can anybody beat these guys?

[Paulypalooza]

Right now in the NFL it looks like a three horse race. Four if Indy can get healthy again, but with 8 players done for the season including Dwight Freeney, and Anthony McFarland how healthy can they get?

When you look NFL today you have the Pats, Packers and Cowboys at the top of the heap and then the talent level takes a nose dive. Nobody else really comes close.

Is it just me is it a forgone conclusion that the Packers and Cowboys will be meeting in the NFC Championship game to see who the Patriots are gonna beat in Arizona?

[Wook]

Let's be honest here... New England is at the top. At this point anything less than an undefeated superbowl run is going to be less than they are capable of. Green Bay and Dallas are meley the only 2 NFC teams that appear to have a reasonable chance of stopping them right now. There is no guarantee that either of them can actually do it though. When I look at the rest of the league the only other teams that have the potential, and I would not bet on them having any real chance but rather just the potential on a perfect day, would be Pittsburgh, Indy, and the Giants.

[Detritus]

Freeney being out for the season is an absolutely huge blow for the Colts. The single biggest reason that the Colts were able to hang with the Pats for so long was the rush that Freeney and Mathis were able to apply on Brady, until they finally ran out of gas. I'm not sure if a healthy Harrison in the playoffs will be enough to offset the loss of Freeney. I honestly think Tennessee and Jacksonville match up better with New England than Indy minus Freeney does right now, unless Simeon Rice can somehow turn the clock back a good 5 years.

Dallas-Green Bay is the likeliest matchup in the NFC championship game, but I think Seattle is going to be a tough out along the way. Basically, the fact that Alexander is playing like ass right now has forced Seattle to air it out, and they have the weapons to pick off anyone in the conference by a 34-31 type score, especially if Branch makes it back to full strength by the playoffs.

[Detritus]

Let's be honest here... New England is at the top. At this point anything less than an undefeated superbowl run is going to be less than they are capable of. Green Bay and Dallas are meley the only 2 NFC teams that appear to have a reasonable chance of stopping them right now. There is no guarantee that either of them can actually do it though. When I look at the rest of the league the only other teams that have the potential, and I would not bet on them having any real chance but rather just the potential on a perfect day, would be Pittsburgh, Indy, and the Giants.
I forgot about the Steelers. They might have the right combo of firepower and defensive prowess to give the Pats a game.

Dallas actually hung in there for three quarters vs. the Pats until the wheels fell off in the 4th. Favre is playing out of his mind right now, and he has two go-to guys in Driver and Jennings, and some nice options outside of them in Jones, Lee, and even Ruvell Martin. I think they also have the secondary that has the best chance of slowing down the Pats' receivers, but that's a tough way to try and beat New England. Ryan Grant's emergence also means that you can't totally sell out to the pass rush vs. the Pack.

[Paulypalooza]

I forgot about the Steelers. They might have the right combo of firepower and defensive prowess to give the Pats a game.

Dallas actually hung in there for three quarters vs. the Pats until the wheels fell off in the 4th. Favre is playing out of his mind right now, and he has two go-to guys in Driver and Jennings, and some nice options outside of them in Jones, Lee, and even Ruvell Martin. I think they also have the secondary that has the best chance of slowing down the Pats' receivers, but that's a tough way to try and beat New England. Ryan Grant's emergence also means that you can't totally sell out to the pass rush vs. the Pack.

But which Steelers team is going to show up? The one that torches it's opponent or the one that losses to the likes of the Cards and the Jets?

I'd like to believe that if the Cowboys could ever get Newman and Henry on the field together instead of having to play Reeves as a starting corner it would make a difference against the Pats. But Brady would simply turn his attention to Roy Williams and burn him all day long.

Williams is a fierce hitter and plays great against the run but he can't cover worth a damn.

[silverwhisper]

wook, the only reason the giants have a glimmer of hope is that it's the last regular season game: belichick won't run his first team all four quarters. and even if they do win, it'll be like strahan's record-breaking sack on favre--a gift, not an honest to goodness reflection of the opposition's true capabilities.

btw: don't forget that mathias kiwanuka's out for the rest of the season w/ a broken leg.

and yeah, i think that we'll see green bay/dallas late in the postseason, too.

[carmachu]

I forgot about the Steelers. They might have the right combo of firepower and defensive prowess to give the Pats a game.

They lost to the freaking Jets this season. I dont rank them that highly.....

[silverwhisper]

honestly, when i see good teams fall to bad teams, that says to me that the players didn't take the bad team very seriously. i wouldn't necessarily write off pittsburgh, myself.

[Detritus]

They lost to the freaking Jets this season. I dont rank them that highly.....
Even factoring in the loss to the Jets, the Steelers are still #4 in the league in average margin of victory through 10 weeks. That's actually better than the Packers right now, and not very far behind either the Colts or Cowboys:

http://www.nfl.com/standings

They've also given up fewer points than the Pats through 10 games. The Pats do have the 14 PPG edge in scoring right now, which is huge, but the Steelers' 27 PPG isn't too shabby. In any other season, the Steelers would be mentioned as title contenders.

[Parzival]

My dark horse pick: Jacksonville

I think they would match up pretty well with the Pats.
Their D is pretty solid against teams that play vertically. And they consistantly make long, time-consuiming scoring drives. (Witness their clashes with Indy over the past couple years, and realize that they're markedly improved this year.)
Since they're probably going to make the play-offs as a wild card, they're likely to meet the Pats early in the play-offs.

[carmachu]

Even factoring in the loss to the Jets, the Steelers are still #4 in the league in average margin of victory through 10 weeks. That's actually better than the Packers right now, and not very far behind either the Colts or Cowboys:

http://www.nfl.com/standings

They've also given up fewer points than the Pats through 10 games. The Pats do have the 14 PPG edge in scoring right now, which is huge, but the Steelers' 27 PPG isn't too shabby. In any other season, the Steelers would be mentioned as title contenders.

That is all True. But you CANT be talked about in the top spots giving up to a 1 and 8 team.....because no which team is showing up?

[Detritus]

That is all True. But you CANT be talked about in the top spots giving up to a 1 and 8 team.....because no which team is showing up?
If you want to weight one bad game equally with the balance of the Steelers' performance this season, please do, but I'm going to say that the chances are pretty good that the good Steelers show up come playoff time.

[Paulypalooza]

wook, the only reason the giants have a glimmer of hope is that it's the last regular season game: belichick won't run his first team all four quarters. and even if they do win, it'll be like strahan's record-breaking sack on favre--a gift, not an honest to goodness reflection of the opposition's true capabilities.



I've heard that argument four a couple months now. Think about it. If Bellichick has a chance to 16-0 after spy-gate and Shula bad mouthing him saying the Pats should have an asterisk next to their name in the record book if they do go 16-0 don't you think he will go for it if for no other reason than to rub their nose in it?

He has kept Brady in, and throwing it, till the final gun in games where they have been up by 40 points. Do you think they will stop when the finnish line is within sight? I sure as don't.

[Parzival]

And he did this against Buffalo, which has been depleted by injuries, relies on defense to keep them in games, and has a head coach that Bellichik actually *likes*.

Resting your starters is a cautious move. You're worried more about injury than rust or conditioning. <shrug> There's nothing in the organization's recent history that suggests this is likely.

[Detritus]

BTW, scratch what I said about Tennessee. They are getting killed by the Bengals right now.

[silverwhisper]

and scratch what i said about the giants, who are collectively playing like smurfs, not giants.

i actually shut off the game for the first time ever.

[carmachu]

Wow the giants really stunk up the place today.

[silverwhisper]

no, "stunk" is what a skunk does.

what the giants did today, in terms of creating a bad odor, was the equivalent of importing tons and tons of rotting corpses and letting them sit for a week in 100 degree temperatures with 100% humidity.

[carmachu]

Even without the 3 return pick TD's they still would have lost. Sad....

[silverwhisper]

don't forget the 4th pick also led to 7.

[carmachu]

Sports talk radio will be howelling for blood tomorrow.

[silverwhisper]

have the cries already started for lorenzen?

[Detritus]

Well... looks like the Eagles will be entering the 4th quarter tonight with a lead vs. the Pats.

[Wook]

Man that was a close game.

[Paulypalooza]

Until that last interception I thought the Eagles were gonna pull that one out.

[Detritus]

This game definitely establishes that the Pats are beatable, but also reaffirms that you have to be pretty damn close to perfect to do it.

[Kalzazz]

So far the Fantasy Football program hasnt granted Donovan McNabb any points for this

[Detritus]

So far the Fantasy Football program hasnt granted Donovan McNabb any points for this
That's because McNabb didn't play tonight, AJ Feeley started at QB for Philly.

[silverwhisper]

so what are the odds that pittsburgh mimics jim johnson's gameplan? and is it a gameplan they can make work?

[Brother Brian]

This game definitely establishes that the Pats are beatable, but also reaffirms that you have to be pretty damn close to perfect to do it.

Philly played awesome, today, and if there are such things as moral victories in pro sports this would be one.

That said, the Patriots didn't play great ball. The receivers kept dropping passes, the d-line looked anemic, and the o-line was not their usual factor either.

Even Brady was off, spending too much time looking for Moss, who was being double covered.

The officiating was pretty bad to. The offensive pass interference call was awful, and about 3 minutes later the Philly CB held Moss on a slant, to the point of pulling his shirt over his shoulder pads. No call of course.

This was the game I was afraid of, (though I though it was more likely to be next week). The one that showed the team that they are only head and shoulders above the rest, when they are at 100%.

[silverwhisper]

yeah, i totally don't see that offensive pass interference penalty, either.

but then again, one bad call or non-call shouldn't defeat a team. and here, it didn't.

[Wook]

Well no but those were both pretty egregious on the part of the officials.

[Detritus]

Philly played awesome, today, and if there are such things as moral victories in pro sports this would be one.

That said, the Patriots didn't play great ball. The receivers kept dropping passes, the d-line looked anemic, and the o-line was not their usual factor either.
I think a lot of the Pats' struggles had to do directly with the effort the Eagles put forth last night. They reached up, grabbed the Pats with both hands, and pulled them back towards earth. They very nearly pulled them to the ground.

Even Brady was off, spending too much time looking for Moss, who was being double covered.
I don't think Brady was doing that much forcing of the ball to Moss. Welker had 13 receptions last night, and even Jabar Gaffney had 6 catches to Moss's 5. Hell, Stallworth had 4 catches as well.

Brady ended up 34 of 54 with 380 yards and the TD to Gaffney, and didn't commit any turnovers, either. That's a big night. He was only off compared to the ridiculously high standard he set in the Pats' first 10 games.

The officiating was pretty bad to. The offensive pass interference call was awful, and about 3 minutes later the Philly CB held Moss on a slant, to the point of pulling his shirt over his shoulder pads. No call of course.
The penalty on Moss was definitely bogus, but they still should have gotten three points out of that drive. The no call was also pretty bad, I'll grant that. I think the Pats got a break when they didn't review Gaffney's TD catch, but it probably would have been upheld. You'll just have to forgive me if I don't shed any tears since these calls didn't cost the Pats the game, however.

This was the game I was afraid of, (though I though it was more likely to be next week). The one that showed the team that they are only head and shoulders above the rest, when they are at 100%.
It was definitely a wakeup call.

[Brother Brian]

I think a lot of the Pats' struggles had to do directly with the effort the Eagles put forth last night. They reached up, grabbed the Pats with both hands, and pulled them back towards earth. They very nearly pulled them to the ground.

Good way to put it. The Eagles hustled the way to keep it close.


I don't think Brady was doing that much forcing of the ball to Moss. Welker had 13 receptions last night, and even Jabar Gaffney had 6 catches to Moss's 5. Hell, Stallworth had 4 catches as well.

He only had a couple of WTF passes to moss in double coverage, but especially early in the game, he was holding onto the ball longer than he should have while he waited for Moss to get open.

Brady ended up 34 of 54 with 380 yards and the TD to Gaffney, and didn't commit any turnovers, either. That's a big night. He was only off compared to the ridiculously high standard he set in the Pats' first 10 games.

Right, he was off. :th_angelsmiley4: Plus about 6 of those incompletion were straight up drops by the recievers. But only 1 TD? That's a bad night for him.

The penalty on Moss was definitely bogus, but they still should have gotten three points out of that drive. The no call was also pretty bad, I'll grant that. I think the Pats got a break when they didn't review Gaffney's TD catch, but it probably would have been upheld. You'll just have to forgive me if I don't shed any tears since these calls didn't cost the Pats the game, however.

Actually, had it cost the Pats the game, I wouldn't have brought it up. But week in and week out, I see the refs doing a piss poor job, and it's starting to annoy me. It's not that they are favoring one team over another, they just seem to suck this year.

It was definitely a wakeup call.

So sayest sports radio as well.

But in reality, if we go out and beat the Raven's by 25 points; everyone is going to say how Philly caught us on an off night, etc etc.

My only real concern coming out of the game was how obvious it was that the D was willing to give up the inside route, how Philly took advantage of it, and how no adjustments were made.

[Starhawk]

This game definitely establishes that the Pats are beatable, but also reaffirms that you have to be pretty damn close to perfect to do it.

The Colts game already established this. :spring_blau:

Although I think the Eagles went a long way toward confirming it.