The Day The Patriots Dynsasty Died?

The moment was bound to happen eventually. It couldn't have been after the 2005 divisional loss to the Broncos because they were too close to their last championship. It couldn't have been after their 2006 conference championship loss to the Colts because the game was too close and the Patriots were only one game away from the Super Bowl. It definitely wasn't after the 2007 Super Bowl loss to the Giants because heck, they went 18-0 to the Super Bowl. It couldn't have been the 2008 season because they didn't have Tom Brady.

But it may have finally happened. The New England Patriots, who since 2001 have been amidst the elite teams in the NFL every year, may have finally taken a step back to mediocrity. Yesterday's 33-14 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens was the Patriots 7th loss of the 2009 season, and the Patriots franchises completed the "season ending cycle" in doing so; In 2004 they won the Super Bowl, in 2005 they got eliminated in the divisional round, in 2006 they got eliminated in the conference championship, in 2007 they lost the Super Bowl, in 2008 they missed the playoffs, and in 2009 they made their playoff exit in the first round.

It's easy to forget now, but the 2009 Patriots entered the NFL season as the odds on favorites to win the Super Bowl, and after a 59-0 spanking of the Tennessee Titans, it was hard to argue against the Patriots going very, very deep in the 2009 playoffs. The franchise was 6-2 heading in to week 10, but looked like the most dangerous team in the league.

Then the franchise unraveled. First there was Bill Belichicks 4th and 2 call against Indianapolis that signified the Patriots were no longer the defensive minded team that won three Super Bowls. Belichick also conceded that the Patriots aura of invincibility was a thing of the past, and that Peyton Manning's arm was more dangerous than his team.

But the Patriots hung in there heading into the post-Thanksgiving edition of Monday Night Football against the Saints. That day the Patriots lost 38-17 and seemingly gave up midway through the fourth quarter. The next week the Patriots would lose in Miami to acquire their fifth loss of the season, meaning adding Tom Brady would equal no improvement in the teams overall record.

So where do the Patriots go from here? They need to get some offensive line improvement, they need to get a sure thing running back, and their defensive backs aren't what they once where; when the Patriots were winning Super Bowls they had secondaries that ranked amidst the greatest in league history. But as we know, the Patriots aren't afraid to make offseason moves, be it through trade or free agency.

Next there is the question of Tom Brady. It seems as though ever since the Manning vs Brady showdown where Brady lost, and the the Hall of Famers sided with Peyton, Brady hasn't been the same. Something like that could definitely damage an ego, especially someone like Brady who notoriously wears his ego on his sleeve. Adding to his frustration are the continuous nagging injuries. Towards the end of the season rumors began to circulate that the Patriots are seriously considering drafting their successor to Brady sometime in the next two NFL drafts, meaning that the Patriots and Brady both know that his playing days are coming to an end.

Is the Patriots dynasty dead? Yes. It's definitely not 2004 anymore. This team doesn't follow the same mentality the 2001-2004 Patriots had; if they did they wouldn't have traded Richard Seymour.

Can the Patriots be back in 2010? Absolutely. Bill Belichick was able to go 11-5 with Matt Cassell, a kid who hadn't started a football game since high school. Lord only knows what would have happened in the 2008 playoffs had the Patriots actually gotten in.

Can this team continue to rely on Brady the way the Colts rely on Manning, the Cardinals rely on Warner, and the Chargers rely on Rivers? Absolutely not. When he was a champion, Tom Brady was the best game manager in the league; he was a Phil Simms clone for the 21st century.

Brady is still a Super Bowl QB, the running game and defense are not championship caliber.

The AFC Playoff Mess: Will the Bengals and Patriots "Lay Down?"

As you may have heard, the Steelers LaMarr Woodley believes that the Bengals and the Patriots will not try their hardest to win their games this Sunday in order to prevent the Steelers from making the playoffs.

And to be honest, if I were a member of the Bengal or Patriot organizations I'd encourage that very action.

The AFC playoffs, if the Patriots and Bengals lose on Sunday, mixed with a Ravens win over Oakland, will look like this:

6. Baltimore @ 3. New England
5. New York @ 4. Cincinnati

Obviously New England will lose their game to Houston for two reasons; first off, they don't want to play the Steelers, second, they would much rather play the Jets than the Ravens in the first round.

So essentially, New England will be putting their eggs in the basket of the Bengals attempting to win in order to get the number 3 seed. But the Bengals have the benefit of playing the night game, they'll see what happens before their game, and they will be able to know that if they lose they play the Jets in the first round.

It's not a shot on the Jets as much as it's strategy. Obviously the Jets are a very capable team; they have a great running game, a solid offensive line, and a contending defense. The reasoning is, not to anger the Jets fans out there, that the Jets quarterback is really, really, really, bad (compared to the 11 other Quarterbacks in the playoffs). Why would you want to play the Ravens or the Texans or the Broncos or (heavens forbid) the Steelers, when you could play the Mark Sanchez lead New York Jets.

A lot of people also believe the Colts pursuit (or lack there of) of perfection ended purposely to the Jets for this reason. Bill Polian is no idiot, he got all his numbers and figures in before kickoff with the Jets on Sunday and realized that if things play out the way he expects them to (which seems almost definite now) the Colts would be guaranteed to host either the Ravens, the Bengals, or the Jets in the divisional round.

Since the Tony Dungy era began in 2002, the Colts have played those teams a combined 14 times, and have only one true loss (Sundays game to the Jets does not count) to those teams, a 41-0 2002 Wild Card loss to the Jets. Obviously, if given the opportunity to play one of those three teams or the New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers, Polian would know what the correct answer is.

The only thing that's guaranteed in the NFL is that nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, but what the Colts, Patriots, and Bengals will do in letting the Jets make the playoffs, and keeping the Steelers out, is ensure the easiest route to Miami.

For the Patriots, that route will include (if things stand) Baltimore, San Diego, and Indianapolis consecutively (that's brutal). For the Bengals, their route will include New York, then a trip to Indianapolis, which if they get through they'll likely have to travel back to San Diego. And for the Colts, they sit pretty with a bye, then play either the Ravens, Jets, or Bengals before playing one of their two biggest rivals in the AFC Championship game.

I guess Herm was wrong, you don't always play to win the game.

The Brady vs Manning Question Redux

The following article was written for Funk Football by Joseph Bellear. It is fully endorsed by the website.

As this decade nears its end, there is little doubt the most controversial question to bring up to an NFL fan is this: Must win game, do you want Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? I realize this topic has been nearly beaten to death, but it seems as if the ignorant party always wins.

Ignorant Party: “ZOMG Peyton sucks, Brady has three rings and Peyton only has one, so Brady is better!”

(Much like prior to the 09 postseason, A-Rod was considered a postseason failure compared to Derek Jeter, despite A-Rod sporting a slightly higher .OPS. Prior to 09, A-Rod registered an .856 OPS compared to Jeter’s .846 OPS.)

Now, as admitted hater of all things Boston (I am a Yankee fan after all), I have an immediate preference towards Peyton. It isn’t exactly a baseless choice, if Peyton continues at his current pace for another five years while putting up his career average statistics; he’ll likely be the greatest quarterback of all-time.

However, despite a Super Bowl title in 2006 and a laundry list of records, there are many arguments against Peyton’s “clutchiness” (yes, it is a made up word). Brady after all has emerged as nearly as prolific as Manning in the regular season thanks to the 2007 acquisition of Randy Moss, he owns three Super Bowl rings and he holds a superior postseason record (14-3) to Manning’s (7-8). But do those numbers tell the whole story?

I can’t think of an interesting or creative segue into cold facts and numbers so I’m not going to bother. So here they are. If you were to ask Tom Brady what style of game he would prefer to play in the postseason, shootout or defensive battle, there’s little doubt in my mind that Brady would pick defensive battle. Why? The Patriot’s defense has held opposing offenses to 17 points or less in 10 of Brady’s 17 playoff games. Brady’s record in those games is a sparkling 9-1. In games where the Patriots allowed more than 17 points, Brady’s record is still very good, but not as immortal at 4-2. But included in that record is when the Patriots allowed 27 or more points, in which Brady is just 2-2.

On the other side of the equation, Peyton has been in 15 playoff games. In those 15 playoff games the Colts have allowed more than 17 points in 10 games, with Peyton sporting just a 2-8 record in those contents. When the Colts allowed 27 or more points, Peyton is 1-2. But when they allowed 17 or less points? Peyton has a 5-0 record.

This should come as no surprise. The cliché in football is that defense wins championships and that is because more often than not, it’s true. Both quarterbacks are basically unbeatable when their defense gives them an above average to great performance.

Another aspect that is often overlooked in this comparison is defensive and special team’s touchdowns. How incredible is it when you see your favorite team run in a pick-6? Maybe there’s a kickoff or punt return for a touchdown. The amount of joy you feel is equivalent to the deflating feeling that the opponent is experiencing at that very moment.

Peyton has enjoyed the benefit of such a momentum boosting moment just once in his postseason career when Kelvin Hayden took a Rex Grossman pass to the end zone in the Super Bowl. By contrast, Brady has seen a combination of seven touchdowns from his defense and special teams.

Does this make Brady any less “clutchy”? Of course not, that would be ludicrous. You can’t hold those touchdowns against Brady, but the fact that Brady has gotten 49 free points from his the rest of team shouldn’t go unrecognized when it comes down to the amount of playoff games and championships that he’s won compared to Peyton who rarely gets that type of support from the rest of his team.

To put those 49 points in perspective, Brady teams average 24 points a game in the postseason offensively, while Manning teams average 23 points a game. But when you subtract the 49 points from Brady’s point total, Brady teams average 21 points a game. Three points, a field goal. It doesn’t sound like much, but consider the fact that six of Brady’s playoff victories have come by three points and you begin to realize how much those extra touchdowns have helped solidify Brady’s place as a postseason icon.

Finally, there’s the cold hard statistics that both quarterbacks have put up in the postseason. Brady has the advantage in some ways with those numbers, buts it’s not as clear cut in favor of Brady as the average Bostonian (or ESPN anchor) would have you believe.

Brady’s postseason numbers read like this, 372 completions, 595 attempts for a 62.5% completion rate. He has thrown for 3954 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 INTs. His yards per attempt are 6.65 and he has averaged 232.6 yards a game. Those numbers are good for an 88 quarterback rating, which is an archaic but still mainstream accepted way of judging quarterbacks.

Manning stat line lies out like this, 348 completions, 564 attempts for a 61.7% completion rate. He has thrown for 4208 yards, 22 touchdowns, 17 INTs. His yards per attempt are 7.46 and he has thrown for an average of 280.5 yards a game. His numbers are good for an 85 quarterback rating.

Manning’s only sin is that he appears to be more careless with the ball than Brady. But there is a reason for that. As mentioned earlier in this passage, Manning often found himself playing in games where his defense was less than stellar. The result? The Colts have had to chuck the ball around more in games than the Patriots which leads to more chances for interceptions. The YPA difference also highlights the fact that Peyton has had to play a riskier brand of football, throwing a little deeper and taking more chances downfield, whereas Brady has been able to play a little safer due to his more favorable circumstances.

If the Patriots were to somehow miss the playoffs and the Colts played in two playoff games this year, would there any doubt that Manning would have around 40 to 50 more pass attempts than Brady, despite playing the same amount of games? With the way the Colts defense and running game has looked this year that might be a low end estimate on my part.

Simply put, Brady has been able to rely on much better defenses and special teams play than Manning ever has. And when Manning did get the type of defensive support that Brady had enjoyed, is it any surprise that he finally won his Super Bowl? Still, that didn’t stop Manning’s extreme haters from criticizing him for relying on his defense to win games for him. Sound like anyone else we know?

At the end of the day, nothing will convince Manning supporters from choosing Peyton in these arguments and nothing will convince Brady supporters from choosing Peyton in these arguments. It is important to realize football fans, that this argument isn’t nearly as lopsided as you may think.

Manning vs Belichick: The Greatest Rivalry of All Time Recapped Through 18 Rounds.

In 1998 Peyton Manning was a highly touted rookie who already had questions about his ability to win the "big game" while Bill Belichick was a two time Super Bowl Champion defensive coordinator, but a failure as a head coach. On September 20, 1998 few would have projected that Manning would go on to become arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history while Belichick would go on to become arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history; but September 20, 1998 was the first time these two met, when Manning made his third career start at the Meadowlands to face the New York Jets.

I was at that game.

Though Bill Parcells was the head coach of the 98 Jets, and it was undeniably his team, Belichick was certainly the architect of the defense. That Sunday Belichick made the Manning Doubters look pretty good, holding Peyton 193 yards passing, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. The Jets cruised that Sunday to a 44-6 win.

And round 1 went to Belichick.

But even at age 22, Peyton Manning was still Peyton Manning. The next time the Jets and the Colts met, Peyton added 80 passing yards and three touchdowns to the numbers he had in week 3, and it was not only enough to beat the Jets; but it was also enough to hand the team their first loss of the season under QB Vinny Testaverde; and it was the crown jewel in Manning's rookie campaign.

And round 2 went to Manning.

And thus the greatest individual rivalry in NFL history began. Not in 2001, not in 2003, not in 2006, but in 1998.

As we all know the 98 Jets would storm all the way to the AFC Championship game before losing to the Broncos, while the Colts would go 3-13; but in 1999 the rivalry would continue.

Testaverde would go down in week 1 of the NFL season against the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, Manning, now with 16 games under his belt, had risen to elite status as a 23 year old. The Colts would defeat the Jets twice in 1999, but for an offense that was ranked third in the NFL, Belichick managed to hold the Colts to only 29 points in two games. Mannings numbers in both games would be human, and you could sense that Belichick found Manning's Achilles heal while the rest of the NFL was still looking for it.

In 2000 Belichick would leave the Jets (ultimately turning down the teams head coaching position) to become the head coach of the New England Patriots, and yet again Manning and Belichick would split their season series.

Through three years the Score was Manning 4, Belichick 2, but things were about to change.

In week 3 of 2001, Patriots second year QB Tom Brady made his first career start and helped the Patriots crush the Colts 44-13. Things wouldn't get much better in week 6 for the Colts as the Patriots again dominated them 38-17. The Colts would finish 2001 6-10 and miss the playoffs for the first time since Peyton's rookie season, while Belichick would lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXVI, where he'd pick up his third Super Bowl win, and first as a head coach.

From 2002 to 2004 Belichick would go 4-0 vs Manning, including two playoff wins. Belichick would beat Manning in the 2003 and 2004 playoffs en route to two more Super Bowl rings. On top of that the Manning vs Belichick fight was now scored at 4-8 in favor of Belichick, and without a doubt Belichick was in Manning's head.

But things weren't as bad as they seemed. Though the Colts would lose all four games in 2003 and 2004 against New England, all four games were relatively close. In the 2003 regular season the Colts came up "one yard short," had the Colts won that game they would've hosted the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. That same AFC Championship Game saw Peyton with his first shot at a legendary drive in the 4th quarter, he'd fail on a "questionable call" that lead to new rules for "receiver protection." In the 2004 season opener the Colts lost on a last second field goal gone wrong, and in the AFC playoffs that season, the Colts would enter the second half trailing only 6-3. Though Peyton was 0-4 vs Belichick he was slowly gaining on him.

Then 2005 happened.

As Peyton entered Act II of his career as a player he began to "do less" while "doing more." No longer did Peyton force throws. He worked harder, and quickly developed into not only the best quarterback in the league, but the best player in the game. In the 2005 regular season Peyton lead the Colts into New England and crushed the Patriots 40-21.

In the 2006 regular season the Colts again beat the Patriots, and when the two met in that years AFC Championship game, Peyton pulled off what many consider the greatest comeback in NFL history when he lead the Colts back from 21-3 deficit to stun Belichick and the Patriots en route to a Super XLI championship.

At the end of 2006 the fight was score 7-8.

2007 and 2008 would see Manning and Belichick split the series to make it 8-9. In that time span Manning vs Belichick would feature a contest of undefeateds that would side with Belichick, and a Week 9 playoff game that would side with Peyton. Belichick would return to the Super Bowl where he'd lose for the first time as a head coach, and Peyton would pick up his league record third MVP.

Entering 2009 there was little question who the best coach and quarterback were in the NFL. Bill and Peyton.

And entering their 2009 showdown the only question was "who is in the others head more?"

With a 4th and 2 in the 4th quarter, on his own 28 yard line, with close to two minutes on the clock and a six point lead, Belichick answered the question.

In 2009, Peyton Manning, now a 33 year old, is in Bill Belichicks head. Belichick feared giving Manning the ball with 70+ yards to go; instead opting to make a call he knew would doom his team had it been unsuccessful.

And unsuccessful it was.

And successful was Manning's next jab. As we all now know, Manning yet again pulled a rabbit out the hat vs Belichick.

Unlike from 2003-2004, in 2006, 2008, and 2009, the Colts no longer lose the close ones to the Patriots. It has been Belichick who has gotten beaten, and it has been Peyton who has shattered Belichicks defenses when the game mattered most.

Like great fighters the two have fed off of one others previous rounds; learning from previous mistakes, making adjustments, psyching your opponent out.

At 9-9, this is undeniably the greatest rivalry in NFL history. At this point in time it has to favor Peyton; his failures were mostly when he was young; as a man he's done little but defy every scheme Belichick has thrown at him, and Sunday was no different. It was just a great fighter making another great comeback.

It's a testament to Manning's greatness, and Belichick's as well. Most QB's would've rolled over after 2004 and accepted Belichick's dominance the way Pedro Martinez once called the Yankees his "daddy." But Manning didn't, he kept fighting back the way he did in the 2006 and 2009 renditions of this rivalry. And most coaches get scared by Peyton and force unnecessary blitzes, 2nd quarter on-side kicks, and offensively play calling unfitting of their teams image. Belichick never does that versus Peyton, he sizes him up. You can't blame Belichick from trying to keep the ball out of Peyton's hands, it'd be a different story if he made dumber moves early in the game like most teams do versus the Colts.

So let's enjoy the rest of this heavyweight main event. We all know round 19 will be bigger than the last.

Injuries Are Piling Up: How It Shapes the Playoff Picture

"Hot and Healthy." Those two words have replaced the phrases "best team," and "most talented" when it comes to who often wins the Super Bowl.

The NFL presents its players with a very long season is you really think about. To get to the Super Bowl a team usually needs to play at least 18 games; in the 00's a lot of team have had to play 19 just to get there; changing the strategy from "win all your games from September to December and you'll be fine in January" to "make sure these guys are given every sort of medication there is to make sure they can play on Sunday."

The 2005 season was really where this strategy all began; In October the Chicago White Sox won the World Series after having a miserable final stretch of the regular season. The White Sox were able to stay healthy, and get hot at the right time though, which lead them to a Championship.

Meanwhile in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts were off to an epic 13-0 start, while the Steelers would need to win their next three games just to get into the playoffs. After a loss to the San Diego Chargers in week 15, the Colts decided to coast through the rest of the season; benching a majority of their starters; essentially giving their key players a month off before their next important game.

The Steelers on the other hand got hot. They won the last three games of the season by a combined point differential of +70, and went into Cincinnati and beat them up Wild Card Weekend. On January 15, 2006 the Steelers would head to Indianapolis in a game that would change coaching strategy for the rest of the decade.

The game began with the fresh but out-of-sync Colts struggling to put a drive together while the Steelers were able to put up a quick 14. The first half would end with a 14-3 score in favor of Pittsburgh.

In the third quarter the Steelers put together what looked like a crippling drive to make the score 21-3 in favor of Pittsburgh. In the fourth quarter Indianapolis's' offense would finally find it's rhythm, putting up 15 unanswered points, but would fall a Mike Vanderjagt missed field goal away from advancing in the playoffs.

The fourth quarter of that game proved who the "best team" and the "most talented team" was that day, but the "hot and healthy" team went on to win.

On the other hand, Bill Belichick's 2007 Patriots grinded, and grinded, and grinded down the stretch to a perfect 16-0 record, and grinded through two tough playoff games to finish the season 18-0, before meeting the New York Giants, who were hotter, healthier, and younger than the Patriots. Without a doubt the Patriots were "more talented" and the "better team," but the wear and tear of the 18 game schedule put it's toll on New England's ancient defense and offensive lines. In the fourth quarter, the Giants young offense exposed the exhaustion of New England's defense and picked up a touchdown. In the following drive New England's offensive line totally collapsed letting Brady hit the ground on four straight plays. The Giants would be named Super Bowl XLII champions.

So what teams lurking around right now are healthy?

Early in the season the Colts, Patriots, and Steelers all picked up injuries that the media and fans viewed as "crippling." Since then the Colts and Steelers have gotten significantly healthier, while all three have continued to bench key players each week. Though these are probably the three teams in the NFL that need to be healthy the least to win the Super Bowl, all three are looking to be in good shape come January; it's just a matter of getting hot.

In the NFC the Saints are relatively very healthy; especially when you consider many of their key players (Shockey, Colston, Bush, Vilma, even Brees, have had injury problems in the past). With a roster loaded with that many "injury prone" players though, you have to wonder how much longer this could last.

For the second season in a row the New York Giants are feeling the wrath of their previous season. Thus far Eli Manning and Justin Tuck, the leaders on each side of the ball, have suffered injuries that could nag them for the duration of the season. Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys have stayed healthy and are just getting hot. Despite a week 1 loss at home to the Giants, the Cowboys are currently in first place in their division while the Giants are in third. The Eagles, as usual, are winning despite key injuries, but this team should be healthy come January.

In 2008 Brett Favre had the New York Jets in similar shape to what he has the Minnesota Vikings currently are. At 8-3, Jets fans were ready to start booking their trips to the Super Bowl, unfortunately Favre's arm fell off in the later months of the season. Will that happen this year? For one, Favre is asked to do a lot less in Minnesota than he is in New York, and playing in a dome is a lot easier than playing in the Meadowlands. But you have to wonder if Favre has nine more games in him this season? It may be time to get him on a "pitch count" if the Vikings want to win when it matters. Same goes for Adrian Peterson.

Perhaps this seasons "hot and healthy" team to watch will be last years "hot and healthy" team; the Arizona Cardinals. Right now the Cardinals have been the poster children for inconsistency; just as they were in 2008. Chances are this team will be in the playoffs due to a weak division, and if they want to get back to the Super Bowl they're going to have to be "hotter and healthier" than everyone else.

Finally you have the San Diego Chargers who last year were able to get hot enough, but not healthy enough, to finally make the elusive run the Super Bowl. This season the Chargers are looking relatively healthy, but they've yet to get hot. It's going to be tough for this team come playoff time (if they make it) to advance, given they likely won't have the luxury of playing any games in San Diego's nice weather; thus making their health the greatest factor in finally advancing.

So when you line up the contenders (sorry Denver) this January look at who is healthiest, and then watch for them to get hot. Once you see any signs of heat rising, that's the team to watch.

AFC Division Winners Are Set

I'm calling it now. I don't care if Denver collapsed last year; I don't care that Indianapolis has two to go with the Texans; I don't care if the Jets have the tiebreaker right now over New England, who also have two to go with Miami; and I don't care if Cincinnati have the tiebreaker with Pittsburgh right now.

It's week 7 and the Colts, Patriots, Steelers, and Broncos have assured themselves at least one home game in the playoffs each.

Obviously the easiest team to guarantee this luxury to right now is Indianapolis. The Colts are 6-0 and if you look at their schedule anything more than three losses would be considered tragic for this teams psyche (unless loss four comes in week 17 after home field is wrapped up of course). The Colts host New England who have lost to Indianapolis four of the last five times these teams met, including the 2006 AFC Championship game, they host Denver, and they have to go to Baltimore, who haven't beaten the Colts since the beginning of the decade. The Colts also have two games with Houston and one game with Jacksonville remaining. 14-2 seems likely here.

The Broncos have impressed everyone all year. They've beaten New England, Dallas, and San Diego, teams who were supposed to put the Broncos in their place, and they currently have a defense that looks phenomenal. Kyle Orton is doing a great job and for the first time since 2005 the Broncos look like a serious AFC contender. I know this franchise collapsed last year down the stretch but this is a different team. It won't take much more than 4 more wins this year to wrap up the AFC West, and with Washington, Kansas City x2, and Oakland on their schedule, it'll come down to beating the Giants, Chargers, or Steelers at home, or the Colts, Ravens, or Eagles on the road. 11-5 seems like the right record for this team.

The Patriots will be back in the playoffs this year after being left out in 08 despite an 11-5 record. This Patriots team is looking a lot like the 08 Patriots who beat up on the bad teams and lost their five regular season games to the Dolphins, Jets, Colts, Chargers, and Steelers; all playoff contenders. So far the Patriots have lost to the Jets and Broncos; but the rest of the season doesn't look to bad; Miami 2x, New York Jets, @ New Orleans, and @ Indianapolis are the only scary games left on the schedule. Chances are this team finished 11-5 or 12-4; enough to win the AFC East in 2009.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the trickiest team of the bunch. They currently sit in a tie for the AFC North this week, and at 4-2 they host undefeated Minnesota before heading into a a bye week. After that the schedule picks up where it left off with a lot of cold weather games versus tough teams. Working in Pittsburgh's favor is that Cincinnati has to travel to Pittsburgh in week 10, and the team still has two to go with 3-3 Baltimore. If the Steelers come out of those three games with a 2-1 record they'll win the division. I think they'll do just that and with an 11-5 record win the AFC North.

The biggest game to decide playoff seeding may be the week 9 matchup of Pittsburgh @ Denver. This game could likely be the difference between a two seed and a four seed for these teams. Denver currently holds the tiebreaker over New England thanks to a head to head victory.

In week 10, the Patriots will travel to Indianapolis to continue arguably the decades best rivalry. This time a loss may mean the difference between the Patriots being the one seed and being the four seed. If the Colts win this one then they're in great shape to get a first round bye for only the third time this decade despite going to the playoffs in a league record 9 out 10 seasons.

It's also important to note that all four of these teams have intertwined in rivalries this decade. In 2003 and 2004 the Colts beat the Broncos in the playoffs before losing to the Patriots. In 2001 and 2004 the Patriots beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. In 2005 the Broncos beat the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. That same round the Steelers would beat the Colts en route to beating the Broncos the next week. In 2006 the Colts beat Patriots in the AFC Championship game. In 2007 as part of their undefeated regular season New England defeated both the Colts and the Steelers. In 2008 as part of their "must win" push for the playoffs the Colts defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh and defeated the Patriots in a game that turned out to be a "loser stays home" game; the Steelers would go on to win the Super Bowl though.

These four franchises account for eight of the leagues past twelve Super Bowl champions. Chances are that after this year that number is going to be nine out of the last thirteen.

We'll find out this January.

Once Again the New England Patriots Show No Class

No one really considers the New England Patriots a classy organization. Their owner is a crook. Their coach is a known cheater; both on his wife and on the game in which he coaches. Their quarterback is openly arrogant, and has the sportsmanship of a six year old crybaby. And the team has featured such class acts as Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, and Corey Dillon this decade.

This is the franchise that got caught cheating and got away with it. The coach who walked off the field before the game could end. The QB who refused to shake his opponents hand after an AFC Championship loss. These are the New England Patriots.

So it should come as no surprise that the Patriots; who were heavily favored coming into Sunday's game against the Titans would kick a team when they're down.

At halftime the score in 45-0. This includes a touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Wes Welker with under twenty seconds on the clock... in the snow... when your QB got his knee destroyed last year. When you're up by 38.

Totally unnecessary. Who cares if the team sits all of it's starters in the second half. This is the NFL not the BCS. There's no style points in the NFL. At the end of this game you'll still be 4-2 and in 2nd place in your division.

But I hope the Patriots feel good about themselves after this. After all it's been a rough couple of years for the people of Boston, MA. The city has only won six major sports titles since 2001. Sure three of them are forever tainted, but still. Hopefully a win like this fills those open hearts in the Bay state.

I try to keep this blog fair and balanced. I'm honest with my readers and say when I don't like players, teams, or coaches. I've tried to keep my Patriot hating to a minimum. But this is gross. I just hope the Saints return the favor when the Anna Nicole Smith of American sports travels to the Superdome.

P.S the second half is starting and Brady is throwing. Smart move, right? Great example to set for the millions of young kids who are in Pop Warner watching this game.