mjd1001

I'm sure there are teams I'd root for over others, but who wins or loses is not a big deal to me. I'm more interested in watching the game and wanting some suspense in the outcome. Very little makes me root FOR a team (has to be a team I am a life-long fan of, like the Bills) Only a few things make me root against a team: 1. Overwhelming favorites where I get sick of the media saying how great they are. 2. Dynasties, I don't like seeing the same teams over and over. 3. Teams who cheat (Pats, Astros, Redsox) or teams who got to where they are by bending the rules too much. None of those things really stand out to me with who is remaining, so I'm all good with anyone who is left.

I have a problem with the title. GOAT? Without the cheating, it bothers me how people assume he is/was the greatest ever.

If Tom Brady were to leave the Patriots and play for any other team, and those two teams meet in the playoffs, who do you root for? Suppose its wild-card weekend next year, and a 10-6 Charger, or Dolphin, or any other AFC team led by Tom Brady plays a 10-6 Patriots team. Who do you want to see win that game? The Pats get there with a good D-unit and above average QB play. On the other side, Brady has a good year (not MVP year though). I'm just curious where most of the dislike lies....with the Pats as a team with their coaching staff and Kraft....or with Brady?

I've been to dozens and dozens of Bills games in the past..mostly home and some away. I have sat in 70 degree weather in September....and through freezing rain and sleet, and in snow. Games with frigid wind chills, winning seasons, losing seasons. All of it. The At-home experience is just better for me. You can see more/better on your TV than almost any seat at the stadium. It is cheaper, food and drink are better. Less hassle less travel. I can sit by myself have a small group over, or a big group over. And many other points others have stated in this thread. I don't need to attend a game in person to prove how much of a 'man' I am or to prove I am not a 'wuss' anymore. I guess other people feel differently though an feel the need to post about it.

I agree with you. Is Brady great? Maybe, but maybe not. Since there was proven cheating and a LOT of suspected cheating, I don't give him the benefit of the doubt. Without the cheating, the spying...his numbers and championships would be lower, and throw the accusations of cheating on top of that and he's not great to me. Same thing with that entire coaching staff.

Pretty sure I read earlier today it was 12-12....if true the pats are a LOT worse against staffs that know how they work.

Why you might want to seriously start getting ready to write the obituary on the pats being contenders going forward: -12-4 is a good record and yes, you play who is on your schedule. But, looking at their schedule next year..if they played that schedule this year...they would be maybe 10-6? That schedule is coming -Bills, Jets, and Phins SHOULD all be the same or slightly better, making those games a tad tougher for the Pats -Brady really looks 42 this time, for real. Lack of weapons this year? Maybe, but watch the games..he throws balls at players feet, sails them over their heads, and will throw away a ball at even the slightest fear of him getting hit. Hes not going to better next year with another year of age. -They relied on their D-unit this year. That D-unit is the oldest in the NFL. Most D players peak at 26-28 years of age. They have more than a few that are over that, and are on the wrong side of 30. Can they still be good? Yes, but that same unit will not be better with them all a year older, just like with Brady. -to replenish that roster, they have their own late 1st round pick, and no 2nd. They might lose another pick with the new cheating scandal. -Free agent replenishment? Maybe when Brady was considered a top QB that would cause FA's to consider the Pats..but with a declining (or none at all) Brady, and a culture/coaching staff that a lot of guys don't like...they might not be getting a ton of top flight Free agents lining up at the door in Foxborough. I just don't see this team as a top team next year. Even if Brady is better than he looked because of nagging injuries, he is not the same as he was...and will be even more likely to get those 'nagging' injuries next year being another year older.

I browsed most of this thread but haven't read every post entirely, but here is where I come down on this: Players move the ball after the play is over but before the ref spots the ball......its annoying but they do it. No problem other than being annoying. Player moves the ball AFTER the ref spots it....should be a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, AND A fine after the game. I don't care if it is the reason a team won or lost the game or not...if you don't want players to do crap like this..fine and penalize them. If the players/teams cry its not a big deal..then just stop doing it.

I don't think there is any kind of NFL conspiracy to allow the Pats to get away with cheating...or to help them. If there is ANYTHING like this..it is the NFL doesn't want it to come out publicly that there is anything below-the-board going on with any team. I do believe firmly that the Pats have, and continue to cheat/bend the rules more than just about any other team. It is what they do, it is what they know. I also think it gives them a BIG advantage. In the NFL, look at most teams games....look at the Bills for example. In many games, if you had an advantage and could swing one or two incompletions to completions...if you could get an advantage and get just 1 or 2 third down stops per game that you normally wouldn't....that would be enough to swing a team from 6-10 to 11-5. Knowing something about an opposing defense that allows you to complete just 1 more pass per half turns a QB that completes 58-59% of his passes to one that completes 65%. Do I know the Pats are cheating for sure or how much they are cheating? Nope. But I do know that in the NFL, even the SLIGHTEST advantage can make a big difference. We all know as fans how frustrating it can be to be SO CLOSE to winning some games that you lose...I'm sure coaches and players get even more frustrated...and it wouldn't surprise me at how far some might take it to get that 1% extra advantage.

I'm good with them losing pick(s) this year. That would put a nail in the 'dynasty' (cheating generated or not) that is coming to an end. Brady looks old and bad, for a long time now. Edelman is getting beat up every year and he is well on the wrong side of 30. Not much else on the offense. The Defense looks great this year...but it is one of the oldest group of starters in the league on that side of the ball. They are going to need every draft pick available to them just to stay competitive in the next 1-2 years...losing any more of them will hurt big-time. Let Bellicheck coach next year and dont' suspend him. Lets see just how good he is next year (seriously, lets see how good he is) with an aging QB, and aging D-unit, and HOPEFULLY the NFL watching like no other time to prevent them from even bending the slightest rule.

It is their culture. They cheat. When they get caught cheating...they probably try to cheat in other ways. When someone finds a 'shortcut' to success, they don' think of it as cheating...they think of themself as being 'smarter' than everyone else for figuring out how to do it. The Pats got caught cheating in spygate. I don't think they quit cheating..they just tried to get smarter about it. Heck, they KNOW how they got caught so what they had to do is keep doing it and now they know how to cover their tracks a bit better than before. As time goes by though, they get a little complacent and more brazen. which is what happened here. In my mind I'm also pretty sure they have been cheating/pushing the rules all along and are continuing to do so in ways that no one even knows about yet. For this reason, I think Bellicheck is a good coach...but I can't put him in the elite level..unless I want to say part of being an elite coach is finding a way to cheat and get away with it. Same for Brady. No way he has as many wins/as many titles/as good stats as he does without the cheating. And if someone wants to argue about it...in my mind..cheaters NEVER get the benefit of the doubt. You want to be the best ever? Be proud enough to do it without cheating or bending the rules in anyway possible.

I don't think this is true anymore for most people... In the few years right after "spygate 1"...I heard a LOT of people say without cheating...the pats might not/would not have a lot (if any) of those titles...Brady wouldn't have the superbowl titles and would likely have worse stats than he does, therefore he would not be a HOF QB (let alone years later be in the conversation for greatest of all time). Yet in the last couple of years...more and more people (even outside of Boston), more and more of the national and ESPN talking heads...just openly say "you have to admit Brady is the greatest of all time" So I think AS time has gone by....cheating or not....or continued cheating across Brady's entire career ......"Spygate" has gotten smaller in people's minds.

I have no need for Bills on Prime time. I'd be good with 16 1pm starts during the regular season...and in the case of the playoffs give me the early game on Sunday.

a thorough investigation? Trying to line up as many interviews to question people as possible...to see if anyone 'slips up' and gives any indication of who ordered the taping to occur...or where it goes when it is completed. I'm not sure the league will get anywhere with that with the Pats stonewalling the investigation, but they have to try. Let me correct that for Jimmy....I don't think Belicheck would be dumb enough to talk directly to the people filming the videos...I'm sure he would have some 'go betweens' (assistant coaches, staffers) pass the message down the line so he could deny "direct" involvement.

The funniest part was the beginning...the pats guy saying it was of their advance scout..and when the Bengals security said there was no advance scout on there...the pats guy said he was trying to get 'field perspective'? 8 full minutes focused on the sideline of the bengals is 'field perspective? LOL Guilty and throw the book at them...if not for cheating...for a terrible coverup.

Brady looks terrified of getting hit. I seem to remember pretty easily 4-5 years ago, he would get credit for 'standing in there and taking the hit' to get a completion. Now, there second he thinks there is any chance of getting hit, he unloads it. Most of the hits he takes are the ones he doesn't see coming, he won't stand in there much anymore at all.

Maybe he is technically 'good' or 'great', but I just don't like Al Michels anymore. I'd rather listen to one of the newer/youunger play by play guys, even if they make a few mistakes.

Pats Fans are an entitled, vicious bunch. I lived in the Boston area for a few years. A few months ago I read a post on Twitter about someone calling out Brady for bad play and maybe he was in decline. I simply replied to that post agreeing to it...and I got FLOODED with messages and tweets from Pats fans who wanted to argue to an unreal extent defending Brady. These are people I didn't know..but just saw I replied to a post about Brady...i got called names and much worse. As I said, I lived in Boston...enjoyed a few Bruins and Celtics games and have some friends there...but it seems the more a fan base experiences success, the worse they get as fans..and in some cases worse at being decent human beings.

The game I was listening to, I heard Romo say positive things...mostly about McDermott and Allen, over and over as the game went on. A LOT. Yet you pick out one thing to characterize the entire broadcast by? I know some fans are homers, but give me a break.

I thought things were pretty good with the broadcast....even Romo was going pretty heavy on praise for Allen and McDermott as the game went on toward the end.

This I don't like at all. And as others have said, it has little to do with the ball being 'spotted' wrong. First, is the video real? if it is..there is a problem. Even if the Ball was spotted wrong...the Cowboys took their first and 10 snap from 10 yards away from where the sticks were to start. The fact that the buy moved the sticks makes it more of a first and 11. IF the ball was spotted wrong..then the sticks should not have been moved unless where the snap was taken from was moved also.

I'm happy with Allens progress, but he isn't 'there' for me yet. Brady? Its been pretty obvious that his play has dropped off quite a bit since the end of last season. The Pats almost carried him through the playoffs last year. This year, both the stats and the eye test show he isn't even close to what he once was. Anyone saying he is even a top 10 QB in this league anymore is in denial. Hes not the worst starter in the league, but he is no better than mid-pack. With a great D behind him though, the Pats are still very dangerous. The bye-week into the playoffs is critical for the Pats. If they somehow lost that bye, I think they would be gone rather quickly in the playoffs. However, its not just brady who is 'older'. Look at their defensive unit. Article after article done on the subject shows players on Defense peak at about the age of 26-28 years of age..and drop off pretty quickly after 30 (some exceptions exist of course). That Pats D is great, but a lot of them are on the wrong side of 28. The bye week will do wonders for them.

I'm not sure what we are talking about being concerned about... Am I concerned with the Bills finishing the season with a winning record? No Am I concerned that they might only win 1 or 2 of the rest of their games this year? Sure am. Yes, you can only play who is on your schedule. But I'd like to see the Bills win 3 of the next 5 for me to feel they have a good chance to move on in the playoffs.

Hes done as an elite QB. He is now an average-to-above average QB. Good enough for New England to be a top team this year with the way their D is playing. If he plays next year, it is going to be a tough year for him.

I like Allen, and I THINK he has progressed from last year to this year. I still can't say for sure though that he is the long term solution. Today was a good day, but I want/need to see more days like this...and at least a few days like this against a higher quality opponent to be convinced.