New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

BKWDR

eagle eye wrote: »

Oakland beating the Bills at the moment. If that continues then we will be facing a team next week who are out of the playoffs which has to be a good thing I'd imagine.

But it also takes the sting out of the game il be going to. But hopefully all full guns blazing to get the no. 1 seed!

Hazys

TBH I think the Bills are more dangerous with the pressure off than on. If they were playing for a playoff place next week, I'm sure they would have found a way to mess it up themselves :pac:

bruschi

I only got to watch the game intermittently as it was on, so didnt get a full feel for the flow of it in its entirety. I'm not overly disappointed, we ground out a hard fought win against a team who were basically playing for their careers, both on the sidelines and field. Its better now to get the kick in the arse to iron out the kinks and problems than the first playoff game.

I was disappointed in the lack of carries for Gray though (even if he did win me money by scoring a TD at evens!) but 6 yards on 5 carries is not much to work off. Bolden in fairness to him had a nice long run near the end. Amendola was very good, and showing his worth now is no harm at all. The O line was brutal, so hopefully the problems there can be solved quickly.

One to go for home field advantage, but would not say no to Cincy winning tonight and making it easier again in the last game.

Hazys

Of the AFC teams in the hunt for the 6th playoff spot, the Ravens scare me the most as they have a pass rush to cause us problems. Gimme Chargers, Texans and revenge over the Chiefs over them, in that order

bruschi

Hazys wrote: »

Of the AFC teams in the hunt for the 6th playoff spot, the Ravens scare me the most as they have a pass rush to cause us problems. Gimme Chargers, Texans and revenge over the Chiefs over them, in that order

would the 6th seed get through Indy? I dont think they will to be honest, and if things go to plan, I'd envisage the Pats will be playing either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati in Foxboro.

Son Of A Vidic

Yesterday's win means the Pats become the first team in NFL history to win 5 consecutive first-round byes into the playoffs.

Vandango

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

The O line needs to sort their shít out quick or our postseason could be very short. Since the Packers game, they had spells of poor play in every game since, but today was the worst in some time. Still baffled as to how Cannon can justify his recent multi-million dollar extension. The only thing he's doing well atm is false start penalties. Kline stepping in for Connolly was so poor, they had to bench him at half time. He's another lineman I can't see any justification for keeping on the roster next year.

I couldn't agree more, just glad Brady made it through the game uninjured. How well the O line improves from here on, will determine how successful our postseason will be.

JaMarcusHustle

#1 seed wrapped up boys

eagle eye

Wishing all New England Patriots a very merry Christmas and happy New Year with HFA.

Lots of love from your good friends at the Cincinnati Bengals
xxxx

eagle eye

I love the Bengals right now, its nice to have the HFA wrapped up before Christmas. The Bengals could end up no.2 seeds if Denver manage to lose against the Raiders.

JaMarcusHustle

Send Gronk to Hawaii for the week. I don't want to see him anywhere near the game this weekend.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Great to be No1 seed. A week off and home field advantage.
Doubt Bill will rest anyone (unless injured) against the Bills.
Will probably wait till Q4 to see if guys can be rested.

But, and Corvus touched on this; the OL. It'll make or break our season.
We're good enough to go all the way, but it's obvious where we are weak, and there are teams with the required quality who can come into Foxboro and win.
Without a huge deal of faith on our OL, it'll be nail biters all the way!

BKWDR

With the Bengals beating the Broncos that means the Bills game stays a 1pm game which is better as it wont be colder over there later in the day if it had been pushed to 4pm!

BizzyC

Can we wrap Gronk in bubble wrap this week?

paulie21

Hopefully give Edelman a rest this week make sure he is fully right for the playoffs

BKWDR

BizzyC wrote: »

Can we wrap Gronk in bubble wrap this week?

Not to put too bad a jinx on it, the last Pats game i went to was the one he was injured against the Browns last December.. :eek::cool:

Son Of A Vidic

BKWDR wrote: »

Not to put too bad a jinx on it, the last Pats game i went to was the one he was injured against the Browns last December.. :eek::cool:

You're going to the Bill game aren't you. So this now means you can't go to the Bills game......Kapish!

BKWDR

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

You're going to the Bill game aren't you. So this now means you can't go to the Bills game......Kapish!

*tears up plane ticket*

Son Of A Vidic

BKWDR wrote: »

*tears up plane ticket*

* Celebrates.....then searches for torn up ticket *

Hazys

Couple of random thoughts.

Seahawks look like the team to beat right now, they are getting hot at the right time while the Pats and certainly the Broncos are cooling off a bit.

Special teams have been massive for us this year and have single handily won games for us. 4 blocked FGs in a season is amazing!!! Chandler Jones' block and return against the Vikings basically killed off the game at half time. Chris Jones' block won us the first game against the Jets. Collins' block for Arrington's return was a momentum changer against the Dolphins. Wilfork's block won the game on Sunday as we just needed 2 1st downs to close it out. Not to mention, Bolden's block against the Chargers and Edelman's punt return against the Broncos.

Even tho he has been a unsung hero for us all season, Patrick Chung was awful on Sunday, getting beat in coverage a lot and for the TD and missing multiple tackles surprised i haven't seen much criticism of his performance from Sunday. Hopefully this is the one blemish on his great season so far.

I know he deserved a lot of criticism earlier in the season for his play calling but McDaniels seems to have figured it out (or at least the improved play of the oline means we can actually pull off the game plan he wanted to play). This was pretty evident in his 3rd and 1 call to win the game on Sunday. Against a very strong Jets dline the 1st down was no sure thing so he puts in Bolden looking like they will try to bash it up the middle so he fakes it to the inside, taking the Jets LBs to the inside and flings it out to Bolden for an easy 1st down and winning the game. Still wish he'd run more in his play calling overall even when its not working, still too many 3rd and longs and many times the offense gets off to a slow start...but 100x better than the first 4 weeks of the season.

Son Of A Vidic

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Great to be No1 seed. A week off and home field advantage.
Doubt Bill will rest anyone (unless injured) against the Bills.
Will probably wait till Q4 to see if guys can be rested.

But, and Corvus touched on this; the OL. It'll make or break our season.
We're good enough to go all the way, but it's obvious where we are weak, and there are teams with the required quality who can come into Foxboro and win.
Without a huge deal of faith on our OL, it'll be nail biters all the way!

If I had no worries about our O line, I would have complete & confidence in us lifting the Lombardi. Our O line remains a worry for me and I think our season will be made or broken, depending on how well or poorly they play.

BKWDR

Flights to Phoenix are coming in at €666 .... just sayin...

Hazys

BKWDR wrote: »

Flights to Phoenix are coming in at €666 .... just sayin...

I had a look a couple of weeks back after we beat the Broncos, you could get flights from Boston and hotel for $700 a person, but only issue is the Super Bowl tickets are a measly $2500 for 3rd tier

BKWDR

Hazys wrote: »

I had a look a couple of weeks back after we beat the Broncos, you could get flights from Boston and hotel for $700 a person, but only issue is the Super Bowl tickets are a measly $2500 for 3rd tier

I have chatted with people who had no problem getting tickets, now i didnt think they were that much .... :eek:

CJC86

BKWDR wrote: »

Flights to Phoenix are coming in at €666 .... just sayin...

Reminds me of the SNL sketch where Jesus visits the Tebow-led Broncos and what he says about BB's affiliations. Good sign?

Son Of A Vidic

After the Chiefs game, a few media trolls thought Brad and the Pats were done. And here we now having achieved a record breaking 5th consecutive bye and we've sealed the AFC top seeding with a game to spare. Boy, their silence is now deafening.

RE: the upcoming Chiefs game. Brady isn't a man who likes to sit on the sidelines and I can understand that. But it would be nice to see Garoppolo maybe playing for a full half at least. Gronk & Edelman should definitely be wrapped in cotton wool and I would also probably rest La Fell and give Tyms a full game. On the defensive side of the ball, I'd rest Revis, Browner, Wilfork and Collins. Interesting article here on who we should and shouldn't rest...

http://www.patsfans.com/bob/articles/2014/12/23/patriots-should-start-garoppolo-next-sunday/

eagle eye

Yep its a great chance to give Garoppolo some action and I'd be disappointed if it doesn't happen. I'd like to see Tyms get plenty of reps too and rest La Fell who has been dealing with a shoulder injury the past couple of weeks.

I'd like to see James White and Bolden get plenty of time too and I'd rest Vereen, Gray and Blount if possible. Dennard could do with some reps too, you'd never know when he might be called upon in the postseason.

Shedite27

BKWDR wrote: »

Flights to Phoenix are coming in at €666 .... just sayin...

I went in 2008 (Dublin-Vegas for bout €400 back then). Didn't end well

JaMarcusHustle

A couple of familiar faces show up in the new trailer for the Entourage movie.

AbusesToilets

Shedite27 wrote: »

I went in 2008 (Dublin-Vegas for bout €400 back then). Didn't end well

Did you post a picture there? I can't see anything