Pats and the race for the 1st seed

[mosslost]

sorry, but way too early to be talking first round bye with the way this defense has performed. They are looking more like a 10-11 win team. Hopefully, they can get better, but they have been pathetic so far..

wrong. it is never too early to talk about the seedings. Every single game for us and every single game for our HFA competition matters, so every single week is about HFA.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

cream will rise....

 

[1960Pats]

I'm not worried about the #1 seed.

 

[XLIX]

Assuming that Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati, a win on Sunday vs. Atlanta places us in 3rd place in the AFC, right? Pittsburgh would be first, and it's hard to see us jumping KC with the same record considering that they beat us in week one.

I'm sure there's some weird 3 way tie rule that will be relevant as the season progresses, but I don't see how that would come into play just yet.

Hard to call that separating from the pack.

Ugh, I can't believe I am discussing tiebreakers on week 7 but I can't help myself.....

If Pittsburgh and NE win this weekend, that puts them and KC all at 5-2. Head to head gets completely thrown out the window because you need a head to head victory (or loss) over EACH other team for it to count.

Therefore, the seeds would be 1-Pit, 2-NE, 3-KC based on conference record. (Just imagine the weeping and wailing from KC if this weekend really was the final weekend and it came out like that!!)

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Do we really need a 340,000 word essay on this?

12 wins likely gets you a bye but it may take 13 to get HFA. That's like most years.

 

[TB_Helmet]

It's pretty early but why not? Seedings are fun. They're a huge part of the NFL and it's incredibly entertaining to see things unfold, think about the scenarios, and project playoff matchups.

The funny thing is that even though last December I knew every scenario in my head, ask me 18 months later and I won't be able to remember any of the matchups besides our own.

 

[titletownpats]

sorry, but way too early to be talking first round bye with the way this defense has performed. They are looking more like a 10-11 win team. Hopefully, they can get better, but they have been pathetic so far..

They are 4-2 and have had to deal with some major injuries. I saw Miguel retweet this interesting stat: Pats and Eagles are the only teams to go 4-1 in their last 5 games. 5 SB's have really spoiled some people around here to the point people complain when the teams wins, but doesn't blow the other team out. Before Brady and BB, I would be freaking out happy to be 4-2. Actually there were times I'd be very excited if the Pats got to play on a Monday night.

5 games out of 6 on the road is a brutal stretch. @Pittsburgh will be huge for playoff seedings. Like I said before, the second place team from the AFC West is going to get screwed big time. They will probably have a better record than the #2 seed, but will be on the road in the wild card round because they didn't win the division. I still can't believe the Pats were 3 games behind KC going into the Jets game and now have the same record and only 1 game back because of the tiebreaker. Crazy how much things can change in 1 week. I'm very excited about the game tomorrow! This run BB and Brady have been on is unbelievable so I'm trying to enjoy every second of it. We will never see anything like this again. Go PATS!!!!

 

[titletownpats]

Were you on vacation the past two weeks?

I agree! 14 and 17 points allowed is pretty good in the NFL especially missing 2 of your top 3 cornerbacks for one of the games in a stadium that the game has come down to the last possession every game the last 5 years.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Yah, of course we're not playing like we're used to or like a #1 seed but I love analyzing the "what needs to bees" for us to get there.
Unless we seriously crap out, it's fun to look at this on a weekly basis.
Remember the old weekly "Whom Do We Want to Win/Lose?" weekly thread fun?

 

[QuantumMechanic]

If Pittsburgh and NE win this weekend, that puts them and KC all at 5-2. Head to head gets completely thrown out the window because you need a head to head victory (or loss) over EACH other team for it to count.

Therefore, the seeds would be 1-Pit, 2-NE, 3-KC based on conference record. (Just imagine the weeping and wailing from KC if this weekend really was the final weekend and it came out like that!!)

Though there is a chance for H2H to matter in that 3-way tie. KC beat NE. PIT beat KC. If PIT beats NE later this season then PIT will have H2H if those three teams end up tied. If NE beats PIT then H2H is thrown out if those three are tied.

 

[Tunescribe]

I hate to be a sourpuss, but do people here really believe this Patriot defense will coalesce into something at least average by Thanksgiving? That's what it's going to take and I'd need to see improvement toward that before entertaining thoughts of a No. 1 seed.

 

[patfanken]

Bob that was a lot of hard work and effort for a thread that has very little relevance before December. It's like worrying about playoff seeding for the C's in December. Too much of the season has to play out before it starts to matter.

All we know now is that the Pats could end up with the #1 or be out of the playoffs, or somewhere in between. Wake me up when its really time to worry about it.

 

[supafly]

I still can't believe the Pats were 3 games behind KC going into the Jets game and now have the same record and only 1 game back because of the tiebreaker!

Well, of course it will depend on what happens tomorrow night vs. ATL.
They could still be 2 games behind KC with a loss. Hopefully, they win and are only 1 game behind.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Nothing wrong with some good banter regarding the scenarios that lead us to a #1 seed. Worth noting within this discussion: first seed is optimal but the most critical important item is getting a bye/WC weekend off. The difference in results having the #1 and #2 seed is small compared to not getting a bye/getting the #3-6 seed.

With that said there is far far too many variables at this point. Most teams have 10 games remaining, some with 11. Currently there are only 2 teams in the AFC further away than 3 games in the win column from KC (a team that has lost their last 2 games). And as much as one can look at the remaining schedule for an array of teams to determine 'this game is a win, this game is a loss', a certainty is you'll be wrong frequently enough (else quit your job and go make your fortune at a Vegas Sports Book). Ultimately, as another poster mentioned, the only thing certain at this point is we could end up with the first seed, second seed, seed 3-6, or miss the playoffs altogether.

After Turkey day the outlook on winning/clinching the division should be clearer as well as a more narrow range of 'things' that need to happen to get the #1 seed.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

After Turkey day the outlook on winning/clinching the division should be clearer as well as a more narrow range of 'things' that need to happen to get the #1 seed.

I don't think anything's much clearer, especially given that NE still has to play five divisional games.

 

[sb1]

Assuming that Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati, a win on Sunday vs. Atlanta places us in 3rd place in the AFC, right? Pittsburgh would be first, and it's hard to see us jumping KC with the same record considering that they beat us in week one.

I'm sure there's some weird 3 way tie rule that will be relevant as the season progresses, but I don't see how that would come into play just yet.

Hard to call that separating from the pack.

It would be Pitt/KC/NE in that order due to H2H tiebreaker among the 3 teams (Pitt 1-0, KC 1-1, NE 0-1)

Patriots beat Pitt later this year and then if the 3 teams are still tied it goes to conference record.