Are the Patriots underrated?

[Rob0729]

Well considering even some people on this board thought several weeks ago that the Pats were one and done, of course they are being underrated nationally.

The whole "the Pats haven't beaten anyone" is a joke. You can only beat the teams on your schedule. The fact of the matter is this year there was only seven teams in the entire league with ten or more wins. Two divisions didn't have a team with double digit wins (it just was the two divisions the Pats played). Only three divisions had two teams with double digit wins. The Pats won I think seven games against teams with 8-8 records. This is just a flukey year.

Also, the defense was never as bad as people made it out to be. We saw in the playoffs, the Saints' defense was far worse than the Pats' defense ever was. In fact, the change of attitude towards this defense by the national media has less to do with how the Pats are playing, but the mediots actually watching the game and seeing judging a team solely on yards isn't a good indicator.

 

[Nunchucks]

Fixed it for you.

The Super Bowl is not the time or place to see if Ridley's fumble-itis has gone away.

Don't get me wrong, I like BJGE and would not be surprised if Ridley doesn't play. But, I think sitting out the AFC Championship game was enough to teach him a valuable lesson. He is the more dynamic RB and he would make a difference in the running game.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Fixed it for you.

The Super Bowl is not the time or place to see if Ridley's fumble-itis has gone away.

Assuming Ridley is active I'd like to see him get 5-6 touches to see if he can break off a long run. He's simply more of a homerun threat than Lawfirm is.

He had 3 rushes last game and I think in all 3 plays we had Solder in at TE basically telegraphing the run.

 

[fair catch fryar]

I still don't believe in this defense and I think if we lose it will be because of it. Hopefully I'm wrong and they don't get sliced.

Have to reluctantly agree up to this point, but if they win and hold Manning in check then I'll happily admit I was wrong.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Assuming Ridley is active I'd like to see him get 5-6 touches to see if he can break off a long run. He's simply more of a homerun threat than Lawfirm is.

He had 3 rushes last game and I think in all 3 plays we had Solder in at TE basically telegraphing the run.

Agreed.

Let BJGE punish the defense while gainingthe steady yards and not fumbling the ball. Sustain some long drives (they don't all have to end in points, but I won't complain if they do). When they are getting tired and softer, feed them some ridley to see what he can do.

 

[Deus Irae]

No, the Patriots aren't underrated. They're given their due as a team with a great offense and a bad defense, which is what they are. What's happened is that the 'run' of the Giants has been built up.