NFL Thread II

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But man this really feels like one of those "the pats went 14-2 and lost in their first playoff game" seasons.

Time will tell.

They were certainly written off by many last year entering the playoffs and we know how that ended.
I think if they hold onto the 1 seed, Baltimore is the only team that would have a shot at winning in Gillette, that wouldn't be the first round.
Health will be critical. They need Sanu and Dorsett healthy to give the offense more options.
 
I am in no way trying to be a dick or even diminish the Patriots run, because BB is just a crazy good coach.

But damn, I wish my Packers had 17 straight years of playing the Dolphins, Bills, and Jets.

But that’s pure jealousy speaking.
 
For any given year, any team in the division isn’t total garbage. There’s usually one decent 8-8 team. The Pats have the titles to prove that their scheduling doesn’t inflate their ability to win out of conference (as do their H2H records against other teams not in the conference).

This year is an exception. Their schedule is truly god awful to an exceptional level, and they haven’t looked good. I’m not counting them out as SB contenders, but Brady does need to find form.
 
Could be a huge game at the end of season between Seattle and San Fran.

I didn't get to see their first matchup, but I'm hoping Jimmy G can keep progressing and be what puts them over, cause the defense is legit (but seems to struggle against Arizona...)
 
For any given year, any team in the division isn’t total garbage. There’s usually one decent 8-8 team. The Pats have the titles to prove that their scheduling doesn’t inflate their ability to win out of conference (as do their H2H records against other teams not in the conference).

This year is an exception. Their schedule is truly god awful to an exceptional level, and they haven’t looked good. I’m not counting them out as SB contenders, but Brady does need to find form.
There is one other good AFC East team this year: let's not discount the Bills. They have a good shot at the wildcard despite a challenging upcoming schedule and possess a great defense.

This is a pretty typical AFC East, although the floor is lower than normal because the Dolphins are excruciating.
 
Yeah I've had the AFC East discussion with folks, its easy to just point and Nelson Muntz laugh at the division until you take a closer look and realize that there has been some decent (by no means great) competition in most years. As Travis mentioned, the Bills are a good team this year, 8-3 with a top 5 defense. We'll get an idea of just how good while we choke down our turkey Thursday. But the Jets and Dolphins have had some decent teams during the Pats run (Bills not so much till really just now), and the Pats winning percentage doesn't drop off against the rest of the league.
From 2001 through end of last season, Pats were 86-24 vs AFC East teams (.782 pct), but also 134-44 against everyone else (.753 pct.)
During that time frame they are 60-33 against teams that make the playoffs in the season they play them (.645) Steelers are 2nd during that time with a .480 win pct.
And against teams with winning record Pats are 75-45 (.625) Steelers again are 2nd with a .440 win pct.
Anyone who continues to say this is because of playing in a weak division (not meaning anyone here) really just isn't paying attention.

The domination is something that will never come close to being matched again.
 
I’d credit the successful Bills to the laughable Bills schedule too.

Jets
Giants
Bengals
Patriots
Titans
Dolphins
Eagles
Redskins
Browns
Broncos

Come on. In a year that the AFC East plays the NFC East plus the Browns and Bengals, someone had to get to 8-3 and that doesn’t make them great. Good defense though.
 
If the Bills had played the Chargers instead of the Titans, not only would they have not played a single team above .500 aside from the Patriots, but they would have played the absolute worst teams in the league from the bottom up in the AFC.
 
I mean, you said the AFC East always has one decent 8-8 team that offers a challenge for the Patriots. Even if they had a challenging schedule, I think the Bills would fit that description and then some. They're pretty good, not great, and a legitimate challenge.
 
You asserted that this is a pretty normal year for the AFC East and I disagree. The Bills are good by virtue of the same garbage schedule that they all feature, the Jets are awful, and the Dolphins are humiliatingly bad.

What’s messed up is that, outside of otherwise the worst division in football exists a team in Ohio that isn’t the Browns... that the Bills got to play.

This is an exceptionally bad AFC East.
 
I get the whole wincing when I said that the AFC East has been awful during the Patriots dynasty, and I’m definitely not taking anything away from them. The Patriots flat out earned it. But I also think it’s ok to recognize that they’ve benefited from some really poor competition within their division. But like I said, my comment was out of pure jealousy as my Packers have consistently had to deal with the Vikings since the division realignment. And the Bears have had some really good years in there too.
 
Yeah I've had the AFC East discussion with folks, its easy to just point and Nelson Muntz laugh at the division until you take a closer look and realize that there has been some decent (by no means great) competition in most years. As Travis mentioned, the Bills are a good team this year, 8-3 with a top 5 defense. We'll get an idea of just how good while we choke down our turkey Thursday. But the Jets and Dolphins have had some decent teams during the Pats run (Bills not so much till really just now), and the Pats winning percentage doesn't drop off against the rest of the league.
From 2001 through end of last season, Pats were 86-24 vs AFC East teams (.782 pct), but also 134-44 against everyone else (.753 pct.)
During that time frame they are 60-33 against teams that make the playoffs in the season they play them (.645) Steelers are 2nd during that time with a .480 win pct.
And against teams with winning record Pats are 75-45 (.625) Steelers again are 2nd with a .440 win pct.
Anyone who continues to say this is because of playing in a weak division (not meaning anyone here) really just isn't paying attention.

The domination is something that will never come close to being matched again.
You're not wrong, and this run of the Pats is unrivaled in American sports history.

The division being historically terrible - short of a couple of Dolphins teams at the start of the run and, like, 2 Jets teams in the middle - isn't merely an aid to the Pats schedule.

If anything years like this, where the Pats have an amazing record but look highly suspect - have been the exception, not the norm.

And come on... the Bills aren't good.

That said... there have been countless times during the Pats run where good teams with winning records that could easily compete for a Super Bowl have missed the playoffs.

This never happens to the Pats because the division is a clown show. THAT is the advantage - not that the Pats aren't good and are just fortunate to be in a bad division. That's horse shit.

The advantage is in never having to sweat out a playoff spot on years when there's a bunch of good teams. That alone has had much more of an impact on this historic run than the vastly overblown spygate or deflategate controversies.
 
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That said... there have been countless times during the Pats run where good teams with winning records that could easily compete for a Super Bowl have missed the playoffs.

This never happens to the Pats because the division is a clown show. THAT is the advantage - not that the Pats aren't good and are just fortunate to be in a bad division. That's horse shit.
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Happened to the Pats in 2008. 11-5, missed the playoffs, whilst an 8-8 Chargers team got in.
 
I'm doubling down on the Bills being good.

Not looking forward to Garrett being fired. I want him to be their HC forever.
 
I’m tripling down on the NFC East being surprisingly worse than the AFC East, in a year where both divisions play each other fully.
 
man that week 16 philly/dallas game is going to be so intense to determine who wins the privilege of getting curbstomped in their own building by the seahawks in the wildcard game.
 
This NFC East reminds me of our divisions of the late 90s/early 00s. I can't believe there was a champion in the mix just a couple years ago.
 
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Bills D is legit and Allen is starting to pass like an NFL QB. Made some real good throws today.

Cowboys wins have come against the Giants (twice), Redskins, Dolphins, Eagles and Lions (with a backup QB). They lost to the Jets. They are hot garbage. Jones should fire the GM.
Eagles can start printing playoff tickets.
 
I didn't realize every Eagles wide receiver was wearing 85.

AngryHopefulGnat-small.gif
 
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