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Would the Patriots still have been this dominant in a different division?


Buffalo03

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I was thinking today, what if the Pats didn't have 6 games a year against the Bills, Dolphins and Jets? Let's say they switched places with the Browns and were in the AFC North with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. Are they still as good today? I think it's possible that they may have gone to a few Super Bowls but not 9. I personally think 6 guaranteed wins every year against the AFC East or 5-1 or 4-2 at the very worst has had a lot to do with their dominance. If they played 6 games a year against the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens, I honestly think they lose an extra 2 to 3 wins a year just from being in a much tougher division. I know them being in the AFC East is no fault of their own. However, I don't see the dominance they have had the last 20 years outside of the East

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1 minute ago, Just Joshin' said:

They did not win their Super Bowls vs AFCE.  Maybe a few more regular season losses but still dominance. 

Those extra regular season losses lead to less number 1 and number 2 seeds every year in the playoffs though

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1 minute ago, Buffalo03 said:

I was thinking today, what if the Pats didn't have 6 games a year against the Bills, Dolphins and Jets? Let's say they switched places with the Browns and were in the AFC North with the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. Are they still as good today? I think it's possible that they may have gone to a few Super Bowls but I personally think 6 guaranteed wins every year against the AFC East or 5-1 or 4-2 at the very worst has had a lot to do with their dominance. If they played 6 games a year against the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens, I honestly think they lose an extra 2 to 3 wins a year just from being in a much tougher division. I know them being in the AFC East is no fault of their own. However, I don't see the dominance they have had the last 20 years outside of the East

Here are some facts for you to consider:  Since about 2002, the Patriots have a BETTER record against the rest of the league than against the AFC east teams.   Put another way, the Bills, Jets and Dolphins beat the Pats MORE than the rest of the league.  And because the Pats win the AFCE every year, it means they play some of the best teams in the league in the regular season.  

 

What the Pats have done is about the Pats, not about the AFCE.  

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1 minute ago, Shaw66 said:

Here are some facts for you to consider:  Since about 2002, the Patriots have a BETTER record against the rest of the league than against the AFC east teams.   Put another way, the Bills, Jets and Dolphins beat the Pats MORE than the rest of the league.  And because the Pats win the AFCE every year, it means they play some of the best teams in the league in the regular season.  

 

What the Pats have done is about the Pats, not about the AFCE.  

They only play 2 opponents per year that are different than what the rest of the division plays. Every team in the division plays one whole other division and one whole NFC division. 

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5 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said:

They did not win their Super Bowls vs AFCE.  Maybe a few more regular season losses but still dominance. 

When they want to they beat everyone. Belichick can out scheme every coach in the league blindfolded.  Do they get breaks from the NFL? Yes, but they would still dominate. They're just better.  Brady is the Witch and Bill is the Wizard. And until they retire we'll always be chasing.

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4 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

I don’t think the division matters much.

They have proven in the playoffs on the road or at home they can win. It’s almost over thank god 

So you don't think 6 games a year against the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals would have made any difference? Those have been much better teams than the Jets, Bills and Dolphins. I don't think 9 Super Bowl apparences is possible in that division

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Yes they would be. The AFCE is good for about 1 extra win every other year. Pats just won on the road in KC. 

 

Here is how the numbers read 

 

Brady vs:

AFCE 81-21=.794

NFL 207-62=.769

NFL sans AFCE games 126-41 = .754

 

 

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whb 810 in kansas city which has a show called the program from 10am til 2 and is phenominal. They did research on this there winning percentage is highest agaist afc west..the nfc east...then nfc north ...then afc they are all above .600 except the nfc west at 575 i believe. So  to answer  the question its an obvious yes and if you listen you will quickly be reminded how bad wgr compared to other stations.

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There are divisions in which they would have been slightly more, and slightly less, dominant. With probably little change in the end results which matter. Like, same number of SB wins, maybe 8-10 fewer regular season wins over 20 years.

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40 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Here are some facts for you to consider:  Since about 2002, the Patriots have a BETTER record against the rest of the league than against the AFC east teams.   Put another way, the Bills, Jets and Dolphins beat the Pats MORE than the rest of the league.  And because the Pats win the AFCE every year, it means they play some of the best teams in the league in the regular season.  

 

What the Pats have done is about the Pats, not about the AFCE.  

Pats fans repeat this a lot in response to the weak division criticism.

 

It’s only partially valid, imo.  They are all-time great, no doubt.  And they would have won a lot regardless.

 

But their reign DID coincide with a fairly unprecedented run of complete incompetence from their division rivals.  And that helped.  Even this season- just a slightly tougher division probably means no bye for them, and a much less likely shot at #6.

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4 minutes ago, Success said:

Pats fans repeat this a lot in response to the weak division criticism.

 

It’s only partially valid, imo.  They are all-time great, no doubt.  And they would have won a lot regardless.

 

But their reign DID coincide with a fairly unprecedented run of complete incompetence from their division rivals.  And that helped.  Even this season- just a slightly tougher division probably means no bye for them, and a much less likely shot at #6.

 

They beat the no. 1 seed on the road this year....

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Semantics. Their run over the course of 20 years against the rest of the league in the playoffs removes doubt that their postseason success is bound up in the slacking of their AFCE rivals. Can't stand them with every fibre of my football being, and am ready to turn the tables on them. Allen has never had a full off-season as the annointed #1 here, so I'm expecting big things from him in 2019.  

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