Well....after the Bye week in week 4 the New England Patriots are now 4-0 with a 30-6 SPANKING of the Cowboys in Dallas. The Cowboys defense played a great 1st half as they were only down 13-3 at the half but the Patriots shook off Week 3 Bye Rust and beat the Cowboys 30-7. CBS announcers Jim Nance and Phil Simms talked about the intensity of the game and how the Cowboys were playing as if it was the Super Bowl but no team can come out playing one dimensionally against the Patriots and expect to win. The Cowboys need to get Matt Castle in as QB as soon as possible if they want to salvage their season and Matt Castle the former Patriot and Brady understudy is good enough to get the Cowboys to the Playoffs. Meanwhile....Tom Brady and the Patriots continue to win as usual and the CBS announcers also were comparing this Patriots Team to the Patriots 07 Team that went 16-0 in the regular season. I don't know about the Pat's going undefeated as that's a tall order but right now they definitely look like Champions and the Patriots look like they are ready to win Super Bowl L. AboveAlpha
Brady was supposed to be suspended for these 4 games, so naturally he was excited to be there. The rest of the team was mentally prepared to play without him and didn't drop the intensity. In the next few weeks they'll revert to business as usual and have a very close game before the end of October. They'll probably lose twice before the end of the season though the second loss may be after they clinch a playoff berth. The problem is two thirds of the league stinks now, so the good teams only lose to each other.
Brady was informed by his lawyers that the NFL would lose it's case thus Brady expected to play this game. The Patriots look really good and Dallas played about as good as they could play but it was simply not enough. I think the Patriots will remain undefeated with this roster and as long as they don't lose any major players to injury they will continue to win. AboveAlpha
In general a team wins or loses one game each year because of a funny bounce and another on a turnover, so the safest bet for a team that could go undefeated based on talent is always 14-2. If I'm not mistaken the Patriots in recent years were noted for winning very close games, often after comebacks and I consider that their default condition. By the end of October I expect one such game. If they win 15 or 16 it will include the funny bounce game. That I guarantee.
It is unlikely that the Patriots would go undefeated but if any team could....it would be the Patriots. Tom Brady is playing at an incredibly high level and at 38 years old is showing no signs of age. Just back in the 90's a QB that was 33 years old was considered past his prime but nowadays with off season training supplements and diet an NFL QB can remain playing at a high level till 40 and perhaps beyond. Brady is playing better than any QB I have ever seen right now and at 38....looks ready to win another Super Bowl. AboveAlpha
They are the exceptions to the rule. Nowadays QB's are all playing deep into their 30's and 40's. AboveAlpha
The enforcement of running into the passer and roughing the passer rules has helped keep a few more qbs healthy. The scarcity of strong arms has kept a few qbs in the league longer. Also offensive linemen are bigger than sumo wrestlers now. Qbs used to have career-ending injuries because they were expected to run with the ball. They were replaced in their early 30s by younger qbs with stronger arms when they had wide receivers with promise. Brady, Farvre and Marino are on the short list of qbs who've been able to live by the pass and remain successful for a long time. Some didn't have to because of great running backs. I'm not sure what you're trying to point out here. Winning teams have been the ones with many weapons. One-dimensional offenses, whether Marino, OJ, or Payton, might take one superbowl.
C'mon, Blanda and Morrall??? Unitas was great, but Blanda and Morrall??? Heck, I'd throw Tom Matte in there with Blanda and Morrall.
Matte was a running back and also over 30 in the early 1970s. My purpose was to list the 3 oldest qbs playing well in 1971-72 the first years I cared. I remembered that John Brodie led the league in interceptions in 1972 (his 16th season) so I included Morall instead. (Morall seems to have reached his peak in his late 30s.) A few years later Fran Tarkenton was more than adequate in his late 30s. Things were different before the 1950s but most players did not suddenly get bad at a certain age. This summer I labored through the writing of a series of essays about 14 of which analyzed the whole career of Nolan Ryan. I remember waiting for him to fall apart with age and he never did. His endurance alone made him great. Brady and Belichick will probably retire together, maybe this year with one more big ring. That way we'll never see either of them get bad.
I jusy checked the Pats schedule. They have a history of losing on November 15 and a history of struggling with NFC teams so the games on November 8 Redskins and November 15 Giants are the biggest threats, along with perhaps the Colts next week. 13 should be the minimum number of victories and if they lose 1 or 2 one of those will be on the list.
Your right....One Dimensional Teams NEVER win Super Bowls!!! The Patriots have gone during the reign of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to 6 Super Bowls and won 4 Super Bowls. Overall the Pat's have been to 8 Super Bowls. The REASON why since just 2001 the Patriots have made it to 6 Super Bowls during the reign of Bill Belichick and 9 AFC Championship Games as well as 12 AFC EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS is because coach Belichick PLAYS EVERYONE!! And I do mean everyone. Even if your a backup Quarterback your job is to learn how to play and imitate an Apposing Teams Quarterback. The Pats are very deep at every position mostly because Belichick does expect Players to PLAY unlike some coaches that have players that never get off the bench during a whole season which if you think about it is not good because if they haven't been playing they are rusty. Everyone is expected to play and this keeps the players ready and allows players to be fresh during the entire game. AboveAlpha
Well....unless the Patriots are 15-0 in week 17....they will lose their last game I would think. The Patriots have a problem against the Giants for some reason but I don't see the Giants beating them this year. The Patriots have demolished the Colts of late as Andrew Luck just does not seem to have any against the Pats. Teams that can beat the Patriots are within their own Division as they know each other so well. This year the Bills are good and so are the Jets but the Dolphins suck. So I would say the biggest threats would be the Giants, Bills and Jets. AboveAlpha - - - Updated - - - Your right....they don't. And it is a LONG season. But they look real good. Hopefully they will look good holding up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of this season! LOL!! AboveAlpha
I think I recall Matte stepping in to play QB toward the end of one season. Anyway, I'm too lazy to look it up.
It will be interesting to see how well former Patriot Quarterback Matt Castle who backed up Brady and went 11-5 the year Brady was out with an injury. I called it in that I had been saying that the Cowboy's should pick up Matt Castle after Romo went down as Dallas has a very good defense but they lost Romo and the Backup to Romo and the Dallas 3rd String Quarterback is simply not good enough to play. Matt Castle will play this weeked and I think he will do well in Dallas. I was watching Castle and Brady talk after Brady and the Patriots spanked Dallas 30-6 last Sunday. Castle looked ready. AboveAlpha
The Patriots just have too many 'unathlectic', slow, late round White guys on offense for the rest of the league to compete against...........they work in this mysterious 'system' that no other teams seem to be able to duplicate........instead, the other teams reach for QBs and WRs in the first round and remain mired in mediocrity (see Detroit and 'Megatron'......LoL).......��
True. Bill Belichick has a RULE....and that rule is DRAFT SMART PLAYERS!!! Our Coach is without a doubt a MIRACLE WORKER as he consistently YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT manages to find players on the Waiver Wire and find Undrafted Players who become forces in the league. An example of this is Julian Edleman. Mini-tron....as Julian is known was a Quarterback for Kent State and was considered too small for the NFL. Belichick picked him up anyway and now MINI-TRON is one of the best receivers. Coach Belichick also finds Veteran Players who have played great their entire career but have never gone and won a Super Bowl but Belichick signs them for a 1 Year way under their normal pay salary contract and we get the best out of such players like we did last year with Cornerback Derrel Revis. AboveAlpha
Here in Australia we have heard a lot about Jarryd Hayne (SF 49ers) I wonder how well is he really going...he seems to have impressed almost everyone but I dont think his team is much good...hopefully he will be given more of the ball in other positions... http://www.foxsports.com.au/us-spor...s-nfl-transition/story-fnp3l4e4-1227571042414
You know....it is interesting to hear that a person from Australia would be hearing so much about a West Coast NFL Player as I live in the States on the East Coast and even I have not heard all that much about Jarryd Hayne except the basics. I am thinking that this is part of a PLAN by the NFL to get Australian's interested in NFL Football and if an Australian Fan wanted to go see a 49er's game going to San Francisco is DEFINITELY easier than flying another 3200 miles to see the Patriots or Giants. AboveAlpha
Can ANYONE tell me what the HELL the Colts were thinking lining up most of their offense as if they were going to attempt an on sides kick on 4th Down in the Colts/Patriots game last night???? All I can say is that the SEAHAWKS are now tied with the COLTS for the STUPIDEST PLAY CALL EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL!! LOL!!! What the HELL was that about??? The Patriots made most of the 2nd half GARBAGE TIME as the Pat's scored 3 points on a field goal at the end of the first half and Tom Brady looking every bit the Super Bowl Champion and Super Bowl MVP Quarterback he is was able to throw a TD pass allowing the Patriots to score at the end of the 1st half and at the first series of the second half for I think the 15th time. Bill Belichick always tends to defer the ball to the other team if the Patriots win the coin toss. This allows Belichick and the Patriots to get the ball first at the beginning of the 2nd half's 3rd quarter and the Pat's have scored back to back scores this way many times. It also allows Belichick control over what side of the field the Patriots will get in the last Quarter as if the game is played in an outdoor stadium having the wind and rain or snow at one's back in the 4th quarter is a big deal. Patriots Pro Bowl Special Teams Player Slater was hurt last night and I hope it's nothing too serious as Matt is one hell of a player. NBC Announcers Bob Costas and the other guy who's name is on the tip of my tongue of course brought up the whole....."Will this Patriots Team go UNDEFEATED??" Well....I don't know if the Pat's will go undefeated but I do know it looks like Tom Brady really want's to become the ONLY NFL Quarterback to have WON 5 SUPER BOWL'S. And if there is a Team that is capable of going undefeated....it would be the Patriots. AboveAlpha
I think this victory qualifies as the close game before the end of October I predicted and possibly also the funny bounce game. There are 2 6-0 teams and 2 other 5-0 teams so this year someone might go undefeated because everyone is expecting a different team to go undefeated. I once theorized for instance that a baseball player might bat .400 again if certain things coincide. First he bats over .360 about 5 years in a row and once over .380 with massive attention. Second, a different percentage hitter is near .400 in August and gets all the attention so no one notices him until that player subsides out of range and he's there as usual. Third his team is out of the race by early September as usual, but close races are in progress. Fourth another player is threatening a rare milestone in a different category for a team near first place. Fifth, his team's division is settled first while others go down to the wire. Sixth, his last 2 series are against teams worse than his own and in his home field (a place reporters visit only when forced to.) Seventh: his batting average is still under .400 until the last day (a double-header). So it will likely be another perfect storm of events that will create the next NFL unbeaten season. Do any of this year's unbeaten teams have dreadful opponents the last 2 weeks?
Well I would think that after looking at the schedules the only team that has a chance to go undefeated would be the Patriots and even that is a long shot. Teams are much closer in abilities in this day and age of the Salary Cap. And that's why what Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots are doing is so special. Teams that had Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw did not have to play under a salary cap thus QB's and Receivers were allowed to play for many years together. The Patriots are able to put together a winning Team every year. The Patriots have gone to the Playoffs every time except twice since 2001. They have won the AFC East all but 3 Times since then and been to 6 Super Bowls and always seem to be at least in the AFC Championship Game. AboveAlpha
There's nothing really to argue about until something happens, so let's back up to that other topic. Can you provide a list of quarterbacks who suddenly got bad for no reason other than advancing age?
There are a huge number of QB's who quickly lost it such as Mike Vic, Donnovan McNabb....etc. Some QB's get injured and never recover.....some just lose their nerve...some get old like Manning....some get old slower like Brady. AboveAlpha
