Patriots' Magic # is 10

[Ring 6]

I wonder what the earliest division clinch ever is?

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Hehe, 10 is encouraging in baseball, but hardly "striking distance" in football...in my opinion, of course.

 

[Ring 6]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Hehe, 10 is encouraging in baseball, but hardly "striking distance" in football...in my opinion, of course.

I just found it funny.
Truth is we would probably win the division at 8-8 as long as we win most of the division games.

 

[PatsDeb]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

I wonder what the earliest division clinch ever is?

Andy -weren't you the one arguing against over-confidence in the other thread?!

 

[patchick]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

4 weeks into the season, it's impossible to know just how good the Patriots are. But it does seem possible to say this: most of the league looks like crap, and our division leads that parade.

Hey, I've got one for you!

Question: What's the AFCE definition of "parity"?
Answer: Only one game separates the #2 through 4 teams!

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Wait a minute...isn't it 11 until the season series vs. NYJ and Buffalo are over? Pats could still go 1-1 head-to-head with them...

 

[Ring 6]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Andy -weren't you the one arguing against over-confidence in the other thread?!

No. I have been vocally confident, and arguing against the 'fans need to take it one game at a time' crowd.

I'm locked in to an undefeated season, until we lose,then I will lock in to homefield advantage, then I will lock in the SB Championship. The last is the only one that matters, but the season is a lot more fun with hopes of being the best ever.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Wait a minute...isn't it 11 until the season series vs. NYJ and Buffalo are over? Pats could still go 1-1 head-to-head with them...

Well, at least someone is taking this thread seriously.

 

[N.Eman]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

We'll know for sure what the Pats true destination after the week 9 game. It wouldn't suprise me if we're 10-0 or 11-0. I believe they can and will

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Well, at least someone is taking this thread seriously.

Hey! I take every thread seriously...>.>

 

[Dragda]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

I have never understood the whole "magic number" thing. It's a baseball thing, and although I go to several live MLB games per year in various cities, I don't follow the game or its odd vernacular.

I have always assumed it meant that if the team won that many games, no matter what the next team in line did, they would still be division winner.

So the Patriots would have to win ten more games to ensure it would be the division champs even if one of the other teams won every game until the end of the year?

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

"Magic number" is the combination of leading-team wins and trailing-team losses that would result in a clinch (of division lead, wild card berth, etc.). A magic number of 11 for the AL East lead vs. the Jets means that any combination of Pats wins and Jets losses totaling 11 or more results in a Pats AL East clinch.

Magic number is always between two teams, but you can calculate them individually vs. every team in the division (or the Wild Card race, if that's what you're looking at) and take the largest number as the "overall" magic number.

The formula is [Total Games in Season + 1] - [Wins by leading team] - [Losses by trailing team]

The "+1" is there only when the result of a tiebreaker between same-record teams is uncertain, I believe.

[Edit] Or in other words:

So the Patriots would have to win [eleven] more games to ensure it would be the division champs even if one of the other teams won every game until the end of the year?

That, or everyone else could lose 11 games and the Pats would clinch even if they lost all their remaining games, or the Pats could win 6 and everyone else lose 5, Pats win 4 and everyone else lose 7, etc.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

"Magic number" is the combination of leading-team wins and trailing-team losses that would result in a clinch (of division lead, wild card berth, etc.). A magic number of 11 for the AL East lead vs. the Jets means that any combination of Pats wins and Jets losses totaling 11 or more results in a Pats AL East clinch.

Much to the chagrin of the Blue Jays, Tom Brady plays QB, not catcher right now.

 

[alamo]

Actually the "magic number" is expressed as number of our wins + number of other team's losses which CLINCHES the title. Thus our magic number is currently 12, not 10, against Buffalo and the Jets, and 11 against Miami.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

"Magic number" is the combination of leading-team wins and trailing-team losses that would result in a clinch (of division lead, wild card berth, etc.). A magic number of 11 for the AL East lead vs. the Jets means that any combination of Pats wins and Jets losses totaling 11 or more results in a Pats AL East clinch.

I would amend that so that the last part says "any combination of Pats wins and Jets losses totaling 11 or more results in a Pats AL East clinch vis a vis the Jets.

Magic numbers don't have much use in multi-team scenarios. They are generaly only useful when all but two teams have been eliminated, and then they are used to express the number of wins and opponents' losses to clinch. Until some teams are eliminated, there are too many variables.

For example, the Patriots could get the "magic number" of 11 against the Jets, but not win the division. Similarly, they could get their magic numbers against the other two and not win the division.

Plus, it gets distorted by the fact that some of these teams play each other, which means that some of the teams that are behind us in the standings are already guaranteed of wins. (For example, the Jets play the Bills again. One of them must win the game (or both of them will get at least a half-game up by tie) which means that we can't have a "magic number" for winning the division until that happens.)

Right now, no team in the East has been eliminated. That means that the only true magic number that can be expressed for clinching the division is win total. We would clinch the division with 11 more wins. Or, we would clinch the division with 10 more wins, if two of them were the Jets and the Bills.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

"That, or everyone else could lose 11 games

Is this possible? I haven't looked at how many times our division opponents have played each other and how many they have left against each other to know whether they all could lose 11 more games.

 

[FlyingElvis75]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Much to the chagrin of the Blue Jays, Tom Brady plays QB, not catcher right now.

Rofl. Been watching too much baseball lately, sorry.

Actually the "magic number" is expressed as number of our wins + number of other team's losses which CLINCHES the title. Thus our magic number is currently 12, not 10, against Buffalo and the Jets, and 11 against Miami.

It's 11.

Pats currently 3-0.
Jets & Bills currently 1-3.
11 more losses = 2-14 them.

Or conversely, 11 more wins for us = 14-2; best they can do is 13-3.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Re: Patriots Magic # is 10

Right now, no team in the East has been eliminated. That means that the only true magic number that can be expressed for clinching the division is win total. We would clinch the division with 11 more wins. Or, we would clinch the division with 10 more wins, if two of them were the Jets and the Bills.

Wait the Bills still aren't mathmatically eliminated? Musta been that Jets win...