Patriots Pre-Game Thread

[WMH]

Got interviewed by Jeremy Desel @ Channel 11 about our decision to goto the game. Will air at 5 or 6......

[chuck]

Originally Posted by WMH

Got interviewed by Jeremy Desel @ Channel 11 about our decision to goto the game. Will air at 5 or 6......

I'l give you $50 if you guys get letter jackets made up.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by chuck

I'l give you $50 if you guys get letter jackets made up.

LMAO.

Ummm, no thanks.

[WMH]

Pretty good read here:
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/...s-pure-frauds/

[Arky]

TV = CBS (channel 11 local), Sunday 3:30 pm CST

Announcers = Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, sideline - Steve Tasker

The line = Patriots by 9.5 to 10

WalterFootball offer this nugget of hope:

Now, it's time to review what the media overreacted to last week:

1. This week, the major overreaction is to the Texans. Everyone's giving up on them after two losses.

Fading the media is now 13-4-1 since Week 12. There are two things the media's overreacting to this time:

1. The Texans dominated the Bengals but only won by six, so they're getting a ton of flak. No one's giving them a chance against New England, yet they have the same record.

2. Everyone is just assuming the Seahawks are going to beat the Falcons. Michael Wilbon said that Atlanta winning would be a surprise. Umm... aren't the Falcons favored?

[Keith]

I agree with both points. The Falcons getting slighted is worse than any slight the Texans have endured this week (mostly because the Texans have earned much of their derision). There is a perverse media inclination to set up a Packers-Seahawks rematch (remember the TD-INT call with the fake refs?) since it makes for a 'good story', and it really just adds to my general distate of the media.

As for the Texans... They were just 4-pt dogs last time (though that jumped to like 6 near kickoff). They had a bunch of unusual things go against them early, like the illegal formation penalty on the 1st play (negating a nice run), the INT from Schaub into the end zone with the score still 0-0 I think, the missed fumble recovery by Kareem before the Pats first score, etc. The only usual thing that hurt them was poor special teams (I think Welker had a big 1Q punt return).

[barrett]

The Texans deserve to be big underdogs in this one. We have not played a good offensive game since Thanksgiving Day.

However, there is no reason for why the media has turned on this team and declared them frauds. They finished 12-4 and the 3rd seed in the AFC and that is exactly what they are. A good 12-4 team who is the 3rd best team in the AFC (and beat the 4th, 5th, and 6th best teams in the conference). There is nothing fraudulent about them. They are exactly what they seem (especially last week when they were the definition of "good, no more, no less").

Now they go into NE with no expectations and plenty of motivation. If they walk out as big losers they have lost nothing. If they walk out after a close defeat they will have gained some 'respect' and they will try to sell it to fans as progress. Or they walk out as upset winners and all of the media stories are re-written and the 24 hour news cycle forgets they were ever left for dead.

I hope the NFL, the networks, the media, and everyone else lives a nightmare come true and by Sunday night, Brady vs Manning has turned into Schaub vs. Flacco.

[WMH]

Saw this in Walter's recap as well:
RECAP: If you think that laying 9.5 with the Patriots means easy money like Shaughnessy apparently does, you're mistaken. New England typically doesn't live up to expectations as a big playoff favorite, owning a dubious 3-8 spread record laying 4.5 or more points in the Bill Belichick era.


Bad thing is, he has been WAY off this year...