722 replies to this topic

[Titoschew]

I wonder if this is Tony Sparano's swan song. Either way, he'll go out as he came in, sunglasses on.

DON'T GET HURT.

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Great title Tito.

Just stay healthy, work on a few things and get ready for the playoffs.

If history is any indication, I'd expect every healthy body to start and play at least a quarter. I think BB will want to keep them sharp, esp. considering the upcoming bye.

I'd rest anyone with an injury and get more playing time for guys like Butler, Brace, Taylor/Morris, Tate, and Edelman. It would be nice to give Taylor Price some reps too. And tell Tom that if he tries running with the ball even once in this game he'll have to cut his hair. I was terrified each time he took off yesterday.

[mascho]

I'll be the first, but hopefully not the last, to say this: Regardless of what happens Sunday, Tito has earned the right to start our first playoff game thread. A he'll of a run he's put together should not be wasted if the Patriots (wisely) rest their players.

[PeaceSignMoose]

I'll be the first, but hopefully not the last, to say this: Regardless of what happens Sunday, Tito has earned the right to start our first playoff game thread. A he'll of a run he's put together should not be wasted if the Patriots (wisely) rest their players.

I came here to post just that, and I couldn't be happier that I was beaten to the punch. Lead us to the promised land, Tito.

That being said, beat these pod swimming assholes.

[RedOctober3829]

Who cares? Just give me Brian Hoyer, Julian Edelman, and plenty of Fred Taylor as early as possible. Of course, Col. Belichick will keep the troops out there all day.

"60 MINUTES"

[scottyno]

i want to see a lot of hoyer to price

[mikeford]

I want to see Wes Welker stapled to the bench.

[Mystic Merlin]

You're all irrationally scared about fatal injuries.

By that logic, key players should be sat at every conceivable point where the game isn't in issue or it's unlikely a scoring play will occur (late in the halves, on third and 25, up a lot early in the second quarter, etc.). These guys are not any more likely to suffer an injury this week than in any other game, and I firmly believe that messing up the team's routine and tempo could have far worse effects a few weeks down the road. They should treat this game as a chance to improve or sustain their level of play and keep their head of steam going into the playoffs - they don't play for two weeks after Sunday, and I'm not keen on them fucking around when they're going good and still have a relatively green team.

Now, I'd have no problem seeing a lot of Hoyer in the fourth quarter, but I think dissenters are making two faulty assumptions:

1) That basically sitting guys like Wilfork/Mayo/Welker/Brady will have little to no effect on the team going forward.
2) That somehow playing those guys this week for most of the game will expose them to significant injury. This is rather paranoid. Football players play football, sorry.

EDIT - Should these guys not practice either?

Edited by Mystic Merlin, 27 December 2010 - 04:55 PM.

[Shelterdog]

You're all irrationally scared about fatal injuries.

To be fair the Colts are a pretty good organization and they have historically chosen to bench their stars pretty early in "meaningless" games.

Reasonable minds can differ on this point.

EDIT: Welker's a guy I'd actually like to play; he's not quite right yet and I'd like to see him get in a better groove.

Edited by Shelterdog, 27 December 2010 - 05:00 PM.

[Mystic Merlin]

To be fair the Colts are a pretty good organization and they have historically chosen to bench their stars pretty early in "meaningless" games.

Reasonable minds can differ on this point.

Right, but I think those Colts teams were in a very different situation. This Pats squad isn't a veteran team; they haven't 'been there and done that'.

For instance, I didn't have any problems with the early to mid-'00s Pats teams employing the Colts strategy in some of their end-of-season games ('04 v. SF, '05 v. MIA).

EDIT - I agree about Welker - he dropped like three passes last week, and it'd be good for him to get back on track a bit (not that I'm worried about him).

Edited by Mystic Merlin, 27 December 2010 - 05:01 PM.

[Dollar]

You're all irrationally scared about fatal injuries.

I want to see Hoyer play at least a half, but that's less because I'm afraid of a Brady injury, and more because I genuinely want to see what Hoyer can bring to the table. He's looked really good every time I've seen him play (mostly preseason, but still...). The Pats are going to have a few high draft picks this off-season, so it would be nice to know if they have someone who could be Brady's heir, or if they should invest in a new project.

Edited by Dollar, 27 December 2010 - 06:10 PM.

[ElcaballitoMVP]

I want to see Hoyer play at least a half, but that's less because I'm afraid of a Brady injury, and more because I genuinely want to see what Hoyer can bring to the table. He's looked really good every time I've seen him play (mostly preseason, but still...). The Pats are going to have a few high draft picks this off-season, so it would be nice to know if they have someone who could be Brady's heir, or if they should invest in a new project.

Maybe from the 4th round on, but I don't want the Pats using a 1st/2nd/3rd round pick on Brady's heir at this point. I see Tom playing for another 4-5 years and using a top pick on his eventual replacement now doesn't seem like the best use of our resources. I agree, I'd like to see what Hoyer can bring to the table in an actual game, but I'd be pretty surprised at this point to see them use anything more than a 5th or 6th round pick on a QB in the 2011 draft.

[Shelterdog]

Maybe from the 4th round on, but I don't want the Pats using a 1st/2nd/3rd round pick on Brady's heir at this point. I see Tom playing for another 4-5 years and using a top pick on his eventual replacement now doesn't seem like the best use of our resources. I agree, I'd like to see what Hoyer can bring to the table in an actual game, but I'd be pretty surprised at this point to see them use anything more than a 5th or 6th round pick on a QB in the 2011 draft.

I'm with you. Maybe you pick up Greg McElroy or someone like that late in the draft to be your third quarterback, but any "heir apparent" will be probably be a free agent before Brady hangs up it up.

[CaptainLaddie]

Well, they have drafted QBs in '10 and '08 and also brought in Hoyer as an UDFA in '09 and also Gutierrez in '07 and drafted Cassel in '05. So 5 of the last 6 drafts the Pats have gone after a college QB. Kind of surprising, actually.

[Salva135]

You're all irrationally scared about fatal injuries.

By that logic, key players should be sat at every conceivable point where the game isn't in issue or it's unlikely a scoring play will occur (late in the halves, on third and 25, up a lot early in the second quarter, etc.). These guys are not any more likely to suffer an injury this week than in any other game, and I firmly believe that messing up the team's routine and tempo could have far worse effects a few weeks down the road. They should treat this game as a chance to improve or sustain their level of play and keep their head of steam going into the playoffs - they don't play for two weeks after Sunday, and I'm not keen on them fucking around when they're going good and still have a relatively green team.

Now, I'd have no problem seeing a lot of Hoyer in the fourth quarter, but I think dissenters are making two faulty assumptions:

1) That basically sitting guys like Wilfork/Mayo/Welker/Brady will have little to no effect on the team going forward.
2) That somehow playing those guys this week for most of the game will expose them to significant injury. This is rather paranoid. Football players play football, sorry.

EDIT - Should these guys not practice either?

I agree with this 100%. There is nothing in recent history to suggest that they will sit all of their important starters particularly early in this game, and the value of maintaining momentum outweighs the injury risk IMO. I think Brady will be slated to go 3 quarters, with Hoyer coming in early in the 2nd half if the game is a laugher, and starting the 4th quarter regardless of the score. And that sounds fairly reasonable to me. My guess is Brady and most of the other starters want to be out there anyway. As mentioned above, these guys are football players, and love coming to work.

If they were playing the following week I would think differently about this, but they will have a full two weeks to rest everyone and that should also be taken into account. That #1 seed is huge for so many different reasons. I am so psyched.

Edited by Salva135, 28 December 2010 - 05:06 AM.

[Salva135]

Is anyone aware of any team or personal season/historical milestones anyone could be playing for in this game? Law Firm is at 928 yards, so I imagine they will be pushing to get him to 1,000 (and I fully expect he will), but that's all I can think of.

Edited by Salva135, 28 December 2010 - 05:13 AM.

[Andrew]

If they turn over the ball fewer than 4 times they set the record for fewest turn-overs in the 16-game era. Barring a comedy of errors, they have the turn-over differential team record locked up as well. Their previous best record was plus-17 in 2003. They're currently plus-27. NFL record is the 1983 Red Skins with an eye-popping plus-43.

So... stay healthy priority one, hang on to the ball priority two.

Edited by Andrew, 28 December 2010 - 09:17 AM.

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Well, they have drafted QBs in '10 and '08 and also brought in Hoyer as an UDFA in '09 and also Gutierrez in '07 and drafted Cassel in '05. So 5 of the last 6 drafts the Pats have gone after a college QB. Kind of surprising, actually.

Come on now, the only guy they drafted with a "top" pick was Kevin O'Connell with their second 3rd round pick in '08 (pick 31 of 36 in that round). They drafted Robinson and Cassel in the 7th round of their respective drafts. That's not surprising, that's a team taking a shot in the dark that one of them might work out. They've used one pick within the top 3 rounds on a QB since TB has been the QB, and that was O'Connell. An NFL team needs to have at least 2 QB's on their roster, so it shouldn't be surprising that they drafted a couple guys in the last round for depth. In fact, it would be stupid if they didn't.

I didn't say they wouldn't draft a QB, I was saying I'd be surprised if they did it with anything higher than a 4th round pick.

[Shelterdog]

Well, they have drafted QBs in '10 and '08 and also brought in Hoyer as an UDFA in '09 and also Gutierrez in '07 and drafted Cassel in '05. So 5 of the last 6 drafts the Pats have gone after a college QB. Kind of surprising, actually.

If by kind of surpising you mean "not surpising at all, not even a tiny little bit" then sure.

UDFAs and 7th round picks don't count as going after a college QB. They count as "throwing shit against the wall and seeing if anything sticks" or "getting some warm body in camp so Brady doesn't wear out his arm in August".

There's nothing remotely surprising about routinely picking up UDFA/late round QBs; I'll bet every single team in the NFL does it.

[ObstructedView]

Is anyone aware of any team or personal season/historical milestones anyone could be playing for in this game? Law Firm is at 928 yards, so I imagine they will be pushing to get him to 1,000 (and I fully expect he will), but that's all I can think of.

Arbitrary as the 1,000-yard distinction is, I'd love to see BJGE get there. He's been a workhorse and a very pleasant surprise.

The only other potential milestone that comes to mind: Gronkowski is tied with Ben Coates for the franchise record for TD's by a TE in a season (9).

[Titoschew]

I'll be the first, but hopefully not the last, to say this: Regardless of what happens Sunday, Tito has earned the right to start our first playoff game thread. A he'll of a run he's put together should not be wasted if the Patriots (wisely) rest their players.

I'll be happy to start the thread for divisional weekend, but I'll let others speak to that. Hopefully, the Pats make it moot.

[PeaceSignMoose]

Isn't it bad luck to have last week's gamethread above this week's?

[j44thor]

Arbitrary as the 1,000-yard distinction is, I'd love to see BJGE get there. He's been a workhorse and a very pleasant surprise.

The only other potential milestone that comes to mind: Gronkowski is tied with Ben Coates for the franchise record for TD's by a TE in a season (9).

BJGE is only 2 rushing TD's behing NFL leader Arian Foster.
Gronk is one behind Gates for the TE TD lead. McCourty is 1 INT behind Samuel for the NFL lead.
Mayo leads the NFL in tackles by 14.

[Maalox]

I want to see Hoyer play at least a half, but that's less because I'm afraid of a Brady injury, and more because I genuinely want to see what Hoyer can bring to the table. He's looked really good every time I've seen him play (mostly preseason, but still...). The Pats are going to have a few high draft picks this off-season, so it would be nice to know if they have someone who could be Brady's heir, or if they should invest in a new project.

I fear he's been hyped out of the Pats' drafting window but if Pat Devlin lasts until the 64th pick, I might take him then. I'd be all over him if he lasts until the Moss pick as he would be a value pick at that point.

Contrary to what others have stated, I think it's Time To Draft Someone. It would be great if Brady is 38 and still starting for the team with which he made his name, but it would also be pretty optimistic. Not many of the best QBs in NFL history were that fortunate.

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Any weather nerds want to say definitively whether it will be raining for tomorrow's game?

[I12XU]

Is anyone aware of any team or personal season/historical milestones anyone could be playing for in this game? Law Firm is at 928 yards, so I imagine they will be pushing to get him to 1,000 (and I fully expect he will), but that's all I can think of.

Welker's 14 rec from 100; the dogshit game last week makes this likely not gonna happen and end his streak of 100+ rec seasons at 3.

[RedOctober3829]

1. Win Today
2. Don't get hurt.

Not in that order.

Edited by RedOctober3829, 02 January 2011 - 09:20 AM.

[TheoShmeo]

1. Win Today
2. Don't get hurt.

1. Don't get hurt.
2. Win today.

[sodenj5]

Some advice for Chad Henne: It's possibly the last game you'll be a starter in your career. If there was ever a time to say "fuck it" and start launching the ball deep at Marshall, this would be the game.

I think if there's a coaching change, Henne is 100% gone, but if Sporano and Ireland remain, there's a possibility that they'll shitcan Henning or "let him retire," get someone new in there, and see if Henne can salvage his career.

[cshea]

Deion Branch and Wes Welker are both out, per Mike Reiss on the WBZ pre game show.

Also, one historical note, BB can become the first head coach to have 4 14 win seasons with a win today.

[mabrowndog]

Deion Branch and Wes Welker are both out, per Mike Reiss on the WBZ pre game show.

Here's the complete list of inactives:

Tully Banta-Cain, Ron Brace, Deion Branch, Brandon Deaderick, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Mike Wright.

[mikeford]

Here's the complete list of inactives:

Tully Banta-Cain, Ron Brace, Deion Branch, Brandon Deaderick, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Mike Wright.

+ Dan Connolly

[SoxScout]

With that inactive list I'm expecting about a series from Brady.

[ivanvamp]

Here's the complete list of inactives:

Tully Banta-Cain, Ron Brace, Deion Branch, Brandon Deaderick, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Mike Wright.

That's a lot of receiving power unavailable for Brady/Hoyer. I hope Brady throws 2 TD in the first half to Gronk and Tate, Lawfirm gets a TD and gets to 1000 yards, the D plays stellar, and they win without having to do much in the 2nd half.

[3rd Degree]

For the first time in his career, Taylor Price is active today. Let's see what he's got.

[Mystic Merlin]

Well, on the bright side, at least people won't be able to cry for 2-3 quarters about the remote possibility that Welker will tear his ACL again.

[mabrowndog]

+ Dan Connolly

Thanks for that. He was a late add.

[mabrowndog]

[mikeot]

Like to see a respectable appearance by Hoyer, just for insurance's sake. Tedy Bruschi for his part said he would be happy to see him actually pressed in a game-winning situation.

[Andrew]

Evidently the Colts are going to come to New England and beat the Patriots. Why? Because he's Peyton Manning. Quality analysis.

[Mystic Merlin]

Marshall Faulk doesn't think Tom Brady is any better than Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger because the Patriots didn't suck ass early in his career.

[Reverend]

Well, on the bright side, at least people won't be able to cry for 2-3 quarters about the remote possibility that Welker will tear his ACL again.

Let's not jinx him and have him trip over the bench or some shit, huh? Can I get a little *knock wood*?

[FelixMantilla]

Thank God I usually miss these pre-games. Cowher, Sharpe and Marino. A triumvirate of assholes.

[Andrew]

I think he just predicted back to back Super Bowl Championships for the Patriots.

[Jnai]

Just don't want to see Cameron Wake hit Brady too much. Or, at all. That would be good.

[NortheasternPJ]

Marshall Faulk doesn't think Tom Brady is any better than Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger because the Patriots didn't suck ass early in his career.

I love he's still bitter and is so obvious about it.

[Jnai]

Marshall Faulk doesn't think Tom Brady is any better than Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger because the Patriots didn't suck ass early in his career.

To be fair, Bradshaw is undefeated in the head to head matchup with Brady.

[ColoradoJack]

Marshall Faulk doesn't think Tom Brady is any better than Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger because the Patriots didn't suck ass early in his career.

Faulk is pissed that Brady is walking around wearing his ring.

[mabrowndog]

Hey if anyone knows of a live online stream for this game, we've got a SoSHer over in Budapest who'd be most appreciative. Thanks in advance.

[Jnai]

Hey if anyone knows of a live online stream for this game, we've got a SoSHer over in Budapest who'd be most appreciative. Thanks in advance.

He will need to download VShare, which is safe.

http://atdhe.net/317...ngland-patriots