Hate to say this … but the Pats are effing good

[Success]

I agree w/ those who say that the record they have is impressive and that they're obviously a good team.

 

But I also agree w/ those who say it's a product of the easy schedule. If they had a "normal" schedule, they'd have at least 3-4 losses right now, and the story would be more about how they've turned it around and seem to be climbing back in contention - as opposed to "the dynasty is back!  Another 20 years....deal w/ it, league!"

 

Maye looks great, but so have a lot of other guys. Honestly, the best thing that could happen in the division is McDaniel becoming HC of the Giants next year.  Watching that offense, he has set the table for Maye to succeed and look amazing.  They'd still have Vrabel - who I see as more of a "culture" kind of coach than a great football mind.  

[nosejob]

Well let him have his C.J. Stroud year.  He'll get figured out. They'll get figured out. We are still gonna beat them, maybe twice. They looked good when they were a WC with the GOAT HC and that didn't end well. Everyone is 0-0 when the playoffs start.

[mannc]

2 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

 

What is wishful thinking is thinking a second year quarterback is going to overtake Josh Allen. Whether it be a division or in the playoffs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I doubt anyone thinks Maye has “overtaken” Josh Allen (I’m not even sure what that means), but he has objectively outplayed Allen through the first 10 games of the season.  There are lots of possible reasons for that, but it’s an undeniable fact.  Of course that could change, and I’m sure Josh will return to form, but there’s no real reason to think Maye is going to suddenly regress. It seems more likely that he’ll continue to improve.

[DapperCam]

Maye looks a lot like Justin Herbert. I’m usually not super afraid when we have a matchup against Justin Herbert.

 

I’m interested to see how this Pats team performs late in the season and in the playoffs when the weather gets bad, the coverage is tighter, the refs are letting more stuff go, and teams are desperate and playing for their season.

 

Herbert hasn’t performed great in those circumstances, and I guess the jury is out on Maye and the Pats.

[Psautcsk]

22 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Maye looks a lot like Justin Herbert. I’m usually not super afraid when we have a matchup against Justin Herbert.

 

I’m interested to see how this Pats team performs late in the season and in the playoffs when the weather gets bad, the coverage is tighter, the refs are letting more stuff go, and teams are desperate and playing for their season.

 

Herbert hasn’t performed great in those circumstances, and I guess the jury is out on Maye and the Pats.

How many matchup have we had against Herbert? One?

[Kelly to Allen]

51 minutes ago, mannc said:

I doubt anyone thinks Maye has “overtaken” Josh Allen (I’m not even sure what that means), but he has objectively outplayed Allen through the first 10 games of the season.  There are lots of possible reasons for that, but it’s an undeniable fact.  Of course that could change, and I’m sure Josh will return to form, but there’s no real reason to think Maye is going to suddenly regress. It seems more likely that he’ll continue to improve.

 

Every QB has regression, especially when they're younger.

 

There's usually tape, an adjustment, and then the QB either folds or becomes mid to good or adjusts fully and becomes great. 

 

Herbert has had multiple stretches during a season where he had better numbers than mahomes. 

 

We literally saw it with tua.

 

Mac Jones was also the next Brady I read on this board. The bills were 7-6, pats 9-4. 

 

In 23 bills were 6-6 , fins were 9-3

 

I'll give it merit if it actually happens. And by happening that means going further than buffalo in January. 

 

I think that's a silly opinion. 

 

 

Edited 43 minutes ago by Kelly to Allen

[Billsfanatic8989]

55 minutes ago, nosejob said:

Well let him have his C.J. Stroud year.  He'll get figured out. They'll get figured out. We are still gonna beat them, maybe twice. They looked good when they were a WC with the GOAT HC and that didn't end well. Everyone is 0-0 when the playoffs start.

This. 

 

CJ Stroud looked impressive and has declined since. Stroud is now a top 15 QB at best. DC's will get tape and defend Maye better. 

 

Let's also see what he does against tighter coverages in inclimate weather. 

 

 

Edited 40 minutes ago by Billsfanatic8989

[mannc]

7 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

Every QB has regression, especially when they're younger.

 

There's usually tape, an adjustment, and then the QB either folds or becomes mid to good or adjusts fully and becomes great. 

 

Herbert has had multiple stretches during a season where he had better numbers than mahomes. 

 

We literally saw it with tua.

 

Mac Jones was also the next Brady I read on this board. The bills were 7-6, pats 9-4. 

 

In 23 bills were 6-6 , fins were 9-3

 

I'll give it merit if it actually happens. And by happening that means going further than buffalo in January. 

 

I think that's a silly opinion. 

 

 

Every QB does not regress.  Allen didn’t, Mahomes didn’t, Brady didn’t…and I could keep going.  Comparing Maye to Tua or Mack Jones (or even Herbert) is ridiculous.  None of those QBs ever played near the level Maye has this year.  

[Kelly to Allen]

7 minutes ago, mannc said:

Every QB does not regress.  Allen didn’t, Mahomes didn’t, Brady didn’t…and I could keep going.  Comparing Maye to Tua or Mack Jones (or even Herbert) is ridiculous.  None of those QBs ever played near the level Maye has this year.  

Yes Allen did 

 

He started out bad and finished strong vs Miami 

 

In the beginning of 19 he was very inconsistent and really settled down after the pats game. He then had a passer rating of like over 100 for many weeks until the Baltimore game. 

 

In 2020 he started extremely fast and then had a month of blah football. He then went on a heater until Baltimore in the playoffs. 

In 21 it was very inconsistent including the 9-6 game. 

 

22 throughout 23 was also other adjustments to 2 high and tons of zone.

 

Every QB goes through it. Some come out of it still great like Allen. Some are good like Carr, other fold like Wentz . Some QBs never even get going like losman or Zack Wilson 

 

Mahomes had 2 months of regression in 21. And again in 23 and 24 

 

 

Edited 29 minutes ago by Kelly to Allen

[HappyDays]

Fans were downplaying the Pats earlier in the season even after they beat us, but now the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. We don't need to overreact to them handling maybe the worst team in the NFL...

 

I would easily trade their coaching staff for ours, that's where they have a massive advantage over us. They still have some real roster deficiencies though. The CB tandem is excellent of course. The safeties are middling and the LBs can't cover. They have no difference maker on the DL. On offense their OL is fine, their RB room is fine (maybe better than fine if Henderson continues his momentum from the past two weeks), the WR room I would put slightly above our 2019 room in the sense that they have a couple good pieces but no true #1.

[mannc]

4 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

Yes Allen did 

 

He started out bad and finished strong vs Miami 

 

In the beginning of 19 he was very inconsistent and really settled down after the pats game. He then had a passer rating of like over 100 for many weeks until the Baltimore game. 

 

In 2020 he started extremely fast and then had a month of blah football. He then went on a heater until Baltimore in the playoffs. 

In 21 it was very inconsistent including the 9-6 game. 

 

22 throughout 23 was also other adjustments to 2 high and tons of zone.

 

Every QB goes through it. Some come out of it still great like Allen. Some are good like Carr, other fold like Wentz . Some QBs never even get going like losman or Zack Wilson 

Allen has had bad games here and there, but he has never meaningfully regressed, at least until Joe Brady got his hands on him…nor has Mahomes ever regressed.  Regression is what happened to Mack Jones, Carson Wentz and CJ Stroud…Jordan Love is a current candidate…

Edited 22 minutes ago by mannc

[DapperCam]

15 minutes ago, mannc said:

Every QB does not regress.  Allen didn’t, Mahomes didn’t, Brady didn’t…and I could keep going.  Comparing Maye to Tua or Mack Jones (or even Herbert) is ridiculous.  None of those QBs ever played near the level Maye has this year.  

Herbert and Tua have absolutely had 9 game stretches similar to what Maye has done this season. Not sure about McCorkle.

[Success]

21 minutes ago, Billsfanatic8989 said:

This. 

 

CJ Stroud looked impressive and has declined since. Stroud is now a top 15 QB at best. DC's will get tape and defend Maye better. 

 

Let's also see what he does against tighter coverages in inclimate weather. 

 

 

 

That's one thing that really struck me last night - at least half of his completions were to guys that were wide open.  Like, wide open.

 

It's wild watching a game like that, because we never see the same w/ the Bills.  Josh is lucky to get a few plays where receivers are that open, and usually it's because of a broken coverage.

 

[2003Contenders]

I will say that it does seem like the Bills have actually performed better when it came playoff time in the seasons when they had some real competition in the division. In particular, I am talking about 2021 when they never seemed to win any of the close games and the division title wasn't decided until the final game of the season. That team (13 seconds aside) was the best and most-playoff ready team we've seen in this era.

 

Actually, it seems like an every-other-year situation in these regards -- with the Bills dominating during the regular season in the even-numbered years (2020, 2022 and 2024) but fighting to the very end in 2021 and 2023. Now we're back in and odd-numbered season and indeed 2025 is looking like 2021 and 2023 with the Patriots putting the team in the position where the margin for error is razor thin. As it is, the Bills need to win out and hope that the Pats lose another game to ensure another division title. In essence, the Bills are already in a playoff format if they expect to make it to the tournament, let alone win the division.

 

Things sure would have been a lot easier if they hadn't crapped the bed against Miami last week. Let's hope that debacle taught everyone in the organization a valuable lesson.

[Kelly to Allen]

14 minutes ago, mannc said:

Allen has had bad games here and there, but he has never meaningfully regressed, at least until Joe Brady got his hands on him…nor has Mahomes ever regressed.  Regression is what happened to Mack Jones, Carson Wentz and CJ Stroud…Jordan Love is a current candidate…

 

I mean I guess dude. He just won MVP and the bills are still only 1 game back for the 1 seed. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I disagree with some of the ball control offense heavy formation but they're still top 5 in scoring and Allen has a rating over 100. He just eviscerated the 2nd best defense in the NFL in kc imho

 

You're overreacting to a let down spot on Miami which many predicted.

 

I'll be there with you on more concern if they drop the Tampa game 

 

Correction bills are 6th in scoring 

Edited 13 minutes ago by Kelly to Allen

[mannc]

3 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Herbert and Tua have absolutely had 9 game stretches similar to what Maye has done this season. Not sure about McCorkle.

Tua, maybe.  Herbert, absolutely not.  He’s never won anything, despite having been surrounded with a talented team most of his career.  He’s never come close to winning 9 games in a row, or being the leading MVP candidate.

[SirAndrew]

57 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

Maye looks a lot like Justin Herbert. I’m usually not super afraid when we have a matchup against Justin Herbert.

 

I’m interested to see how this Pats team performs late in the season and in the playoffs when the weather gets bad, the coverage is tighter, the refs are letting more stuff go, and teams are desperate and playing for their season.

 

Herbert hasn’t performed great in those circumstances, and I guess the jury is out on Maye and the Pats.

My worry is that the Pats are a better team than the Chargers, and Vrabel is an excellent coach. I think Harbaugh might be overrated and washed. 

[Paup 1995MVP]

11 hours ago, P Riv said:

I heard a stat that they only have something like 21 players from last years roster, and that all those replacements are upgrades.  Bear in mind that last year's coaching has more to do with being 4-13 than the player talent, look at all the one score losses from last year, put that together with new great coaching and scheme, the easy schedule and it all adds up.  Looking at us and them by position, by coaching staff, etc. and the only positions we can hang our hat on is QB and OT.  It's not like they don't have mismatches in their favor either.  I think they're here to stay, kind of like the division was in the mid to late 1990's.  Maye is very good, and he's showing improvement, learning from mistakes like a 2nd year player and much like Allen did.  

That said, I expect the Bills to go into Foxboro and stake their claim to the division.  Looking at their 2025 draft class, their number of 2026 picks, their huge cap space, we might be looking up at them next season.  Many complain about the Bills this season, but seeing what's on the horizon I'm going to enjoy the rest of 2025.  

What pissed me off from last night's game besides having to watch Justin Fields play NFL QB, (Is there a worse passer of the football than this guy?)  Is watching Hollins and Diggs run free all over the field making lots of catches.  They (especially Diggs) made it look so easy.  We could still have both of those guys in our top 4 WR's.  And our offense would hopefully be so much better.  A top 4 of Diggs Hollins Shakir and Palmer looks pretty solid.  I know Diggs did not want to be in the McClappy culture any longer.  But Beane did nothing to replace him.  And that seriously should be a fireable offense.