New England Patriots

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » November 28, 2007, 8:08 pm

What's the matter kilmoll? Don't want to see the Browns for a third time?

Fun fact: Last time the Browns made the playoffs OSU won the title.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » November 28, 2007, 10:09 pm

I would welcome another playoff win against them. The last time the Browns made the playoffs, the Steelers beat them 3 times that year...including the playoff game where Cleveland was up 24-7 in the first half. That sure sounds familiar doesn't it?

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » November 29, 2007, 2:40 am

You midwesterners are almost as gay-proud as Texans.

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » November 29, 2007, 2:33 pm

lol broncos.

you could win your shoddy conference with an 8-8 record.

now that's as gay as aids.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » November 29, 2007, 3:13 pm

No doubt about that! The division is unremarkable ass this year. I take solace in seeing improvement in the young players, although I think it time for shanny to hit the road.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » December 7, 2007, 8:00 pm

So.. Is Pittsburg going to lose handily, put up a fight like the last two teams and possibly win, or lose and complain about bad calls when they really have nobody to blame but themselves?

Trek · Post by **Trek** » December 8, 2007, 2:30 am

I dont think the Steelers will put up much of a contest, 45-17

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 8, 2007, 2:37 am

Word around the campfire is that Brady and Rothlisberger are going to meet under the bleachers after the game for some necking.

Mawafu · Post by **Mawafu** » December 8, 2007, 1:22 pm

I think Pittsburgh is the last team that can hand a loss to the Pats. If the Pats win tomorrow they will go undefeated for the season (but then lose to Green Bay in the Super Bowl of course

)

Trek · Post by **Trek** » December 9, 2007, 9:20 pm

Trek wrote:I dont think the Steelers will put up much of a contest, 45-17

I am losing my leet skillz

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 9, 2007, 11:10 pm

Winnow wrote: So, the Steelers barely beat the worst team in the NFL in bad conditions and LOSE to a bad team in the Cardinals in a PRISTINE indoor, state of the art, stadium.

What's the official spread on the Patriots/Steelers game? I'll make an avatar bet and take the Patriots.

And what's this "if the Steelers know they're in the playoffs already they won't show their hand"...the Pats are already in the playoffs and will still crush you, no need to hide any hands. What a lame excuse if Pittsburgh loses.

Sooo, the Steelers beat bad teams by 3 points in last 20 seconds in bad weather...lose to bad teams in perfect conditions...and get blown out as predicted by the best team in the league.

...and they lose their temper easy when getting spanked after talking smack and guaranteeing a win.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » December 10, 2007, 12:43 am

aren't you out of the playoffs?

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » December 10, 2007, 12:56 am

Want to know something hilarious?

The Arizona/Phoenix/St. Louis Cardinals have never won a Super Bowl. They have never played in a Super Bowl. They have never even played in a conference championship game.

The following teams have accomplished more, in the past five years alone, than the Cardinals have accomplished in modern football history:

Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Chicago Bears
Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos
Seattle Seahawks
Carolina Panthers
Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons
Oakland Raiders
Tennessee Titans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Arizona Cardinals are probably the worst franchise in the history of American professional sports. The Cleveland Spiders are the only competition I can think of. They are the oldest professional football team in the United States and have a playoff record of 2-5 (shit man... the Eagles are 7-5 in the last 6 years).

I hope they get better with Whisenhunt and Fitz!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 10, 2007, 1:12 am

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:aren't you out of the playoffs?

Nope! Arizona is one game out of a playoff spot with New Orleans, St Louis and Atlanta left on the schedule. Two of those are home games.

Gooooooo Cardinaaaaalllllsss! (glad they beat the Steelers, Browns, Bengals and Lions to be in this position!)

Spang · Post by **Spang** » December 10, 2007, 2:20 am

Fuck Arizona! The Bucs beat the Cardinals!

The Colts will beat the Patriots in the playoffs, enroute to a repeat Super Bowl championship.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 10, 2007, 2:34 am

We do not need another Colts SB victory. Those fucking hicks in Indiana have had quite enough jollies for one decade--well, aside from the normal incest-jollies that is....

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 2:44 am

I do see the Colts as the only team that was truly close to beating the Pats this year. Some of the bullets the Pats dodged (ala Baltimore/Philadelphia) are in my mind more due to the 'Any Given Sunday' factor than teams actually playing anywhere close to where the Pats are. The Colts played them tough on both sides of the ball and could have easily won that game.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 10, 2007, 3:22 am

True, but every single Colts fan does in fact have sex with one or more siblings and/or livestock.

Google it!

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » December 10, 2007, 11:04 am

Canelek wrote:True, but every single Colts fan does in fact have sex with one or more siblings and/or livestock.

Google it!

Did you take some Fact vs Opinion classes with Funk?

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 11:30 am

The counter-argument to what I said is that the Patriots didn't even go deep into their playbook to beat the Colts. It's rumored that they expected to see them at year's end, so they didn't show them everything. I personally find it hard to believe, but it is something I heard or read somewhere.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 11:31 am

The counter-argument to what I said is that the Patriots didn't even go deep into their playbook to beat the Colts. It's rumored that they expected to see them at year's end, so they didn't show them everything. I personally find it hard to believe, but it is something I heard or read somewhere.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 10, 2007, 12:30 pm

The counter-argument to what I said is that the Patriots didn't even go deep into their playbook to beat the Colts. It's rumored that they expected to see them at year's end, so they didn't show them everything. I personally find it hard to believe, but it is something I heard or read somewhere.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 10, 2007, 12:31 pm

Boogahz wrote:
Canelek wrote:True, but every single Colts fan does in fact have sex with one or more siblings and/or livestock.

Google it!

Did you take some Fact vs Opinion classes with Funk?

Don't you see the Big Picture?

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 12:46 pm

Hehe Cane, did you mean to do that?

Reflecting on last night's game... The best part of the ASSBEATING that the Steelers took, is that we might not have to hear Kilmoll pontificating about how good the Steelers are for at least a few weeks.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » December 10, 2007, 1:01 pm

Assbeating? I look at it this way: we lost due to our safeties being incompetent retards and biting on play-action passes to a team that ran the ball 8 times in the entire game. Of course we were missing both of our starting safeties including an All-Pro that is one person that helps the zone blitz scheme a ton. I saw that you can run the ball on the Pats and control the clock on them. The longer the season goes, the more they are wearing down on the defensive side.

I also saw that if your safeties are not incompetent idiots and you force the Pats to throw underneath and you pressure Brady that you can really slow down their offense. We had zero sacks, but still put a lot of heat on him in the first half. You could tell that he was feeling it with the throws he was making. I will definitely be interested to see how it plays out in January with Polamalu and Santonio Holmes both playing and healthy. I would say that if either of those guys or Hines Ward is out, then we will have trouble making it past anyone in the playoffs.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » December 10, 2007, 1:10 pm

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:I saw that you can run the ball on the Pats and control the clock on them. The longer the season goes, the more they are wearing down on the defensive side.

Didn't New England shut out Pittsburg in the second half? And only allowed them one touchdown in the first? How is that wearing down the defense?

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 1:16 pm

You only need to look up at the scoreboard if you're confused about what an assbeating is. You can give any reasons or rationalize it any way you like. No matter how legitimate your thinking, yesterday's loss was an assbeating that saw your team's defense unable to even keep it's composure in the loss.

Not having Polamalu is horrible for the Steelers. He's easily one of the best defensive players in the NFL, and I have no doubt he would have made an impact on the game. What you've failed to mention was the fact that your offense did almost nothing against the Pat's defense. I don't think that has anything to do with your shitty safeties.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » December 10, 2007, 1:52 pm

Are you serious? The Steelers ran on them for 175 yards and had the ball for 35 minutes of this game. They sputtered out in the red zone and took FG's....of which I blame quite a bit of that on the playcalling. They HAVE to use Davenport down there and sit Parker just like they used to do with Bettis. I don't know what it takes to make them understand this....it is not exactly rocket science. They also really miss Santonio.....every game he has been out they have struggled on offense. I know he played a little bit but he was hurting bad. Nate Washington being allowed on the field makes me want to cry.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 10, 2007, 2:05 pm

Hehe Cane, did you mean to do that?

Yeah, your double-post gave me zie giggles.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 2:12 pm

Whoah. Didn't even see that.

The Steelers playcalling in redzone offense is... WAIT FOR IT... still a function of the Steelers offense vs. the Pats defense. You can get all the yardage in the world, but if you can't score it doesn't matter. As far as the time of possession goes... GREAT! You kept the Pats offense off the field. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the Pats didn't waste any time when they were on the field.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » December 10, 2007, 2:36 pm

noel wrote:Some of the bullets the Pats dodged (ala Baltimore/Philadelphia) are in my mind more due to the 'Any Given Sunday' factor than teams actually playing anywhere close to where the Pats are.

Really? Did you watch those two games? I can maybe see this for the Eagles game, since they had a few luckyish big plays, including a recovered onside kick and a goal-line stand. But the bottom line is that the Eagles went out and made plays, jammed the receivers, and hammered Tom Brady. They had the ball in field goal range, down 3, with about 2 minutes left in the game before they made a few bad plays and lost it.

The next week, the Ravens outplayed the Pats on both sides of the ball. The Ravens defense was fired up and was hammering people, Brady especially. Willis McGahee was tearing through the Pats defense. The Ravens outplayed the Pats all day, and they lost the game because they got some bad breaks, lost their discipline, and unravelled on the final drive.

I'm not making excuses for those teams: a win is a win and a loss is a loss. But they went out there and played some top-notch football and matched the Pats in every aspect of the game.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 10, 2007, 4:17 pm

Sueven wrote:
noel wrote:Some of the bullets the Pats dodged (ala Baltimore/Philadelphia) are in my mind more due to the 'Any Given Sunday' factor than teams actually playing anywhere close to where the Pats are.
Really? Did you watch those two games? I can maybe see this for the Eagles game, since they had a few luckyish big plays, including a recovered onside kick and a goal-line stand. But the bottom line is that the Eagles went out and made plays, jammed the receivers, and hammered Tom Brady. They had the ball in field goal range, down 3, with about 2 minutes left in the game before they made a few bad plays and lost it.

The next week, the Ravens outplayed the Pats on both sides of the ball. The Ravens defense was fired up and was hammering people, Brady especially. Willis McGahee was tearing through the Pats defense. The Ravens outplayed the Pats all day, and they lost the game because they got some bad breaks, lost their discipline, and unravelled on the final drive.

I'm not making excuses for those teams: a win is a win and a loss is a loss. But they went out there and played some top-notch football and matched the Pats in every aspect of the game.

You're absolutely right. My point is this: Nevermind the fact that the Pats won both of those games... If they played them 100 more times they'd still win 90 out of 100 times.

Tyek · Post by **Tyek** » December 10, 2007, 9:25 pm

I guess I am a little surprised if anyone expected a different result. Anthony Smith was cajoled into his guarantee and frankly the Steelers gained very little with a win. They are still in great position to win the division, they really could not improve their position and they were playing a great team in their home field.

I am not saying the Steelers did not play the game hard, but if I was a coach, I would not have shown the Pats a whole lot last night. The best route would be to play a few drives to test some plays, then go into run mode over and over. On defense run a bland package, get through the game and wait to go for it in the playoffs.

The Steelers were going to finish as the 3rd division winner, a win would not change that.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » December 11, 2007, 10:21 am

I don't buy that at all. I believe the Steelers came to win and played to win until basically midway through the 3rd quarter. I noticed after the score was 24-13 that Pitt dropped into a basic 3-4 defense and stopped moving around with only 1 down lineman and they went into more of a pound Parker into the D mode. It was almost like they decided they were not going to win and wanted to punish the Pats linebackers some and make tompetitivehem work.

I will say this.....I would not entirely discount the Jets this week. They can run the ball and punish you with it. They have a fairly tough set of linebackers and hit hard. They also completely gave up on the season long ago and this is their Super Bowl.....and they HATE each other. I think this may be more competitve a game than people will ever imagine.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » December 11, 2007, 2:34 pm

So is there any hope that the JETS will beat NE this week? I am betting that they won't but I would giggle if they did.

Edit: The Steelers only scoring 13 points won me $200 so thanks Pitt!

noel · Post by **noel** » December 11, 2007, 2:45 pm

The only way the Jets are beating the Pats this week is if someone good is playing them on Madden '08.

Just like the Steelers beating the Pats, the Jets beating them is a fucking pipe dream.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 11, 2007, 2:47 pm

This was on ESPN's Page 2 homepage:

Odds on New England to win Super Bowl -- what a $100 bet would pay
Open (late Jan.): $800
After Week 3: $250
After Week 6: $91
After Week 9: $29
Currently: $13

Midnyte_Ragebringer · December 11, 2007, 4:41 pm

Pats will lose to the Colts in the playoffs. Mark it down.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 11, 2007, 6:07 pm

Dwight Freeney is sitll out for the rest of the season, right? Maybe you've heard of him. Maybe your familiar with his contribution to the Colt's defense; specifically in their game against the Patriots earlier in the season.

Without Freeney, there won't be the same level of pass rush on Brady that the Colts had when they faced the Pats earlier. The Eagles and Ravens proved that a strong pass rush is pretty much the only way to slow the Pats down. So... No.

BTW I'm a Colts fan, but I'm also a realist. I realize you have no idea what the word 'realist' actually means.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 11, 2007, 6:10 pm

I'm a Colts fan,

You have sex with animals, or is that just the midwestern Colts fanbase?

So shocking, Noel!

noel · Post by **noel** » December 11, 2007, 7:44 pm

With only those two options to choose from, I'm gonna go with the latter!

Midnyte_Ragebringer · December 11, 2007, 7:58 pm

noel wrote:Dwight Freeney is sitll out for the rest of the season, right? Maybe you've heard of him. Maybe your familiar with his contribution to the Colt's defense; specifically in their game against the Patriots earlier in the season.

Without Freeney, there won't be the same level of pass rush on Brady that the Colts had when they faced the Pats earlier. The Eagles and Ravens proved that a strong pass rush is pretty much the only way to slow the Pats down. So... No.

BTW I'm a Colts fan, but I'm also a realist. I realize you have no idea what the word 'realist' actually means.

Realistically, no one knows how to play the Pats like Dungy. I have faith in Dungy. Plus, the pats have been getting up for every game over the past 3-4 weeks now. Every game has been the intensity of a playoff game. They will burn out and be less than perfect against the Colts. The Colts are mending and will be in full stride come the playoffs. Freeney rules, but the team is bigger than just one guy.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » December 11, 2007, 8:13 pm

noel wrote:With only those two options to choose from, I'm gonna go with the latter!

My friend, you have made a wise choice. West Coast non-sheepfucking ftw!

noel · Post by **noel** » December 11, 2007, 8:37 pm

Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Realistically, no one knows how to play the Pats like Dungy.

The Colts under Dungy's (who may be the greatest overall man in football) record against the Pats under Bellicheck would indicate otherwise. One win does not an expert make.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 11, 2007, 8:38 pm

noel wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Realistically, no one knows how to play the Pats like Dungy.
The Colts under Dungy's (who may be the greatest overall man in football) record against the Pats under Bellicheck would indicate otherwise. One win does not an expert make.

Statistics and logic have no place in a discussion about football.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 12, 2007, 12:13 am

Aardor wrote:
noel wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Realistically, no one knows how to play the Pats like Dungy.
The Colts under Dungy's (who may be the greatest overall man in football) record against the Pats under Bellicheck would indicate otherwise. One win does not an expert make.
Statistics and logic have no place in a discussion about football.

Huh?

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » December 12, 2007, 1:15 am

sarcasm, sir.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 12, 2007, 1:53 am

noel wrote:
Aardor wrote:
noel wrote:
Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:Realistically, no one knows how to play the Pats like Dungy.
The Colts under Dungy's (who may be the greatest overall man in football) record against the Pats under Bellicheck would indicate otherwise. One win does not an expert make.
Statistics and logic have no place in a discussion about football.
Huh?

I was being sarcastic, I was just further trying to indicate that statement made no sense, as you initially did.

In the regular season, Dungy is 2 - 3 against the Patriots. In the post-season, Dungy is 1 - 2 against the Patriots. I think a good number of people know how to play the patriots like Dungy. Not to mention, that 1 win in the post season was a close game, and that Patriots team was worse than this iteration, and each iteration before hand (in the Belichek/Brady era).

Additionally, I feel that this Patriots team is much different than the other ones, with the worse running game, and the better receiving game. This means Dungy will (and had to in the first game) change his game plan. Mid brought up about how they're playing every game like a playoff game, which is true (see 2006 Colts). Their running game is significantly worse (due to injury, it was pretty good with Morris around), their defense looks worn down (but still very good imo, but suspect).

The Colts are not without injury, or very intense close games this year, either. Other than Freeney, weren't a few linebackers injuried, or possibly a CB? Yes, the Colt's D is bigger than one guy, but Freeney is a play maker, and was very important to getting pressure on Brady. Also, is Marvin Harrison going to be healthy in the playoffs? or will he even play?

With the premise that the Colts and Pats will face each other in the playoffs, I feel that the Pats will win. I think the game will be close and fun to watch, and I could see the Colts winning. I just feel like the Patriots have a higher chance.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 12, 2007, 11:13 am

Sorry man. I've been making a concerted effort to use and get familiar with Safari instead of Firefox, and I don't believe I've installed the sarcasm plugin yet. My bad!

I totally agree with your assessment of Pats v. Colts in the playoffs.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » December 14, 2007, 5:11 pm

There are two teams that have a chance at beating the Pats in the playoffs (they won't be stopped in the regular season) and they only have a chance if the Ravens and Jets decide to say fuck the score and pound the fuck out of them physically (which is likely).

Colts- If the remainder of their defense heals up in time and Dungy gameplans a little better, the Colts have a descent shot at knocking the Pats off, but its in the 1 in 3 chance at Foxborough.

Packers- Packers have the right kind of pass rush and solid pass defense, plus they can march down the field on the NE defense. There are two big issues facing them in this scenario, however. First, they have to get there and this involves beating Dallas in Dallas, with the lopsided refs, not having the shitty gameplan they did last time, and Favre not playing like an assclown because its in Dallas. Second, assuming they make it to the Superbowl, everyone on the team other than Favre are very young players and would be facing down a vastly more experienced NE team who would employ every type of gamesmanship in the book (and plain old fashioned Dirty Play), with the blessing of the Jedi MAster Video Taper himself. I think the Packers have a better shot at beating the Pats than anyone else, but they are not very likely to overcome the problems they face getting through Dallas, especially while Jones is the head of the Ref committee.

Other teams who might have a shot would be Jacksonville and Pittsburg, but I think its a lot less likely. I see the Pats as 75% likely to have a perfect season at this point. I see them more likely to win the SB if they drop one game in the last couple weeks, however.

How will the Patriots season turn out?