Pursuit of the Bye (1st Seed)

[n1997y]

Skip Bayless said Drake Maye is/will be great. But it's unlikely they win a SB this season. They need to know what it feels like to lose before winning. "Pay their dues" type thing. He acknowledged that the Patriots will likely be a SB caliber team sooner than later.

So, Skip says you have to learn to lose before you can win?

I think that’s bs.

I believe the truth is closer to what Vince Lombardi is reputed to have said. Lombardi supposedly said “show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

I think what’s true is “show me a loser, and you have a loser.” Learning to lose does nothing for learning to win.

 

[Pape]

Skip Bayless said Drake Maye is/will be great. But it's unlikely they win a SB this season. They need to know what it feels like to lose before winning. "Pay their dues" type thing. He acknowledged that the Patriots will likely be a SB caliber team sooner than later.

I am pretty sure Drake Maye paid his tab on that account last season...

 

[Pape]

So, Skip says you have to learn to lose before you can win?

I think that’s bs.

I believe the truth is closer to what Vince Lombardi is reputed to have said. Lombardi supposedly said “show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

I think what’s true is “show me a loser, and you have a loser.” Learning to lose does nothing for learning to win.

it also makes no sense, in that a lot of these guys, including the QB, went thru the 4-13 debacle of last year... consider those dues paid in full

 

[moosekill]

I just hope we make the playoffs, then let’s see where we end up.

 

[Real fan 02]

Agreed it comes down to denver and us and 13-4 is very risky now if we want the 1 seed. I could be wrong but heres how that works with Denver if we’re both 13-4:

If one of our losses is to nyg and their 2 losses are afc opponents we would get it on afc record . But if afc record is even or worse i think its most likely going to them . The next tiebreak is common opponents and the raiders loss will kill us there since denver will at worst be 1-1 against them. We haven’t beaten any teams that have beaten them or play them down the stretch.

Hopefully we can go 14-3 or get lucky and Denver loses 3 more

Get to 10 and your in. Due to our excellent record 10 wins and being the current division leader likely gets us a berth. I'm sure Vrabel and his coaches have already discussed this privately with the players.
We can't count on or worry about what other teams do.. we have to take care of whatever is in front of us..

Sure we probably may drop a game later in the season..however if we have a playoff berth already then that takes alot of pressure off IMO.

With indy and Denver also with great records it's tough. This is why I liked when the top 2 seeds were awarded bye weeks during the post season. We benefited heavily from it.

 

[Water Boy]

Denver pisses me off and scares me.

From what I saw in the KC game, Nix had beautiful pockets to throw from and was able to roll out to the right repeatedly with all day to throw with no defenders anywhere near him. Not sure why Spags let that happen.

 

[Ring 6]

Skip Bayless said Drake Maye is/will be great. But it's unlikely they win a SB this season. They need to know what it feels like to lose before winning. "Pay their dues" type thing. He acknowledged that the Patriots will likely be a SB caliber team sooner than later.

Skip Bayless? Really?

 

[Ring 6]

The NFL today is not what it used to due to parity. If the playoffs started today, the only teams in the AFC with the most "experience" is Buffalo. Steelers with Rodgers. However, Buffalo's team is extremely weak and it's not going to matter come playoff time. Same with your Chiefs if they somehow find a way in. The 2005 Pats are a good example as they weren't as good as their 2004 team and ran into the Broncos who didn't really have much playoff experience with those players. The crazy thing is, had the Pats not intentionally dropped their week 17 game, they would've had the #3 seed and faced the Steelers who they probably beat. Indy is most likely facing Seattle in the Super Bowl.

The Patriots didn’t intentionally lose.

 

[Brotherblues]

Skip Bayless said Drake Maye is/will be great. But it's unlikely they win a SB this season. They need to know what it feels like to lose before winning. "Pay their dues" type thing. He acknowledged that the Patriots will likely be a SB caliber team sooner than later.

That's one of the most Skip Bayless takes of all time.

 

[Vindicate]

Skip Bayless said Drake Maye is/will be great. But it's unlikely they win a SB this season. They need to know what it feels like to lose before winning. "Pay their dues" type thing. He acknowledged that the Patriots will likely be a SB caliber team sooner than later.

I always find it funny when commentators think that a prerequisite for team success is narrative fulfillment lmao. "Pay your dues" k got it, as if Maye has no idea what losing is like from last year.

 

[dannydyn]

All else equal and going by remaining schedules alone, there's no reason why we shouldn't end up with the #1 seed when comparing our schedule vs. the Dolts and Donkeys. Simply put, their path to the #1 seed is more treacherous than ours. If we take care of business the #1 seed is ours to lose, whereas the Donkeys', and more so - the Dolts' schedule present some opponents that even if those two teams attempted to 'take care of business', it wouldn't be enough. I, for one, don't see the Donkey's and Indy winning some of their remaining games, barring some serious unforeseen catastrophes on their opponents parts (e.g. Mahomes inactive, etc.). There is ZERO chance for example that Mr. Danny Dimes goes into Seattle and wins at that place. I'm expecting an *** whooping of unimaginable proportions. I also don't see Denver winning in KC nor vs. GB. They have been eking their way out for too many weeks now, and law of averages is about to catch up with Denver. I also think Danny Dimes is a fraud who's about to be fully exposed.

Not saying Baltimore on the road and Bills at home for us are gimmies, but I like our chances against those teams better than what Denver and Indy have left for them.

Just MHO.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

All else equal and going by remaining schedules alone, there's no reason why we shouldn't end up with the #1 seed when comparing our schedule vs. the Dolts and Donkeys. Simply put, their path to the #1 seed is more treacherous than ours. If we take care of business the #1 seed is ours to lose, whereas the Donkeys', and more so - the Dolts' schedule present some opponents that even if those two teams attempted to 'take care of business', it wouldn't be enough. I, for one, don't see the Donkey's and Indy winning some of their remaining games, barring some serious unforeseen catastrophes on their opponents parts (e.g. Mahomes inactive, etc.). There is ZERO chance for example that Mr. Danny Dimes goes into Seattle and wins at that place. I'm expecting an *** whooping of unimaginable proportions. I also don't see Denver winning in KC this week, nor vs. GB. They have been eking their way out for too many weeks now, and law of averages is about to catch up with Denver. I also think Danny Dimes is a fraud who's about to be fully exposed.

Not saying Baltimore on the road and Bills at home for us are gimmies, but I like our chances against those teams better than what Denver and Indy have left for them.

Just MHO.

Say what?

 

[dannydyn]

Say what?

Sorry, brain fart. Denver on a bye this week, but will be @ KC in week 17. That's a guaranteed loss for Denver, book it.

 

[NFL Mystique]

I just hope we make the playoffs, then let’s see where we end up.

I think they need to have a very good December and win the division. They haven't had a good December since...2018? If they go one and done as a WC, people may think it's a repeat of 2021. That year, they beat bad teams but faltered down the stretch. And the regression of Mac Jones began.

You hope Maye doesn't go down the Mac Jones road. Personally, I think it's unlikely.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The Patriots didn’t intentionally lose.

When you only play Tom Brady for a few drives then take him out for the rest of the game is intentionally losing. The #3 seed was on the line and they had no problem giving that to Cincy.

 

[patchick]

This matrix only gets into strength of schedule for the remaining games (I believe based on last year's standings), which is somewhat of a moot point at this point in the season - but it's still helpful to see where we stand in terms of earning the bye

IMO the Athletic’s projection model is pretty good. They currently have the Pats with by far the best chance at the bye —46%—followed by Denver and Indy.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

it also makes no sense, in that a lot of these guys, including the QB, went thru the 4-13 debacle of last year... consider those dues paid in full

4-13 season is a different kind of losing than going into a playoff games with expectations and then feeling it all slip away from you during the game and trying to right the ship amidst that pressure.

Playing in do or die games/situations can impact your mindset and approach to a play. It can speed up your internal clock. That's not something that can be simulated by being on a 4-13 team where you just suck. It's a type of adversity to handle, but a very different kind and isn't really applicable to handling playoff pressure.

 

[The Gr8est]

I think they need to have a very good December and win the division. They haven't had a good December since...2018? If they go one and done as a WC, people may think it's a repeat of 2021. That year, they beat bad teams but faltered down the stretch. And the regression of Mac Jones began.

You hope Maye doesn't go down the Mac Jones road. Personally, I think it's unlikely.

When was the last time the Pats played important games in December?

Last year when the #1 overall pick was at stake?

 

[PP2]

From what I saw in the KC game, Nix had beautiful pockets to throw from and was able to roll out to the right repeatedly with all day to throw with no defenders anywhere near him. Not sure why Spags let that happen.

That's the downside to having a very aggressive D like Spags loves to have. Players take themselves out of play if they guess wrong or overpursue.

During the BB era, a lot of posters were bemoaning the "lack" of sacks we were getting, without understanding or realizing that most of the time we were in containment, and in fact, got a great deal of turnovers that way.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

When was the last time the Pats played important games in December?

Last year when the #1 overall pick was at stake?

I’ll say it:

I’m ALREADY thrilled with this season. If they win only 2 of the remaining games and get to 11 wins that would be far exceeding my expectations in year 1 of a rebuild.

Yes, they’ve played well enough to alter short term expectations, but I don’t want to lose sight of how drastically different it’s been to follow this team this year vs the last few.

Last year obviously being such a low that I wasn’t sure we’d see meaning football for a long time.

It’s incredible what the staff has done.

And I’m really interested to see next year and the one after if they can keep hitting on more draft picks than they miss on.

As for this year, there’s just something that tells me they don’t quite have the horses for a SB yet.

And that’s ok.