Earl Thomas: "Tom Brady has the easiest route, put his ass in our division and see what he does!"

[jmt57]

Thomas is a complete hypocrite talking out of his ass, but he - and most fans of 31 other teams - will unfortunately never receive that message.

If any team had an easy path to the playoffs this year it was the Seahawks. Until recently the NFC West was putrid, annually the worst in the NFL. Seattle won the division a few years ago with a losing record!

If Thomas wants to point fingers at a weak division over the last few years he needs to look at the AFC South. At least there though there was close competition for first place, unlike the NFC West. As a player in a division with only one team with a winning record, he is simply making a fool out of himself. The Niners were the second worst team in the NFL and the Rams weren't far behind.

Memo to Thomas: maybe you should focus your own shortcomings rather than attempting to denigrate others. Like why the Seahawks lost to the Rams. Or to the 7-9 Saints. Or why your team failed to beat Arizona twice - including at home late in the season, a loss that resulted in your team playing on the road rather than at home on Saturday.

Perhaps the impetus for Thomas' comments was to deflect attention away from his own team's shortcomings and under achievement, stumbling down the stretch. More likely it is simple case of poor sportsmanship, a bully that is unable to come to terms with the fact that someone else is better and that he has been beaten.

 

[GodBrady]

First of all, Thomas shouldn't have said anything at all.

Second of all, it was terrible timing of him to say anything, because the NFC West was terrible this year (49ers 2-14, Rams 4-12, Cardinals 7-8-1).

That said, the AFC East has been weak. The Bills haven't had double-digit wins since 1999. The Dolphins and Jets occasionally produce a competitive team, but they've never really had any great ones.

I mean, consider that the highest non-Patriot win total from the AFC East in the last 20 years is the Jets, with 12 wins in 1998. Think about that. Since 1998, there have been 54 versions of the Dolphins/Jets/Bills. Only one of those was good enough to win 12 games! That's insane.

Now, people are going to say, "well, nobody else wins because the Patriots are too good". That's partially true, but exaggerated. An easy counterpoint is Seattle. The Seahawks been a juggernaut, and yet the Cardinals still managed to win 13 games last year. The 49ers won 13 games in 2011 and 12 games in 2013. Even in spite of having to play very good Seahawks teams, they still managed to win a lot.

The Cardinals had three straight 10+ win seasons (2013-2015). The 49ers had 3-straight 10+ win seasons (2011-2013). None of the Bills, Jets, or Dolphins have managed to do that a single time in the last 20 years.

Now, I'm not trying to diminish our accomplishments. Brady is arguably the GOAT coach, and Belichick is arguably the GOAT coach. But, if we're being objective, there is some merit to what Thomas is saying. Even though he's a poor sport, the AFC East has kind of been a joke.

 

[1960Pats]

AFC East went 10-6 against the NFC West this season.

Take out the Seahawks' 4-0 record and the East went 10-2 vs Arizona, SF and LA.

 

[LivinLovin&Breathin_Brady]

I hope he is referring to the NFC, or at least the NFC playoffs, when he says "our division," and I hope he was also simply referring to that one, bad game Brady had last night.

He should've tweeted:

If Brady played like that in the NFC playoffs..."

Because if he meant anything else, he can go punch himself in the mouth. If Brady played in the NFC west, the result would be the same as it is in the AFC East. Put Brady in the NFC north and he would have the same result. Put him in the South, in one of the those pump-in domes, against mediocre defenses and he would still win. The NFC East is a bit rough, but then again Brady could whoop any of those teams too, splitting victories with the Giants.

And old Ray needs to go pay the bills for his dead victims' families, keep paying that late child support to his baby-mamas, spray on that deer-antler juice and use that salt he's throwing at Brady to rinse out his crusty mouth. I doubt the murderer's opinion is meaning anything to the GOAT, at this point.

 

[FCB02062]

Someone should remind Earl about how Brady shredded his "legion of boom" for 328 and 4 tds in the super bowl

 

[1960Pats]

Using the most accurate power rankings known to man (my own) this is how the divisions rank:

1 - AFCW (29, both Oakland and Denver were trending downward at the end).
2 - NFCE (32 but slightly overrated)
3 - NFCS (44, except for Atlanta this division is over-rated)
T4 - AFCE (46)
T4 - NFCN (46)
6 - AFCN (51)
T7 - AFCS (61)
T7 - NFCW (61, hi Earl, way down here is where you belong)

 

[ivanvamp]

Going strictly by win-loss records, here's where each division ranks as measured by their relative standings. In other words, comparing each division's first place teams, then second place teams, etc.

First Place Teams
1. AFCE - NE 14-2
2. NFCE - Dal 13-3
3. NFCW - KC 12-4
4. NFCS - Atl 11-5
4. AFCN - Pit 11-5
6. NFCW - Sea 10-5-1
7. NFCN - GB 10-6
8. AFCS - Hou 9-7

Second Place Teams
1. AFCW - Oak 12-4
2. NFCE - NYG 11-5
3. AFCE - Mia 10-6
4. AFCS - Ten 9-7
4. NFCN - Det 9-7
4. NFCS - TB 9-7
7. AFCN - Bal 8-8
8. NFCW - Ari 7-8-1

Third Place Teams
1. AFCW - Den 9-7
2. NFCE - Was 8-7-1
3. NFCN - Min 8-8
3. AFCS - Ind 8-8
5. AFCE - Buf 7-9
6. NFCS - NO 7-9
7. AFCN - Cin 6-9-1
8. NFCW - LA 4-12

Fourth Place Teams
1. NFCE - Phi 7-9
2. NFCS - Car 6-10
3. AFCE - NYJ 5-11
3. AFCW - SD 5-11
5. NFCN - Chi 3-13
5. AFCS - Jax 3-13
7. NFCW - SF 2-14
8. AFCN - Cle 1-15

So if you by a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 point system (lowest score is better), here's what you end up with:

NFC East: 7
AFC West: 8
AFC East: 12
NFC South: 16
NFC North: 19
AFC South: 20
AFC North: 26
NFC West: 29

So by this measure, the AFC East was the third best division in football, while the NFC West was far and away the worst.

 

[sb1]

Personally I agree with him. Going right at the LOB in the Super Bowl were easy routes...

 

[sb1]

First of all, Thomas shouldn't have said anything at all.

Second of all, it was terrible timing of him to say anything, because the NFC West was terrible this year (49ers 2-14, Rams 4-12, Cardinals 7-8-1).

That said, the AFC East has been weak. The Bills haven't had double-digit wins since 1999. The Dolphins and Jets occasionally produce a competitive team, but they've never really had any great ones.

I mean, consider that the highest non-Patriot win total from the AFC East in the last 20 years is the Jets, with 12 wins in 1998. Think about that. Since 1998, there have been 54 versions of the Dolphins/Jets/Bills. Only one of those was good enough to win 12 games! That's insane.

Now, people are going to say, "well, nobody else wins because the Patriots are too good". That's partially true, but exaggerated. An easy counterpoint is Seattle. The Seahawks been a juggernaut, and yet the Cardinals still managed to win 13 games last year. The 49ers won 13 games in 2011 and 12 games in 2013. Even in spite of having to play very good Seahawks teams, they still managed to win a lot.

The Cardinals had three straight 10+ win seasons (2013-2015). The 49ers had 3-straight 10+ win seasons (2011-2013). None of the Bills, Jets, or Dolphins have managed to do that a single time in the last 20 years.

Now, I'm not trying to diminish our accomplishments. Brady is arguably the GOAT coach, and Belichick is arguably the GOAT coach. But, if we're being objective, there is some merit to what Thomas is saying. Even though he's a poor sport, the AFC East has kind of been a joke.

I agree to a point. The problem in the division is coaching and management. The other teams are so focused on bringing down one team only that they cannot see the bigger picture and build for sustained success. You also have the former coach of the Jets and Bills whose ground n' pound philosophy on building a winning football team went by the wayside 20 years ago. And I can't imagine what the Pats would look like today if they were so focused on ruining the Jets after they took our lunch money with Tuna and Martin in the late 90s.

That kind of paradigm doesn't exist in other divisions including the NFC West.

Then again people talk like the East is the worst division in football year after year and that's not even remotely true either. Frauds who win weak divisions tend to go one and done a lot on the playoffs and the Pats haven't had many of those. Also consider the Pats playing a C game last night and they still clown stomped the AFC South Champion Texans. That doesn't say a whole lot about that division.

I suspect the Pats would do well no matter what division they belong to.

 

[Jetssuck]

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

 

[70Dart]

Pathetic.

Yup because those 49ers and those Rams are Offensive Juggernauts. Even the Cardinals struggled this year.

If the Pats were in that division, the Seahags would never be in the playoffs, because the Pats would be too busy making the Seahags their *****.

 

[Bledsoehasaring]

Does this dumbass even know that the rest of his division had less wins than the patriots this year?

 

[jmt57]

The problem with these 'best division' and 'weak AFC East' debates is that most often people are comparing apples to oranges. They look at another division and view the merits of the best one or two teams, and then compare to the bottom three teams in the AFC East.

When you have a stacked deck like that the evidence seemingly justifies your position, but in reality it is failed logic.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Being so salty, he's lucky he's not a slug.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Going strictly by win-loss records, here's where each division ranks as measured by their relative standings. In other words, comparing each division's first place teams, then second place teams, etc.

First Place Teams
1. AFCE - NE 14-2
2. NFCE - Dal 13-3
3. NFCW - KC 12-4
4. NFCS - Atl 11-5
4. AFCN - Pit 11-5
6. NFCW - Sea 10-5-1
7. NFCN - GB 10-6
8. AFCS - Hou 9-7

Second Place Teams
1. AFCW - Oak 12-4
2. NFCE - NYG 11-5
3. AFCE - Mia 10-6
4. AFCS - Ten 9-7
4. NFCN - Det 9-7
4. NFCS - TB 9-7
7. AFCN - Bal 8-8
8. NFCW - Ari 7-8-1

Third Place Teams
1. AFCW - Den 9-7
2. NFCE - Was 8-7-1
3. NFCN - Min 8-8
3. AFCS - Ind 8-8
5. AFCE - Buf 7-9
6. NFCS - NO 7-9
7. AFCN - Cin 6-9-1
8. NFCW - LA 4-12

Fourth Place Teams
1. NFCE - Phi 7-9
2. NFCS - Car 6-10
3. AFCE - NYJ 5-11
3. AFCW - SD 5-11
5. NFCN - Chi 3-13
5. AFCS - Jax 3-13
7. NFCW - SF 2-14
8. AFCN - Cle 1-15

So if you by a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 point system (lowest score is better), here's what you end up with:

NFC East: 7
AFC West: 8
AFC East: 12
NFC South: 16
NFC North: 19
AFC South: 20
AFC North: 26
NFC West: 29

So by this measure, the AFC East was the third best division in football, while the NFC West was far and away the worst.

That lines up quite nicely with total number of wins, where again, NFC West had the fewest of all divisions.

NFC East: 39
AFC West: 38
AFC East: 36
NFC South: 33
NFC North: 30
AFC South: 29
AFC North: 26
NFC West: 23

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

This year:

Pats 23 Cardinals 21
Pats 24 Seahawks 31 (pats within 1 yard of going to OT)
Pats 30 49ers 17
Pats 26 Rams 10

Yeah man, New England could NEVER compete in the NFC West...

I think Earl Thomas was trying to point out that if you are in a soft division, you won't be ready for the big guys in January. Let me see....NE is still in, but Seattle is....um.....

 

[The Brandon Five]

Yeah, Earl. I imagine Tom would be a-scared of facing the Niners twice, Rams twice and Cards twice. The only tough game would be against your team and he already faced you this year, so what exactly is your point?

 

[shmessy]

Well at least Seattle had SB 48.

Honestly, I think the Seattle is a bit frightened that their 15 minutes is about up.