Are Patriots Actually Conference Favorites?

[PatsFans.com Article]

Are Patriots Actually Conference Favorites?
By: Bob George

The AFC is a flawed conference in 2011....

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[jcdavey]

right now i'd say pitt is #1

but the afc is very shaky

 

[Wolfpack]

It's sort of an interesting situation. IMHO, the Patriots actually have the easiest road to the first round bye because they have the easiest schedule down the stretch. Pittsburgh could be playing the best football in the conference right now but funny thing is that even with 6 games to go, they are not in control of their own destiny to win the division.

 

[Guts]

Any time you have a Hof Qb and coach you always got a shot no matter how shaky the D is

 

[Sciz]

Absolutely. The Texans are without Schaub, and the AFCN will beat on each other enough that none of them get the #1 seed. And the Pats should win out based on their schedule, or they don't deserve the #1 seed.

 

[IllegalContact]

Steelers match up well against the pats this year

 

[ausbacker]

Steelers match up well against the pats this year

They're also playing the 49ers at Candlestick.

 

[Texxx]

I wouldn't say so. Not with how inconsistent this defense is and how the offense has looked lately with exception to the last game where they turned it on in the 2nd half. The pats need a better running game going and I can't believe that BB still hasn't gotten Brady a bad ass bruiser after all of these years. I love BJGE and all and he is very serviceable, but they need to a true bruising back that can eat the clock all day and work the play action.

I'd put Pitt still up there for now, but there are still games left to play to change that scope. I worry about the Pats in the post season with that shaky defense of theirs.

 

[Jackson 2]

I wouldn't say so. Not with how inconsistent this defense is and how the offense has looked lately with exception to the last game where they turned it on in the 2nd half. The pats need a better running game going and I can't believe that BB still hasn't gotten Brady a bad ass bruiser after all of these years. I love BJGE and all and he is very serviceable, but they need to a true bruising back that can eat the clock all day and work the play action.

I'd put Pitt still up there for now, but there are still games left to play to change that scope. I worry about the Pats in the post season with that shaky defense of theirs.

Disagree on the running game. When BJGE, Woodhead and Ridley are healthy, we have enough running strength. The idea that every team needs a bruiser running back is antiquainted thinking. This is a passing league. Pass to set up the run, not vice versa. Just my opinion.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I simply don't get the idea that Pittsburgh is the favorite

They almost blew a 14-0 lead sunday to the Bengals and were swept by the Ravens this season.

If anything Baltimore has shown they are better than Pitt head to head,the Ravens have struggled recently but will be right up there in seeding for the playoffs.

Houston has the best overall team but if Leinart tries too hard to take over a game,he could cost them,Leinart needs to do a Sanchez and let their defense control the game and control the offense by not getting too pass crazy.

 

[ausbacker]

Disagree on the running game. When BJGE, Woodhead and Ridley are healthy, we have enough running strength. The idea that every team needs a bruiser running back is antiquainted thinking. This is a passing league. Pass to set up the run, not vice versa. Just my opinion.

I missed the memo where BJGE wasn't considered a bruiser. He loves the contact and his YAC is generally impressive. Recently, he hasn't looked like his usual self which suggests his toe is more troublesome than we may know.

I simply don't get the idea that Pittsburgh is the favorite

They almost blew a 14-0 lead sunday to the Bengals and were swept by the Ravens this season.

If anything Baltimore has shown they are better than Pitt head to head,the Ravens have struggled recently but will be right up there in seeding for the playoffs.

Houston has the best overall team but if Leinart tries too hard to take over a game,he could cost them,Leinart needs to do a Sanchez and let their defense control the game and control the offense by not getting too pass crazy.

There's no clear cut favorite in the AFC. Every team has some fundamental flaw.

The reality of the playoffs is that you need a QB who can shred a defense, a running game to set up the play action and a defense that can force turnovers or make game changing plays. I'd suggest that's why most people have the Steelers a top the AFC.

 

[Dutchmaster617]

I like what everyone is doing here, I'm all for making teams like the Texans and Bengals favorites and letting us stay under the radar.

So yea Arian Foster and Ben Tate are the favorites, good luck with that.

 

[SpiderFox53]

Do people actually do any research for articles or do they just spout the "party line". The very first sentence makes the article not worth reading.

"Okay, they are still at or near the bottom of the league in every defensive category."

How is 9th in rushing yards allowed and tied for 16th in points allowed mean they are at or near the bottom in "every defensive category"?



Come on.

No the Pats defense is not perfect, they're not even very good. But being bad against the Pass (which has gotten much better in the past 5 games), does not mean they are horrible.

To give you some perspective, just look at who is 31st in "overall defense" and that will show you just how stupid it is to use yardage allowed as your basis for how good a team can be.


EDIT: those are per game stats according to ESPN.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Right now there's no reason to rank us ahead of Pittsburgh or Baltimore who have the same amount of losses we have. They've either beaten us or beaten better teams than we have beaten. With our schedule, we should finish #1 in AFC but I bet we lose a game or two in a game like Buffalo week 3 where everything goes wrong. I wouldn't label us favorites, come January it'll be 4 years since we won a playoff game. It could be better going in as the 2 seed and all the pressure on Pitt/Balti as the big favorite.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

quote from the article

Assuming that tight ends like Dustin Keller, Heath Miller and Todd Heap don't exploit some holes in pass coverage, this unit should be good enough to get the Patriots at least to the AFC Championship Game.

Not sure how the Pats would ever face Todd Heap to get to the AFC championship game, he plays for the Arizona Cardinals....

 

[Jackson 2]

I missed the memo where BJGE wasn't considered a bruiser. He loves the contact and his YAC is generally impressive. Recently, he hasn't looked like his usual self which suggests his toe is more troublesome than we may know.


There's no clear cut favorite in the AFC. Every team has some fundamental flaw.

The reality of the playoffs is that you need a QB who can shred a defense, a running game to set up the play action and a defense that can force turnovers or make game changing plays. I'd suggest that's why most people have the Steelers a top the AFC.

Yeah, I agree with you. I think BJGE is very powerful for his size. I guess when the term 'bruiser" is used, I think of bigger guys like Dillon or John Riggins (dating myself.)