OT: Patriots -3

[Jerry1714]

Before people get into a debate on what is a Top 10 QB, this is the top 10 graded QBs by PFF for the year:

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think New England wins...but saying Atlanta's offense is "very good" is a little soft. They scored the 7th most pts in the history of the NFL. And the Houston game was a home game with Brock Osweiler on the other side of the ball. Just sayin'.

I wasn't trying to minimize it. They are scary on offense. But they also faced mostly weak defenses all year long. Only good defenses they faced were KC (loss), Seattle (loss), Tampa (split), Eagles, (loss), Broncos (close, lower scoring win). So, against good defenses they went 2-4 in the regular season.

 

[Husky25]

Before people get into a debate on what is a Top 10 QB, this is the top 10 graded QBs by PFF for the year:

Except for the fact that they play against Tom Brady everyday in practice.

 

[Jerry1714]

I wasn't trying to minimize it. They are scary on offense. But they also faced mostly weak defenses all year long. Only good defenses they faced were KC (loss), Seattle (loss), Tampa (split), Eagles, (loss), Broncos (close, lower scoring win). So, against good defenses they went 2-4 in the regular season.

They also beat Seattle. Scored 24 in the loss to Tampa week 1 (game is irrelevant), 24 in a loss at Seattle, 28 in a loss to KC, and 23 against Denver, so the Falcon's issue has been, and will be, its defense.

The Patriots defense is still really good even though they played bad QBs and bad offenses in 16 of the 18 games they played this year.

 

[Kitaman]

Experience Matters:

 

[Jerry1714]

Experience Matters:

except when it doesn't


New York Giants
(NFC) New England Patriots
(AFC)
17 14

 

[HuskyHawk]

They also beat Seattle. Scored 24 in the loss to Tampa week 1 (game is irrelevant), 24 in a loss at Seattle, 28 in a loss to KC, and 23 against Denver, so the Falcon's issue has been, and will be, its defense.

The Patriots defense is still really good even though they played bad QBs and bad offenses in 16 of the 18 games they played this year.

There is almost no chance that Atlanta can hold New England under 30. So scoring 23 or 24 is failure.

 

[Jerry1714]

There is almost no chance that Atlanta can hold New England under 30. So scoring 23 or 24 is failure.

They have scored 30 or under against worse defenses and scored over 30 against better defenses so well see. If New England breaks 30 I would say they most likely win. The betting team total for NE is set at 30.5.

I think this game is lower scoring than most people think though, but I do not have a strong feeling either way in the game.

 

[Husky25]

They have scored 30 or under against worse defenses and scored over 30 against better defenses so well see. If New England breaks 30 I would say they most likely win. The betting team total for NE is set at 30.5.

I think this game is lower scoring than most people think though, but I do not have a strong feeling either way in the game.

That's not true. The Patriots have scored at least 30 against every team they played who are worse statistically than the Falcons.

Oakland - DNP
New Orleans - DNP
Washington - DNP
Miami - 31, @35
Indy - DNP
@ Cleveland - 33
@ San Fran - 30

The Patriots have scored at least 30 in 10 of 18 games and are 10-0.

The other 6 were vs:
Team - pts (Def Rank)
Houston - 34 (1)
Pittsburgh - 36 (12) (27 pts. @ Pitt)
NYJ - 41 (11)
Baltimore - (7)
@ Buffalo - 41 (19)
Cinci - 35 (17)

 

[Jerry1714]

That's not true. The Patriots have scored at least 30 against every team they played who are worse statistically than the Falcons.

Oakland - DNP
New Orleans - DNP
Washington - DNP
Miami - 31, @35
Indy - DNP
@ Cleveland - 33
@ San Fran - 30

The Patriots have scored at least 30 in 10 of 18 games and are 10-0.

The other 6 were vs:
Team - pts (Def Rank)
Houston - 34 (1)
Pittsburgh - 36 (12) (27 pts. @ Pitt)
NYJ - 41 (11)
Baltimore - (7)
@ Buffalo - 41 (19)
Cinci - 35 (17)

How are you defining this? Because the Jets and 9ers allow more PPG than the Falcons, and they did score 30 or under against both. Just as I said. Or are you just choosing to ignore one of the Jets games?

You want to go by yards, then the 9ers are worse and they scored 30, which is exactly what I said.

But thanks for showing me nothing to prove what I said was wrong.

 

[Husky25]

How are you defining this? Because the Jets and 9ers allow more PPG than the Falcons, and they did score 30 or under against both. Just as I said. Or are you just choosing to ignore one of the Jets games?

You want to go by yards, then the 9ers are worse and they scored 30, which is exactly what I said.

But thanks for showing me nothing to prove what I said was wrong.

As dumb as I think it is, NFL Defensive ranking is based on yardage. The Patriots did not score less than 30 vs. a team statistically worse than Atlanta. I suppose you have a point on a technicality, as achieving the level of 30 points is arbitrarily included with the under. On the other hand, the Patriots ended the San Fran game with 7 straight runs and a kneel down on 3rd & Goal with 0:34 left from the San Fran 2 yard line. So let's dispense with the splitting of hairs, call it even, and move on.

The Jets game, that the Patriots won 22-17, doesn't apply to your statement because they had a statistically better defense than Atlanta (Incidentally, not hard to do, whether tracking by PPG (26) or yardage (25).

 

[mauconnfan]

There is almost no chance that Atlanta can hold New England under 30. So scoring 23 or 24 is failure.

Pretty sure the Giants also weren't going to hold them either when they were 18-0 so the reality is the Falcons need more "drives" than quick hitters to have a chance. Let's be honest the defense needs to get to Tom Brady or this one will most likely be to Goodell's disapproval.

 

[Jerry1714]

As dumb as I think it is, NFL Defensive ranking is based on yardage. The Patriots did not score less than 30 vs. a team statistically worse than Atlanta. I suppose you have a point on a technicality, as achieving the level of 30 points is arbitrarily included with the under. On the other hand, the Patriots ended the San Fran game with 7 straight runs and a kneel down on 3rd & Goal with 0:34 left from the San Fran 2 yard line. So let's dispense with the splitting of hairs, call it even, and move on.

The Jets game, that the Patriots won 22-17, doesn't apply to your statement because they had a statistically better defense than Atlanta (Incidentally, not hard to do, whether tracking by PPG (26) or yardage (25).

So again, nothing I said was wrong, but thank you for wasting your time to set forth facts I am fully aware of which is why I said 30 OR under. It is not a technicality, as it falls in the exact thing I said. You seem to be failing at reading comprehension, try to read all the words in a sentence and you will save yourself time, energy, and being called out in the future.

I hate to ask are you a Redskins fan AND a NE fan?

 

[HuskyHawk]

As dumb as I think it is, NFL Defensive ranking is based on yardage. The Patriots did not score less than 30 vs. a team statistically worse than Atlanta. I suppose you have a point on a technicality, as achieving the level of 30 points is arbitrarily included with the under. On the other hand, the Patriots ended the San Fran game with 7 straight runs and a kneel down on 3rd & Goal with 0:34 left from the San Fran 2 yard line. So let's dispense with the splitting of hairs, call it even, and move on.

The Jets game, that the Patriots won 22-17, doesn't apply to your statement because they had a statistically better defense than Atlanta (Incidentally, not hard to do, whether tracking by PPG (26) or yardage (25).

Considering the offenses the Jets faced, I think their D was underrated at that. Since there is no round robin, all these stats need to be taken with a huge helping of salt. On top of that facing certain teams at certain times of year, or with injured players affects this as well. Certainly the Patriots had four games without Brady, and one with, effectively, no QB at all.

Atlanta's defense has improved. New England's defense has improved. Both offenses are playing very well. My belief has always been that defense wins championships. I think it is about as likely that New England wins by 10 or more as it is that they lose. But neither is as likely as the Pats winning a close game.

 

[Husky25]

So again, nothing I said was wrong, but thank you for wasting your time to set forth facts I am fully aware of which is why I said 30 OR under. It is not a technicality, as it falls in the exact thing I said. You seem to be failing at reading comprehension, try to read all the words in a sentence and you will save yourself time, energy, and being called out in the future.

I hate to ask are you a Redskins fan AND a NE fan?

Wow, that really put me in my place. Guess I should go get the aloe vera, huh?

Yes. Why pray tell?

 

[Jerry1714]

Wow, that really put me in my place. Guess I should go get the aloe vera, huh?

Yes. Why pray tell?

No, you should just try to actually read what people write. Not that hard.

And as for being a fan of two teams, well I find that comical and consider you a fan of no teams actually. When UConn losses in the NCAAT do you put your Duke jersey on and head over to their message board to wave your pom poms? I know Washington has been irrelevant for almost 3 decades but man up.

 

[Dove]

 

[Husky25]

And as for being a fan of two teams, well I find that comical and consider you a fan of no teams actually. When UConn losses in the NCAAT do you put your Duke jersey on and head over to their message board to wave your pom poms? I know Washington has been irrelevant for almost 3 decades but man up.

Gee, I guess I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight. Far too worried about you considering me a fan of any teams or not. Incidentally, I don't really give a flying squirrel. It's freakin' football. Not to mention, it's an utterly ricokulous notion.

The Patriots are in the AFC. The Redskins are in the NFC. They play each other once every four years (A contest in which I typically root for the Redskins) and I enjoy watching both teams. It's not like I am a fan of the 'Skins and Cowboys or the Pats and Jets. The Redskins and Patriots are not rivals by any measure.

Finally - and t's none of your business, but I'll tell you just to tell you. If UConn happens to get bounced, I almost invariably root for the lower seed in the remaining games, which is hardly ever Duke.

 

[methodology]

As dumb as I think it is, NFL Defensive ranking is based on yardage. The Patriots did not score less than 30 vs. a team statistically worse than Atlanta. I suppose you have a point on a technicality, as achieving the level of 30 points is arbitrarily included with the under. On the other hand, the Patriots ended the San Fran game with 7 straight runs and a kneel down on 3rd & Goal with 0:34 left from the San Fran 2 yard line. So let's dispense with the splitting of hairs, call it even, and move on.

The Jets game, that the Patriots won 22-17, doesn't apply to your statement because they had a statistically better defense than Atlanta (Incidentally, not hard to do, whether tracking by PPG (26) or yardage (25).

Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, new Orleans, Indianapolis are all worse defenses statistically based on defensive dvoa which is a much better barometer of defense than total yards

 

[B1GEast]

I think the Falcons will win convincingly.

They have so much balance, it's not just Jones, they have Sanu, Gabriel and Freeman and others.

Historically the Pats have stymied opposing offenses, but this Falcons team just has too many weapons.

Falcons 27
Pats 23

The game won't be as close as the score indicates.

 

[intlzncster]

Falcons 52-10

J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!

 

[intlzncster]

Pretty sure the Giants also weren't going to hold them either when they were 18-0 so the reality is the Falcons need more "drives" than quick hitters to have a chance. Let's be honest the defense needs to get to Tom Brady or this one will most likely be to Goodell's disapproval.

The difference between that Giants D line and this Falcons D line is light years though.

I'm thinking this game will be lower than everyone seems to be calling for. And I've no idea how to call it. If I had to bet my life, I'd take the Pats, but Atlanta winning it would not remotely surprise me.

 

[intlzncster]

I think the Falcons will win convincingly.

They have so much balance, it's not just Jones, they have Sanu, Gabriel and Freeman and others.

Historically the Pats have stymied opposing offenses, but this Falcons team just has too many weapons.

Falcons 27
Pats 23

The game won't be as close as the score indicates.

Balanced offensively, yes. Balanced as a team? No.

 

[B1GEast]

I will take that bet. $20 straight up, no points.

I'll PM you

 

[willie99]

both teams are explosive on offense, both teams can score, we know one QB as been here before many times and excels in these spots, especially late

only one team plays defense, you just can't spin allowing the fewest points per game in the league vs allowing among the most, one team is especially good in the red zone (always have been)

both teams have arguably good coaches, but one has arguably the best of all time, we know one guy game changes game plans virtually every week and rarely does anyone guess right

I think the Patriots defense gets more stops, especially in the red zone, and I think that's going to be the difference