New England Patriots Poll

[ken0042]

16-0 regular season, then lose the playoff game in a blowout.

[Clever_Iggy]

The 1972 Dolphins and their corpse of a head coach are unbelieveable. I've never seen someone or a team be so protective of a record. They celebrate every time the last undefeated team loses, Schula's comments, etc...

Could you imagine Gretzky popping champagne everytime the season finished and someone didnt touch his points or goals record? Sheesh, I dont even think Barry Bonds is going to throw a big party every time a season ends and his 73 HR's still stands.

Ridiculous. Before the Pats/Colts game, I said I didnt care who won as long as the team that won went undefeated to wipe out the '72 Dolphins. That combined with the chance that Miami will go 0-16 this season should be sufficient to shut the '72 Dolphins and that prune Schula up.

I dont like the Pats, but for the rest of the season, color me a temporary Pats fan.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

like take the Patriots for example, you really have to feel for them facing 6 games against the worst division in football where their opponents have a combined record of 5-20 and the bills make up 4 of those wins. Not only that but the Patriots have outscored both the Jets and Dolphins combined.

The fact that these teams can make sure they can get up and win the big games after facing off against lesser opponents is a credit.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2830466

That's the weird thing about "parity" in the NFL. Going into the season, according to the link, the Pats had the third hardest schedule based on 2006 performance.

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...e.php?Page=987

Then there's this link that compares the records of teams against "Quality Opponents", that is, opponents with better than .500 winning percentages. NE beat two otherwise undefeated teams on the road: Dallas and Indy.

You can come up with stats to prove anything even remotely true. 45% of CP posters know that.

[Hanna Sniper]

They are old men reliving the glory days of their youth, the fact that it pisses of so many is rather amusing.

A different day and a different time.

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by fredr123

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2830466

That's the weird thing about "parity" in the NFL. Going into the season, according to the link, the Pats had the third hardest schedule based on 2006 performance.

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com...e.php?Page=987

Then there's this link that compares the records of teams against "Quality Opponents", that is, opponents with better than .500 winning percentages. NE beat two otherwise undefeated teams on the road: Dallas and Indy.

You can come up with stats to prove anything even remotely true. 45% of CP posters know that.

it's more then remotely true that the Jets and Dolphins are a combined 1-16 it's a fact. I'm not going out on a limb or looking for some remote hidden link to support that... just look at the bloody records

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Saint Troy

I think the Colts get'em with a healthy harrison in the afc championship game.

The only problem with that is now the AFC championship game won't be in Indy, I don't see anyone coming close to the pats at home this season.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

like take the Patriots for example, you really have to feel for them facing 6 games against the worst division in football where their opponents have a combined record of 5-20 and the bills make up 4 of those wins. Not only that but the Patriots have outscored both the Jets and Dolphins combined.

The fact that these teams can make sure they can get up and win the big games after facing off against lesser opponents is a credit.

Before the season started, the Pat schedule looked very tough. CIN, NYJ, SD, IND, DAL, BAL, PIT were all playoff teams last year. CLE is much improved. NYG are 6-2. BUF is better than their record shows.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

like take the Patriots for example, you really have to feel for them facing 6 games against the worst division in football where their opponents have a combined record of 5-20 and the bills make up 4 of those wins. Not only that but the Patriots have outscored both the Jets and Dolphins combined.

The fact that these teams can make sure they can get up and win the big games after facing off against lesser opponents is a credit.

1972 Miami Dolphins beat teams that finished the season with a record of 70-122, they faced ONLY ONE TEAM OVER .500 (Giants 8-6) by seasons end, which they beat twice.

Pats schedule looks to be a lot tougher compared to what the Dolphins had to face in 1972, and the Pats seem to be doing it in a more convincing fashion considering how close some of those Dolphins game were.

Spygate or not, if the Pats go 16-0 or 19-0 they will be the greatest team to ever step onto a feild. And I am not even a Patriots fan!

I am not trying ot take anything away from the 1972 team and their coach, because it is a great feat that they pulled off. I am just getting a little sick of them opening up their mouths like they are gods to football, because as stats will show they beat some pretty lame teams.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Well I think they CAN too, but they won't.

[ricoFlame]

someone will step up and nip 'em in the regular season. who, i don't know.

[Clever_Iggy]

A good article about the ridiculous '72 Fins.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?eref=T1

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Clever_Iggy

A good article about the ridiculous '72 Fins.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?eref=T1

Good read.

In the case of the Patriots, Shula's contention is a stretch. New England was found to have broken the rules in the first half of the first game against the Jets, a team the Patriots could have crushed without any illegal help. Even the Jets themselves would probably admit that the filming of their signs didn't change the outcome of the game.

[Clever_Iggy]

Schula "softened" his comments on the asterisk that should be attached to the Patriots potential undefeated season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3099870

I wonder if this will result in him not being invited to the annual champagne popping and prune juice celebration with his former players at Del Boca Vista if the Pats should lose.

[flambers]

I watched Sportsnet last night and they had an NFL expert on the show and they asked him if he thought the team would go undefeated.

He said no, but he qualified it as the following..... he said he believed if New England is 15-0 going into the last week of the schedule against the Giants.

He thought New England would not play the starters or would play them only 1 Quarter. This would be the most difficult game to win as New England would rather rest the players in fear of injuries than go after a record. While the Giants would be pushing hard for a playoff spot.

Anyhow that is an interesting theory....

[Hanna Sniper]

You have to love it when you make a comment and all of a sudden someone has to come along and make it into something it isn't...

I never compared the '72 season with the Pats sched for this year... my comment was in reference in how soft the Dolphins season was in '72 and I was stating that the Pats have a couple walks in the park themselves with 6 games against a very sad sad division without the Pats. the Jets and Dolphins are 1-16, frig I'll repeat 1-16 and that Pats play them a total of 4 times. And in that post where I brought this up I was actually talking about .... the point of the post was NOT to say that the Pats have an easier schedule then the '72 Dolphins that the Shula basher's want it to be but how a team can go from one extreme from a winless Dolphins to a undefeated Colts and still manage to rise to the occasion.

The biggest hurdle for the Pats is going to be the attention and pressure that all this hype is going to generate. If thats not a heavy burden to carry imagine the drive and determination that this is going to create in their opponents by seasons end. Nothing more dangerous then facing off against a team that has nothing to loose on the worlds stage.

for the record I hope that they don't do it and the reason being is I hate that they had to cheat to beat the Jets... if it was against the Colts I wouldn't even care. But against the Jets, even on their best day the Jets couldn't beat them

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Hanna Sniper

for the record I hope that they don't do it and the reason being is I hate that they had to cheat to beat the Jets... if it was against the Colts I wouldn't even care. But against the Jets, even on their best day the Jets couldn't beat them

[Hanna Sniper]

lol, yes i should have said "they found it necessary to cheat against the Jets" and not "cheat to beat the Jets".

[habernac]

LOL.

[CaramonLS]

*bump*

Not looking too bad.

[Azure]

Hey, I should vote.