The-Hammer

Steelers are going to come the closest, but not close enough. Pats are looking great right now.

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Beast!!

quitesanemax

One of the things that worries me about the Pats is that their running game is pretty bad right now. I wish that they would think about picking up Corey Dillon... especially since he has pretty much offered his services. They will need a bruiser... Morris was that guy. With him out, thats really going to start hurting them as winter descends, and it gets tougher to pass the ball. The weaving that Maroney does isn't going to work that well when the ground is slippery.

I think the Bills are going to give us a run for our money. They have an excellent defense, and have been hot since we beat them. Their only loss since was that Monday night disaster. And they will be studying the film of the Colts game. Plus, its in Buffalo, and you don't know what the weather is going to be like out there this time of year.

Philly shouldn't be that tough, as much as they deny it, the controversy surrounding Andy Reid's family is going to affect them. And they weren't doing all that good before that. I don't predict their usual resurgence in the 2nd half of the year.

Baltimore's offense is just too bad to worry about. Their a team in shambles right now.

I don't care what anyone says, that Pittsburgh game is going to be a tough one. Pittsburgh has had their struggles on the road, but they still are a force in the NFL. I think they are very near to the level of the other two juggernauts in the AFC. If we get bad weather for that game, with Pittsburgh's running game, and the Patriots weakness at running the ball, that could really be another big test.

The Jets should be a blowout if ever there was one. The Dolphins I wonder if they put in a bit more effort if the Pats are still undefeated at that point, as that team usually does.

The Giants game could be the one where they lose. If the Pats are still undefeated, the game will mean nothing as far as playoff implications go. I know Belichick tends to play his starters in such situations, and considering that they will get another week off after that, he may be even more inclined to start them... but we lost Harrison last year when we did that. How many chances will he be willing to take? The Giants will be out for blood!

I think every matchup from here on out is going to be a tough one... except maybe the Jets one. Lol.

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Tedy Bruschi '05

bigboy

It really depends IMO on the Colts situation.

If the Colts can keep winning they will force NE to keep winning but if you see the Colts drop a game or 2 that's just going to be 2 games you cant expect to see the Pats starters.

I know some will say Belechek will want to do this and that to show people up and he might WANT to. But Belechek has a boss and his boss is going to want a SB and to rest his players.

I will also be interested to see what that O looks like when that snow comes into Foxborough...

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Footbalmaster

Belichek has never been a coach to rest his players in the final game. The closest I ever saw was I beleive two years ago on New Years day against the Dolphins. When he put in Cassel and had him throw away a two point conversion to tie the game.

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The Patriots dynasty is the best ever in Football history.

bigboy

That's a little different then beng up by like 7-8 games on the division...

It will depend on when they lock up home field really though...

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Footbalmaster

Whats the difference between locking it up by 1 game or 15,for the final game. It doesn't make a difference because you have it locked up.

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The Patriots dynasty is the best ever in Football history.

BeastJacobs

Steelers will tear down the Pats.

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zepplin

Just like you said when the Chargers would beat us by 10+ right? I know you hate the Patriots, but c'mon Pittsburgh really isn't that good. They've lost to Denver and Arizona, two AWFUL teams and they've only beaten mediocre teams.

BeastJacobs

True but Pitts defense can't be compared to the Chargers at all, by far the Steelers D is superior to the defenses they have faced so far. And you saw what Joseph Addai did to that old defense, imagine what Fast Willie is gonna do.

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quitesanemax

Heres the thing about that. The Colts offense is just much better than the Steelers offense in general. The Patriots were allowing Addai to run. They decided the bigger threat was Peyton. Their game plan was to attack Peyton, and make Addai win the game for them. Almost backfired on them... he almost succeeded.

They won't do the same thing with the Steelers. Also, the Patriots had to deal with the crowd noise in the dome. Won't be a problem against the Steelers. I'm not saying the Patriots will beat the Steelers, cause I agree that this is going to be a big challenge to them. But when it has mattered, the Patriots have been able to stop the run. I expect the same will be the case with Willie Parker. The big question is will the Steelers be able to stop the Patriots WRs... when it matters.

One of the things that NFL Network pointed out tonight was that the Patriots have only cold weather outdoor places to play from here on in. When it gets really cold, the ball gets hard as a rock, and it is harder to throw. This could hurt the Patriots... especially some of the new WRs who have no experience with this (except possibly Stallsworth).

Again, this is one of the major reasons why I think they should go after Corey Dillon. Dillon is great in those situations.

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Tedy Bruschi '05