Are the Patriots tanking the #1 seed?

[DougDew]

20 minutes ago, chad72 said:

Yeah, but not to the extent of 10 points from Brady, I've never seen that level of offensive ineptitude, things don't add up to me.

His hand is getting tired at the end of the season from having to grip fully inflated footballs the entire season.

[BOTT]

1 minute ago, chad72 said:

 

Simple question - would you rather play Peyton having 4 1 and dones in the divisional round after a bye or Brady who has lost just 1 game ever in the divisional round after a bye?

Given how the Ravens play the pats and Brady I would have rather played the pats. They needed a near miracle to beat Denver.  I don't put a lot of stock in one and dones without any context.

[NFLfan]

2 minutes ago, Mrs. Misunderstood said:

Denver is not losing this game

 

I am rooting for them. They are hard to beat at Mile High. And with their defense... Can't wait for the playoffs! 

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 minutes ago, The Peytonator said:

 

 

My mistake, I could have swore Cinci got the bye with the win and Pats loss. 

 

Dammit

I thought the same thing  so don't feel bad, Jules and AM put me in my place on that one.

[Jules]

 

I can't believe even talking about a team tanking though. WHO WOULD DO THAT.

[chad72]

19 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

I am rooting for them. They are hard to beat at Mile High. And with their defense... Can't wait for the playoffs! 

 

Yep.

 

It is a vicious cycle. Colts and Steelers have traditionally had the upper hand vs the Broncos. Patriots not so much at Mile High.

 

 

[chad72]

24 minutes ago, BOTT said:

Given how the Ravens play the pats and Brady I would have rather played the pats. They needed a near miracle to beat Denver.  I don't put a lot of stock in one and dones without any context.

 

Peyton takes longer to get in rhythm, Brady does not, IMO. Hence, I feel the divisional round offensive performances from Peyton have been less stellar compared to Brady both of them coming off a bye week.

 

That is why the Ravens felt that they could take on the Patriots with an extra game of playoff mileage while they can take their chances vs a Peyton led offense coming off a bye week than a Brady led offense coming off a bye week. The Patriots hope is that the Steelers traditionally have played the Broncos well. If the Steelers lose to the Bengals, the Bengals are an easy out for the Patriots but if the Steelers beat the Bengals, they'd rather see the Steelers at home with one more playoff game with a chance for Steelers injuries than the Steelers directly in the divisional round. Plus, the Patriots' record at Mile High is not great either. So, they are playing the odds, IMO.

 

Osweiler and McCarron are not going to beat Brady throwing the ball, only Big Ben can.

[Jules]

It's the 50 anniversary of the SB too, they would love to parade around and waltz out all the old timers from Pittsburgh for feel good nostalgia.

 

And I know everyone but chad is thinking "Shut up conspiracy cat girl."

[DougDew]

I'm rooting for Denver.  Even if Osweiler plays the rest of the season and wins the SB, Peyton gets another ring.

[Jules]

3 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

 

Osweiler and McCarron are not going to beat Brady throwing the ball, only Big Ben can.

 

I think it will be tough for Denver to do it again to the Pats and the first game was very close with some lucky breaks for Denver.

 

I am not sure how I feel about the Chiefs chances though. But, I often remember how Andy Reid loves to blow it vs. the Pats.

[Blue Horseshoe]

1 hour ago, chad72 said:

 

Simple question - would you rather play Peyton having 4 1 and dones in the divisional round after a bye or Brady who has lost just 1 game ever in the divisional round after a bye?

I'd rather play the Patriots because Denver's defense is better.  The record of the previous teams the quarterbacks were part of has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

[ViriLudant]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

They are losing their grip on the AFC (because their QB has a weak one).  They may win it all again this year, but they are getting old.

Old?  What an odd comment .  Besides Brady, who looks fine, who's old?  They have one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

[chad72]

6 minutes ago, Blue Horseshoe said:

I'd rather play the Patriots because Denver's defense is better.  The record of the previous teams the quarterbacks were part of has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

 

Two separate things. First, I was referring to the 2012 Harbaugh decision to play Peyton off a bye versus Brady off a bye for the above statement of 1 and dones.

 

Then I extrapolated to a matchup based decision made by the Patriots today, IMO. The sum of all parts with a healthy Gronk and Edelman plus an efficient D vs an average offense of Broncos and a very good D - I think the Pats' sum of parts is better when Edelman and Gronk are playing, IMO.

[DougDew]

13 minutes ago, ViriLudant said:

Old?  What an odd comment .  Besides Brady, who looks fine, who's old?  They have one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

Brady and Gronk are on the decline, just based upon the few games I've watched.

[ViriLudant]

44 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Brady and Gronk are on the decline, just based upon the few games I've watched.

LOL LOL LOL.

Thanks.  That was a great joke.

[BOTT]

1 hour ago, chad72 said:

 

Peyton takes longer to get in rhythm, Brady does not, IMO. Hence, I feel the divisional round offensive performances from Peyton have been less stellar compared to Brady both of them coming off a bye week.

 

That is why the Ravens felt that they could take on the Patriots with an extra game of playoff mileage while they can take their chances vs a Peyton led offense coming off a bye week than a Brady led offense coming off a bye week. The Patriots hope is that the Steelers traditionally have played the Broncos well. If the Steelers lose to the Bengals, the Bengals are an easy out for the Patriots but if the Steelers beat the Bengals, they'd rather see the Steelers at home with one more playoff game with a chance for Steelers injuries than the Steelers directly in the divisional round. Plus, the Patriots' record at Mile High is not great either. So, they are playing the odds, IMO.

 

Osweiler and McCarron are not going to beat Brady throwing the ball, only Big Ben can.

Sorry,, but it makes no sense.  The Ravens would rather face a QB who has traditionally owned them rather than a team and QB they play very well.  Not buying it.

[DougDew]

7 minutes ago, ViriLudant said:

LOL LOL LOL.

Thanks.  That was a great joke.

Brady isn't accurate with the long ball anymore and Gronk has lost a step.

[Jules]

Now we have to see if the Broncos want the #1 seed lol.

[ThaCaliColt]

4 hours ago, chad72 said:

Yeah, but not to the extent of 10 points from Brady, I've never seen that level of offensive ineptitude, things don't add up to me.

Remember that playoff loss to the Ravens like 6 years ago? Pats Looked like a bunch of lost bums in that game. It was wonderful. Loved seeing Brady and those fans miserable and aggravated

[jvan1973]

In what way would tanking help the patriots?

[Gramz]

Just now, jvan1973 said:

In what way would tanking help the patriots?

it's just an excuse.   Hey  did you enjoy the game at LOS today?   Great you got to see a win, and probably Pagano's last game.

[jvan1973]

4 minutes ago, Mrs. Misunderstood said:

it's just an excuse.   Hey  did you enjoy the game at LOS today?   Great you got to see a win, and probably Pagano's last game.

Yeah,    we had a blast.     Getting 11 tickets together wasn't easy,    but we were able to

[cmgww]

I do think there was some strategy to losing to the Jets....& trying to keep the Steelers out, last week. As it stood then, the Jets would have been in and Steelers out bc of that Pats' loss. But the Jets didn't do their part today by losing to the Bills. And the Steelers won. I think that the Steelers are pretty scary on offense, and Belichick knows that. He would have much rather seen the Jets in the playoffs.

[jvan1973]

23 minutes ago, cmgww said:

I do think there was some strategy to losing to the Jets....& trying to keep the Steelers out, last week. As it stood then, the Jets would have been in and Steelers out bc of that Pats' loss. But the Jets didn't do their part today by losing to the Bills. And the Steelers won. I think that the Steelers are pretty scary on offense, and Belichick knows that. He would have much rather seen the Jets in the playoffs.

Ok,  I don't buy it.  But even if that were the case,    what does that have to do with tanking against the dolphins today? 

[Gramz]

1 minute ago, jvan1973 said:

Ok,  I don't buy it.  But even if that were the case,    what does that have to do with tanking against the dolphins today? 

If they were "tanking"  would they have played Brady up until the last Minutes...?  especially when he was hurt early on and continued to get banged up by the Dolphins Defense?   I don't think so.  I don't for a minute buy that they "tanked"..   They just Lost.

[buccolts]

Tanking for a better 2nd round draft pick.

[King Colt]

The Pats have lost four of their last six.

[crazycolt1]

6 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

Why wasn't Suh flagged for that hit?

Because it wasn't a illegal hit.

[crazycolt1]

21 minutes ago, buccolts said:

Tanking for a better 2nd round draft pick.

Sweet.

[OffensivelyPC]

No, there's no guarantee that Pitt would lose in the WC or Divisional Rounds.  Regardless, a game against Pitt would be in NE.  Now, of course, if they play Denver, it's going to be where they lost last time they played.

[Narcosys]

7 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

Why wasn't Suh flagged for that hit?

What was there to flag? He got face masked and then fell down backwards into brady. 

[amfootball]

12 hours ago, cmgww said:

I do think there was some strategy to losing to the Jets....& trying to keep the Steelers out, last week. As it stood then, the Jets would have been in and Steelers out bc of that Pats' loss. But the Jets didn't do their part today by losing to the Bills. And the Steelers won. I think that the Steelers are pretty scary on offense, and Belichick knows that. He would have much rather seen the Jets in the playoffs.

Bill is only concerned with his team. He said after the Tenn game that he would be resting players these last two weeks given they secured the bye. It really does not matter who you play in the divisional if you don't have the players to compete. That being said, he should have just started Jimmy yesterday and rested Brady. That part was silly IMO. They ran the ball 20 times in the first half and only threw 5 times and then decided to drop Brady back the entire second half for more punishment to try to win the game. That made no sense. Bill has done some head scratching things this season. But on to the playoffs and hopefully getting the guys back for a run like last year.

[bababooey]

I don't think you can say they are tanking. Look at all the injuries. But they lost like 4 out of their final 6 for the first time this millenium which isn't the norm. I rode the Tom Brady F U Tour 2015 with Edelman and Blount to 9-0 in fantasy then ended the last month 1-3, clinched first round bye and lost twice in the playoffs, including 3rd place on a deangelo williams stat correction.

[aaron11]

they have done this before to avoid the steelers 

[jvan1973]

Just now, aaron11 said:

they have done this before to avoid the steelers 

When?

[aaron11]

1 minute ago, jvan1973 said:

When?

2005.  they lost to play the jags and avoid the steelers who went on to win it all

[amfootball]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

they have done this before to avoid the steelers 

Good heavens. The Jets were the 6th seed heading into yesterday and just had to win for the last spot. The Pats had no idea at game time if the Jets would win/lose or if the Steelers would win/lose. None of the AFC seeds were set except for the 4th seed. All the Pats knew was they had the bye and therefore they rested their injured players and lost in the process.

[jvan1973]

3 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

2005.  they lost to play the jags and avoid the steelers who went on to win it all

They weren't in contention for the number 1 seed in 05.

[-JJ-]

19 hours ago, chad72 said:

This is not typical of the Patriots. Losing a game late in the season with the #1 seed on the line in the last game?

 

Are the Patriots playing match ups and avoiding the Steelers who they think will get past the #3 seed?

No. They were playing a conservative game to protect Brady. I think he only had two passes half the game.

They ran a lot despite only gaining 2-3 yards a run. They were even running on 3rd and 8 and 10.

If they could win with that, fine, if not they conceded in an effort to keep healthy what they had left.

 

Bill stated before the game with regards to the #1 seed- "It's not where you play but how healthy you are".

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Some say they lost to the jets on purpose(by not taking the ball in overtime) to keep steelers out of playoffs. But the Bills beating the Jets foiled that plan haha.