ATBNG

Brady's SB performance and being voted the MVP have absolutely nothing to do with the way Drew played in that game, nor does it have anything to do with my comments. An entirely inaccurate retelling of this game keeps coming up over and over. Drew's one TD pass did not give them the lead. It's an oft misstated fact. I doubt the Pats would have tied.

I heard that TS. I'm sure that has led to some of the confusion. I was talking about the picks for the game in general. Larry Izzo for instance. He must have made the tackle of the year to get voted on. At least they didn't vote Reuben Brown on again. What a joke.

No. Not really. They haven't named the starters yet (week one of the playoffs). These pro-bowl votes were an absolute joke. Terrible job by the selection committee.

You also have to factor all those Red Sox heart attacks into the equation. I think you got it EZC - the cost of living, especially housing, is outrageous. It's tough for single people - let alone families.

Peyton's going to start if he goes to the game - they haven't announced the starters yet. Brees is on top because of the alphabet only.

He didn't. He threw one TD pass at the end of the 2nd quarter to take the lead from 7-3 to 14-3. Drew's second half stats - 7 completions, 66 yards, 0 TD's (I can't find drive charts from that game but that was the most he could have done from the boxscore). By normal standards, that's poor. Considering the state of the game, the opponent etc. - I would up his performance in that game to "adequate." He does deserve his ring of course, but Drew's performance in that Pittsburgh game gets embellished like crazy for some reason.

They do indeed pick 3, and they voted before Monday night's debacle, so I think it is sfae to say Brady will be #3.

It's interesting stuff. Does it state how it calculates a close game? Does it use the final score, or does it use the start of the fourth quarter, or if the score is this margin at any point in the fourth quarter? Brady had a game in 2001 where he threw four interceptions in the 4th quarter. Monday night was eerily reminiscent of that "performance." I'm sure that that one really puts a crimp in his average rating; his "mean" 4th quarter performance probably is better than his average. It also presumably doesn't include the playoffs, where he has four games (Oakland, St. Louis, Tennessee, Carolina) where he played well in the fourth quarter (at least well enough for the Pats to win - the Tenn and St. Louis games did not include TD's so his rating might not be so hot). I'm a little confused about the statistical samples TDad. Is that just Bledsoe in his Buffalo career? Since Drew has played 2.5 times more games than Brady, I would expect that to be reflected in the statistical samples, but they appear to be about the same.

Good thread. Out of curiosity, does anyone know who might be a prospective candidate for this job if the Saban deal falls through? Is Shell that far fetched as their number #2 option? As disgruntled as that game made me, Bates was a freakin' riot last night with all his nerdy sneers. I know he has no chance of staying, but they have played much, much better since he took over.

Usually when two division teams are evenly matched the home team gets revenge for an earlier road loss. This is one of those "classic" gambling plays in the NFL. Taylor and Leftwich appear to be banged up though, so that could help. I'm somewhat fascinated to see whether Shanahan can right the ship against Tennessee. Ever since he fired young Coach Gibbs, the team has been in disarray. They're also one of the more difficult teams for me to get a grasp on in the NFL. I'm hard pressed to say what Denver does well as a team.

The AFC East has been the top division for three staright years I believe if they hang on, although I'm more of a proponent of the "the NFC West bites" theory than that we're so great.

Sorry Cablelady.

I am a Pats fan and have been so for a long time - voraciously so even through the lean years. I saw all 32 games during the Dick MacPherson (and Dante Scarnecchia) era. I grew up in Boston. Seems kind of normal. I've never said otherwise. When I post on here, I refuse to post any rah rah crap throwing the Pats' success into the faces of Buffalo fans. I have no interest in that, and I'm sure all of you feel the same way - it's childish. I want to talk about football - the Bills, the Pats, gambling, OT stuff and the entire NFL. I want to debate issues without getting into namecalling. I love the NFL and see this board as a great place to talk to fans who have a different perspective than I and the people who live around me do. 90% of the posters on here are great, and I enjoy interacting with them. And hey - when games like last night happen, I think a little grief for the Pats' fans is expected, normal and fine. It is a Bills' board and cheering against division rivals is generally SOP. There can be an unfortunate unwelcoming mentality on here though at times from the other 10% who try to put a stigma on posters who might root for other teams. I would encourage those people to be a little more open minded - just as I have learned quite a bit about the Bills and their fans from posting on here (and am grateful for it), so too might you if you don't jump to the antagonistic Pats' fan = troll conclusion that seems to be going around. Having said all that, I'm definitely not Foxboro Mike.

Nor did I - that must be the default. I haven't been picking my games most of the year - too many other pools going on.

I think that Indy will beat SD pretty handily. Too much team speed. If that happens, the Pats would only need to beat SF to get the #2 seed. Stranger things though (such as tonight) have happened. From the looks of things, the Pats are going to need those two weeks off to get their focus where it will need to be to win this conference.

I think that Brown's three interceptions have led to the national media overstating his ability on defense. They tend to focus on stats like that and not on things like his getting man coverage on the slot receiver 90-95% of the time (simplifying that portion of the defense for the opposing QB). For some reason they gave Brown extra stuff tonight (he played some zone and even had two slot blitzes that I noticed) and it backfired almost every time. All and all, I think Brown deserves a lot of credit for his efforts - the guy also plays on specials so he's probably getting inundated with stuff at practice each week. He also is one of the more decent athletes you'll ever run across - well spoken and humble. He's not an NFL caliber cornerback though, and the three picks shouldn't have fooled people that should know better.

If the Chargers beat the Colts and the Pats lose to the Jets, the Chargers would have a superior conference record (they only have two AFC losses) and would be #2. If the Pats beat the Jets but were to lose to SF (they struggle against 2 win teams) and SD won out, the Pats would get the #2 seed based on a better record versus common opponents.

The anti-Pats venom is pretty bad, but it's not unexpected or even misplaced. This is a Bills' board. I'm not expecting grave concern from you guys. That wouldn't be any fun. The Pats, for whatever reason, have not been playing as well this season. The injuries in the secondary have been offset by playing a weak stretch of schedule, and they looked like they came into this game overconfident. Lots of signs - lackadaisical play by the QB, lousy special teams play, and some swagger over execution on defense. We'll see - have to wonder now who will be favored in the Pats/Jets game next week. Before this loss, I'd have thought NE -3 but now it might be even. Belichick's hands on his head all game said it all - he's got an uphill battle ahead of him if this team is going to get through the AFC.

Denver is playing poorly having lost 3 out of 4. That's still better than Tennessee over that stretch - they've lost four in a row. Tennessee could win this game of course, but Bills' fans could have hoped for a better matchup than a team that stopped playing defense a month ago - that's for sure.

Knot a problem AD.

Indy and San Diego settle the 3rd and 4th seed issue next week. Unless they tie, the Denver game will mean nothing to Indy. You saw what happened to Terrell Owens. Do you think that Dungy is going to play his stars much in light of that? Picture a snowy field - always likely in Denver in January. It will be a glorified workout if they play at all. It's bad, bad news for the Bills.

That post was like rain on your wedding day. Or should I say you're wedding day?

I'm sorry - I don't admire them at all. First of all, Fisher has run more trick plays in the last month than my friends and I did growing up in the schoolyard. It bit him in the butt yesterday when he tried that fake field goal instead of simply going for it down seven or kicking the FG. You also had the spate of onsides kicks against Indy. Teach your players how to play defense and enough with the gimmickry. The Pats are missing their top four cornerbacks on the opening day depth chart and they are still winning and making plays in the secondary. Tennessee has let up an average of 47 points per game the last three contests. I'm unfortunately afraid that's going to end up being the cure for what ails Jake Plummer.

Talk means nothing; money means everything. Philly is an enormous favorite to win the NFC - with them at 1/2 and the next highest team (Falcons) at 7/2, the only "upset" will be if Philly does not make it to February 6.

I'm sorry - is this sarcasm or a real post? I hope it is sarcasm. Latest Odds on NFC in UK Updated at 7:20 EST.