams at 3-14 can improve more easily than teams at 14-3 because there is more room for improvement.

Ring 6 said:

They MAY regress.
They are in a place where there is more room to regress than improve, because they are14-3, but that doesn’t mean they will.

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If by regress you mean a lesser record, then that is very possible. But we won't regress into a worse team. We very well might improve greatly, even win the SB next year, and have a regular season record of 12-5.

40yrpatsfan said:

If by regress you mean a lesser record, then that is very possible. But we won't regress into a worse team. We very well might improve greatly, even win the SB next year, and have a regular season record of 12-5.

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We may. There will be extensive roster turnover and all 31 teams are competing for the same players.
There is no certainty at all that we will have a better team next year than this year. The additions and subtractions are as likely to be a downgrade as an upgrade.

Would losing be disappointing…absolutely.
Saying this season is a failure with a loss in the AFC Championship or Super Bowl, like Stephen a. Smith claims, is an absolutely f***ing ridiculous statement.

To each his own

The season is a success already. It has exceeded all reasonable expectations. We are completely playing with house money at this point. All this talk about how if we lose on Sunday the whole season is trashed, the team choked, it's a grave disappointment, and so on is just whining on the part of spoiled, pantytwisting ingrates. If they lose, I'll be disappointed, but to weep and wail about a loss late in the post-season is an insult to the team's accomplishments this year, childish ingratitude., the sort of thing that gives Pats fans a bad name, to be honest.

Ring 6 said:

No I’m saying the bar of improving vs. declining is about as high as it can be.

Teams at 3-14 can improve more easily than teams at 14-3 because there is more room for improvement.

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Agreed

Thelonious said:

The season is a success already. It has exceeded all reasonable expectations. We are completely playing with house money at this point. All this talk about how if we lose on Sunday the whole season is trashed, the team choked, it's a grave disappointment, and so on is just whining on the part of spoiled, pantytwisting ingrates. If they lose, I'll be disappointed, but to weep and wail about a loss late in the post-season is an insult to the team's accomplishments this year, childish ingratitude., the sort of thing that gives Pats fans a bad name, to be honest.

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If I told you right now that this would be Maye's only shot at a SB in his career, as in he won't ever get this close again. If I had a crystal ball and I told you that with an absolute fact, would this still be house money? If the answer is no, then house money is the dumbest term ever invented because it assumes you will have the same opportunity again. You can't assume that. I can almost guarantee if we ever do make it here again, it won't be this "easy".

I won't call the season a "failure" if we lose, but I for damn sure won't say it's "fine" because we were playing with house money anyway! Whatever the **** that means.

This defense is for real. It is a championship caliber defense.

And yet it's the offense that's surprised us by being the #2 offense in the league.

And yet they are limited.

This team doesn't have the individual talent of the 2001 team... and yet they play very much together as a team. The NFL has changed a lot in 25 years, and so the criteria that makes for the "best" teams has changed. You don't need to be great to be the best, anymore. The Seahawks and Rams are also flawed.

I don't see this as house money really because the Patriots are -- ACTUALLY -- one of the 2 best teams in the NFL.

This is not a fluke.

We're not going to regress as bad as the 2002 team did. But it also isn't a given that the NFL will remain like this, WITHOUT A GREAT TEAM.

LightSkinSmurf said:

If I told you right now that this would be Maye's only shot at a SB in his career, as in he won't ever get this close again. If I had a crystal ball and I told you that with an absolute fact, would this still be house money? If the answer is no, then house money is the dumbest term ever invented because it assumes you will have the same opportunity again. You can't assume that. I can almost guarantee if we ever do make it here again, it won't be this "easy".

I won't call the season a "failure" if we lose, but I for damn sure won't say it's "fine" because we were playing with house money anyway! Whatever the **** that means.

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1) Well, as for your ignorance as to the meaning of "playing with house money," ("whatever the **** that means")I would recommend any good dictionary of American idioms. Dictionaries, you will find, are arranged alphabetically. Get back to me if you struggle with that. I would also point out that objecting to use of an expression the meaning of which you acknowledge you do not know is a little obtuse.

2) I did not say it would be "fine" if they lose. The word does not appear in my post, nor any expression remotely like it. I said in fact that I would be "disappointed" if they lose. Perhaps your struggles with the language extend beyond your difficulties with idiomatic expressions. Condolences.

3) At no point did I indicate an "assumption" that Drake would have no further opportunities, and I reject your invocation of an imaginary crystal ball. (If you have one, it is a toy.) He may or he may not have another shot. If he doesn't, I promise to be very, very sad. I hope that puts your mind at ease.

4) I wholly approve of your heroic determination not to say "fine" if we lose. Very admirable on your part.

5) Periods go inside closing quotation marks.

6) Nice Pom Poms, but the pleated miniskirt is a bit much.

Thelonious said:

1) Well, as for your ignorance as to the meaning of "playing with house money," ("whatever the **** that means")I would recommend any good dictionary of American idioms. Dictionaries, you will find, are arranged alphabetically. Get back to me if you struggle with that. I would also point out that objecting to use of an expression the meaning of which you acknowledge you do not know is a little obtuse.

2) I did not say it would be "fine" if they lose. The word does not appear in my post, nor any expression remotely like it. I said in fact that I would be "disappointed" if they lose. Perhaps your struggles with the language extend beyond your difficulties with idiomatic expressions. Condolences.

3) At no point did I indicate an "assumption" that Drake would have no further opportunities, and I reject your invocation of an imaginary crystal ball. (If you have one, it is a toy.) He may or he may not have another shot. If he doesn't, I promise to be very, very sad. I hope that puts your mind at ease.

4) I wholly approve of your heroic determination not to say "fine" if we lose. Very admirable on your part.

5) Periods go inside closing quotation marks.

6) Nice Pom Poms, but the pleated miniskirt is a bit much.

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I never said you indicated anything. I find it hilarious how personal you took my post which is obvious by how almost none of your reply had anything to do with the actual topic. I was asking you a hypothetical so I could better understand your position on what house money means to you. Which I know you know because you acknowledged my hypothetical right after you saying all of your other pointless drivel.

People tend to have slightly different definitions of how they define, "house money" from my experience of seeing people using that term over the years. Which is why I asked.

Tunescribe said:

I don't buy the "house money" concept for a minute. This seems to suggest the assumption of more shots at a Lombardi down the road. That might never happen (ask a Bills fan).

As far as I'm concerned, the only way to be a fan of this team is going all-in -- ESPECIALLY when an unexpected gift is laid at your feet.

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Also ask Dan Marino, he thought he was going back many times.

Nikolai said:

House money? Kinda was the case until the wild card win. Now, we can smell it, taste it, feel it...

No, my friends. It's #7 or bust now.

That said, if this team plays at this level next year, I don't give a federal **** how "hard" the schedule is, they're going to bang out 14+ wins next year too.

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Personally, for me, the goal isn't 14 wins or 12 or even 10. It is winning the division and going on from there.

No.

Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.