NOW WE DEFEND THE PATS #1 RANKING?

mguilmey619,

I could see why you would say the Patriots are "weak sauce"  considering the fact that they beat the Bolts twice last season.  But I will give you FULL CREDIT for debating the donkeys Colts being ahead of the Chargers, considering they were beat not once, but twice by them.... ....it's ludacris to assume the donkes are better than the Bolts, so yup you're totally right on that one!!

I'll tell you what in my rankings, the Colts would not even be in the number 3 spot.  They are washed out, Jaguars and Titans will be looking to even the gap this year, their schedule is brutal.  They're still a dangeours playoff team, but will not make it to the Super Bowl.  AFC will send either Chargers of Patriots...

It's lucky that the ref did not understand the rule that only players and the head coach can call time outs, not the defensive coordinators.

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You are like the blind man fondling the elephant, no matter what the world around him tells him, he believes he is touching a flower.

The NFL has repeatedly stated that in a situation like that, the line judge is directed to give the time out, becuase he cannot take his eyes off the field.  If you don't like that explanation, then what should have happened was a flag thrown on the Ravens for illegal procedure.  In either case, the ravens screwed the pooch.

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It's lucky that the refs thought Jabar Gafney had control of that touchdown catch when everyone else in the country could clearly see he was bobbling it and didn't have control.

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Sorry not everyone.  He caught it, and shifted it to his outside hand, but had complete control over the ball.  I wish he had simply run out holding it in both hands so folks like yourself could stop whining, but he didn't.

It's good to talk football.

PinTBC

I admit that they don't go to the run as much as they probably could.  But their running game is as effective as any team in the leagues. 

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Slashsnake, I enjoy reading your posts. 

I'd only state that the Patriots running game did indeed perform well all year, BUT it was truly set up by their passing game right up until the last couple games of the season.  Maroney was very tentative hitting holes until then.  Once he got feeling good again, the running game started to shine.

That was one of the things that i actually didn't like last year about the Patriots.  They depended on the pass a little too much for my tastes.

PinTBC

So the Colts are washed out but the Pats are not?

Let's see, by the end of the season, the Colts had lost both their starting defensive ends with injuries, lost their starting linebackers to free agency the year before and their starting corners from the year before. They also lost their starting DT's as well.

Their D experienced almost a complete turnover.

Plus, they lose their starting LT to retirement before the season starts, and at one point only had 5 healthy linemen TOTAL. They lose every WR except for Reggie Wayne and still manage to get within a missed Vinatieri FG from beating the Chargers.

Considering that Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis and Marvin Harrison should all be back, plus the emergence of Anthony Gonzalez, Tony Ugoh and last year's rookies, and the additions of Philip Wheeler to the defense, and Jacob Tamme to the offense, how can you say the Colts are washed out? The Colts are getting younger and younger, replacing veterans with solid young guys.

Meanwhile, what have the Jags done to get closer? Added Jerry Porter, a chronic underachieving receiver who is up there in years and is now losing some of his athletic talent. Then they added 2 pass-rushers in the draft. I like both the guys they added but don't like the fact that they traded Marcus Stroud. They go from having one of the league's most dominant interior tandems to having a promising outside tandem with less meat in the middle. I'd be more optimistic about them had they kept Stroud.

Their D-line would have been Groves, Stroud, Henderson and Harvey (from right to left). That would be the best D-line in football.

I'm still not sold on their WR's. They don't make plays when it counts.

And talk about the Titans? Are you serious? It's Vince Young and the rejects on offense versus Peyton and the stars, and you want to say that they are even close?

They have now for the 2nd straight year, ignored their need to bring in a WR on draft day and drafted yet another RB. (The Round Robin in 2006, The Workout Warrior in 2007, and the Speed Demon in 2008). How many RB's do they need, especially with the rushing contributions of VY? He still does NOT have a playmaker in the passing game, and their D just gone 1 year older. Plus, their defensive star Albert Haynesworth is only signed to a 1-year deal.

You know what's funny though.

The Steelers problem is that they can't beat the Jaguars. The Jags problem is that they can't beat the Colts. The Colts problem is that they can't beat the Chargers. The Chargers problem is that they can't beat the Patriots. The Patriots problem is that they're getting old and the other teams are catching up.

Who will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? I have no idea, but my money right now is on Peyton and the boys. Once again it appears that they have something to prove, since the Patriots 1-upped their previous offensive success. Peyton will go back to that deadly 3-WR spread which had Marvin and Reggie outside, Gonzalez is a younger, faster Stokley and Dallas Clark flexes out of the TE position, with Joseph Addai being the younger, more explosive Edgerrin James.

Watch out Patriots. You won't have the highest scoring or the best offense in the NFL this season.

So the Colts are washed out but the Pats are not?

Do you even follow football? Do you realize the Patriots were 18-1 last season? Do you get the fact that they were 35 seconds away from the most dominating season in the history of professional football?

Serioulsy... I'm asking you... Do you get any of that? Or do you just not follow football much?

Prove to us that you're able to actually write an intelligent response...

How do you figure that with the lost of their #1 corner and their nickel back?  They also lost Eugene Wilson which while not critical is depth lost. 

Yes the linebacking core got younger.  I see their offense about the same at best.  The o-line was bested by the Giants and I bet opposing teams will be viewing tapes of that game.  While the Pats may tweak things, I bet opponents tweak things too.

The o-line was bested by the Giants and I bet opposing teams will be viewing tapes of that game.  While the Pats may tweak things, I bet opponents tweak things too.

You say this as though every other team in the NFL didn't get "bested" in every game in some facet of the game by some other team.

You don't think the Patriots are going to be "viewing tapes" of other games and "tweaking things" as well?

You're talking like the one weakness that was exposed in the NFL last season of every game of every team was the Patriots offensive line in the Super Bowl...

Patriots 1-1 against the Giants.  Looks like the Patriots beat every single team they played last year at least once.  Yet you have people saying the Giants exposed the Patriots.  Maybe they just had more heart or more grit.  Look at the points for vs the points against.  It's a ridiculous stat for the Patriots 2007 season.  

I like this guy saying the Patriots wont have the best offense.  Their offense is only better this year.  They lost stallworth who was BARELY used in the games.  They gain a TE, a rb, and a WR all coming back from injury.  Yeah their offense is in huge trouble.

They did look bad.  They were going up against the premier D at getting pressure on the QB.  One game the Giants D got through.  So what is this masterful blueprint???

That if you have the top pass rushing D in the league with three lineman that can consistently pressure the QB, and they have a career day as a line, you might get through? 

Honestly, about Asante, I don't think the Eagles overpaid for him.  They had plenty of cap space, and this was a guy that Belichick and quite a few other coaches around the league regarded as one of the best corners.  And it wasn't just talk by Belichick either.  That was evident when they used the franchise tag on him.  I think they know just a lil more than us about scouting corners.  He was a huge clutch player as well, and while he did let some plays go when he was going for a game changing turnover, he played very well.  He got paid right in between DeAngelo Hall and Dre Bly money.  And this was a team that had plenty of cap space to use. 

Yes Sheldon is a top notch corner, and Lito shows a lot of flashes of it.  But Lito hasn't played a healthy season in 4 years, and because of that the Eagles were forced to do things like starting undrafted free agents vs. TO, and putting runningbacks into dime situations.  Add in that they lost William James and Rod Hood the past two years.  He is worth 1 million a year more than Marcus Trufant got.  Also, if they ever do think of moving Sheldon to safety in the future, this would give them a good corner still. 

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard, ever. This is a current "guess". Wow, the Colts , who won the SB, WERE  NEVER ranked 1......go watch soccer"

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but so am I - and yes it is all guess work before the season even begins - how can it be otherwise?  If the Colts were not ranked #1 following their superbowl victory then they should have, just as all outgoing champions should.  And, yes,  that includes the Patriots SB victory years.  

Oh, just for the record, soccer is not an american sport and I treat accordingly.