Patriots are really good.

Forget about Brady even though he looks really sharp...Belichick runs the defense for the most part...the D have given up 3 pts in 2 games.

Not disagreeing with you but the Steelers aren’t very good and the Dolphins are hapless.
I do agree that they are damn good. I hate it

If Antonio was on any other team he'd already be on the NFI list. No doubt t they win another super bowl this year. Just means I dont watch the last game again and hope it's their last but probably not.

They have probably the easiest schedule in the NFL, so it's hard to know what to think of the Patriots.

Their defense will likely get exposed when they have to play teams with mobile QB's that can also run the ball.

knownone":3vo32l2g said:

They have probably the easiest schedule in the NFL....

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Their first 8 opponents were non-playoff teams last year. Won't know what they are til 2nd half of the season.

As it stands right now, it's looking like the Pats are going to the Super Bowl again this year. The entire AFC just looks SO weak this season, the Chiefs & the Ravens look like their only legit threats.

They've quietly become a very good defensive team while everyone focuses on Brady and the offense. That combined with 6 games a year vs Bills/Dolphins/Jets is pretty nice situation for them.

I wouldn't bet against them...

They are even better than last year. Lame

As well they have almost 6 games that prove to be likely Ws for them each season against their divisional rivals Buffalo, NY Jets, and Miami. They almost have an unfair advantage season after season.

Their Division sucks and always has. They may not always have the worst team, but their competitors are always lame.

It's one of the reasons they're always in the SB. Easy Div title. Likely home field advantage to NFC championship.

lobohawk":38bbcsqf said:

Their Division sucks and always has. They may not always have the worst team, but their competitors are always lame.

It's one of the reasons they're always in the SB. Easy Div title. Likely home field advantage to NFC championship.

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Even with advanced metrics that account for ability of opponents they have and just continue to crush it.

Writing off their success on their division and conference is a cop out, IMO.

I too would rather them not be as good as they are, but they're exceptional in the true sense of the word.

This comes from someone who's team had it's heyday with the Expansion Falcons who did nothing, the Expansion Saints who were the worst team in the league, the Expansion Panthers and the Georgia run Rams as their major opponents for many years till realignment.....

lobohawk":20n3cwv1 said:

Their Division sucks and always has. They may not always have the worst team, but their competitors are always lame.

It's one of the reasons they're always in the SB. Easy Div title. Likely home field advantage to NFC championship.

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They still and usually do ; win in the playoffs and then have to play the best the NFC has to offer in the SB . They're good no matter how you slice it . Deal with it .

Popeyejones":1bo548hu said:

lobohawk":1bo548hu said:

Their Division sucks and always has. They may not always have the worst team, but their competitors are always lame.

It's one of the reasons they're always in the SB. Easy Div title. Likely home field advantage to NFC championship.

Click to expand...

Even with advanced metrics that account for ability of opponents they have and just continue to crush it.

Writing off their success on their division and conference is a cop out, IMO.

I too would rather them not be as good as they are, but they're exceptional in the true sense of the word.

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It's not being written off.

But to ignore the advantage of taking 6 games a year and cruising through them while the rest of the NFL maybe gets a game like that is also a cop out.

Everyone knows the Patriots are good (surprised it needed a thread). There are many factors involved. One of those is the lack of competition they get in their division.

Defense is pretty solid, Belichick has quietly built a strong unit. That on top of having probably the best trio of WR's. Only competition is the Chiefs (maaaybe the Chargers but them losing Derwin James sucks) and Pats will likely cruise to a 1 seed, so KC will have to go into Foxboro where they don't lose. Looks like another god damn Pats SB appearance. I can't wait for Brady and Belichick to retire so there's actually some sort of parity in the AFC.

Division is a joke but they take care of business every single year. Even when the Cards and Rams sucked they gave the Hawks a hard time most years.

Cyrus12":2t0mr2u9 said:

If Antonio was on any other team he'd already be on the NFI list. No doubt t they win another super bowl this year. Just means I dont watch the last game again and hope it's their last but probably not.

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It took the league two years to investigate Reed and finally suspend him, so I wouldn't hold your breath that the Brown investigation will be wrapped up anytime soon.

Belichick knows everything, so I'm sure he knew of the Brown allegations, and also knows that it takes the league forever to investigate............more than enough time for Brown to help the Pats win another SB.

Our only hope is that Brady and McDaniels fall in love with Brown too much like they did Randy Moss and it throws their offense out of sync.

If not, I could see this Pat's team with as good as their defense is this year going 16-0, their schedule is an absolute joke. They don't play anybody good until November.

mistaowen":11dmqrgs said:

Division is a joke but they take care of business every single year. Even when the Cards and Rams sucked they gave the Hawks a hard time most years.

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Miami was always a thorn for them, but they sent Flores south to resolve that issue.

Found this humorous: https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...eree-stay-off-tom-patriots-dolphins/40168903/

Thing about playing in a week ass division, you can get to blow out levels and then start playing depth players more in the rotation and get them real experience early and then come playoff time they contribute a lot more and can shore up if a injury happens.

Popeyejones":mhsl4l19 said:

lobohawk":mhsl4l19 said:

Their Division sucks and always has. They may not always have the worst team, but their competitors are always lame.

It's one of the reasons they're always in the SB. Easy Div title. Likely home field advantage to NFC championship.

Click to expand...

Even with advanced metrics that account for ability of opponents they have and just continue to crush it.

Writing off their success on their division and conference is a cop out, IMO.

I too would rather them not be as good as they are, but they're exceptional in the true sense of the word.

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Oh they're a good team, but they've always had an easier path to the SB in the B&B era. This doesn't mean Brady isn't a franchise QB and Bill isn't a historic coach. That said, their best divisional competition in their era was either Pennington or Sanchez/Ryan Jets. The NFC West in half that time has sent multiple different teams to the SB.

Nothing changes the fact that their path to the playoffs is basically open every year. This means they get more shots at the "playoff" basket and are statistically more likely win SBs by that simple fact.

lobohawk":2et59al1 said:

Nothing changes the fact that their path to the playoffs is basically open every year. This means they get more shots at the "playoff" basket and are statistically more likely win SBs by that simple fact.

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Yep. How many SB's would we have won if our division was a complete dumpster fire over the past 15 years, which gave us a 5-6 game head start over the rest of the NFC for HFA every year?

I give Belichick and Brady credit, but make no mistake, they've lived a charmed life in that god awful division where not one other team can ever get their crap together enough to make them ever break a sweat.