2020 - Playoff Thread

It's a bit early, but we can track movements up and down the likely fixtures week by week.

If the season ended now, this is what we'd get with the new 7 teams per conference format. Only 1st seed gets the bye. Some intriguing matchups, in the AFC I think our Buffalo pals would be a bit nervous going up against the Browns. Which is some statement to make.

 

There is no doubt that Brady wasn't stellar v the Saints, but he didn't have to be. He has a fairly complete looking team around him.

Rodgers was at times comically good v the Rams. There are times he makes it look almost laughably easy, the way he moves around the pocket and fires off these effortless passes that land on a dime. The Pack will be firm favourites in the NFCCG with the media and the bookies.

But....here's the thing. A really great QB can have an outsized influence on a team that goes far beyond his physical and even mental abilities. Peyton Manning did it with Denver, even when his arm was a noodle, he was still the leader on the field that got the Donks to 2 SBs, winning one of them. Even though their incredible defence was the key factor for their SB win, Manning was still the skipper guiding the whole team even though he could barely throw the ball. And Brady is in far better shape than Manning was in that last season. Brady is driving that Bucs team and still able to play good football.

Brady will relish this game, he likes nothing better when he's being written off and not given a real chance. Don't be surprised if he puts in one the great performances in Lambeau and gets the win. The most unsurprised people anywhere if that happens will be the fans of the Patriots. We saw it for 19 years.

Don’t forget as well that both Peyton and Brady had/have the most talented offenses in the NFL. That Broncos offense was loaded.
Peyton had the much better defense, but Brady’s played well yesterday.


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oh i wasn't demeaning your team at all. that's just one thing a multitude of morons always used to say about the pats every year. like you play 3 afce teams in the playoffs to win the sb.
if you guys continue to be successful, you'll hear that.

Yeah, I thought that after I posted it. It's all good. The Division is tightening up - except the Jets, which I'm perfectly fine with lol

 

....

Who compared their performances?

Oh, right, just you.

Putting words in people’s’ mouths again.


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View attachment 1633

 

Hmmmm.

 

BA can fuck all the way off. what a douche.
this is like a startup business saying amazon doesn't know what it's doing. he's like the harbawl of the nfc annoying wise.

 

That meeting was cool. One of Brees’ sons caught a pass in the end zone from TB & will remember that forever. It was a shitty pass. Kid made a great diving catch to bailout TB.

He "Mossed" his brother.

 

fyp
I fail to understand the correlation between Tampa's takeaways and the Pats scoring ranking.
But I'll play your game as your implication is clear that you think Brady was the difference maker for the Pats in 2019 and the Pats would have been better in 2020 with Brady.

The Bucs had the 4th best turnover differential of the year in the NFL with a +8. The Pats? +3, tied for 14th. That's 5 more takeaways.

Scoring difference is a little more complicated than TO Differential although TOs are important.

Turnover differential & team defense were the biggest differences in total points scored for the Pats when comparing 2019 and 2020 pt totals. Why do I say that?
Because the 2019 and 2020 Pats each scored exactly 1.9 points scored/drive on offense. That's a fact.
In 2019 the Pats were #1 in turnover differential with a +21 vs +3 in 2020 which gave the Pats 18 extra possessions in 2019. That's also a fact.
More drives = more points.

In 2019 the Pats had 247 passing yds/game. Fact.
In 2020 the Pats had 209 passing yds/game. Fact.
First of all, that's only 38 yds more/game and 2nd of all, that extra 1+ possession from 2019 to 2020 could make up the difference of 38 yds/game.

In 2019 the Pats scored 26.2 points/game. Fact.
In 2020 the Pats scored 20.4 points/game. Fact.
5.8 pts less/game in 2020. Fact.
2019 had Edelman for 16 games at WR and Watson & LaCosse at TE
2020 had Edelman for 6 games and Asiasi for 4 games and Keene for 3 games.
No comparison.

In 2019, the Pats defense was 1st in the league. Fact.
In 2020, the Pats defense was 26th in the league. Fact.

Therefore, I reject your implication that Brady at QB would have made a big difference in 2020 for the Pats.
I'm not saying Cam = Brady, btw. I am saying the 2020 Patriots was dealing with a short hand all around & the biggest downfall was defense no matter who was playing QB.

 

BA can fuck all the way off. what a douche.
this is like a startup business saying amazon doesn't know what it's doing. he's like the harbawl of the nfc annoying wise.

I second that emotion!

 

Yeah, feel sorry for Brees. He's been a fantastic guy for the Saints and indeed, the entire city. He'll remain a folk hero there for a long time. Nice post game meeting between Tom and Drew, they've both done a hell of a lot in this league and have had great careers.

Tom will go against another good pal of his next week. The two California kids.

This was such a tender moment for Drew and his wife.

View: https://twitter.com/garlandgillen/status/1351020415506931716

 

Hmmmm.

Arians loves to run his mouth. If they lose, it will be because of his meddling but he'll find someone else to throw under the bus for the loss.
He's an average coach with an above average team and the GOAT QB.
I can't imagine seeing Bruce Arians' name with "Super Bowl Winning Coach" attached to it. SMFH
Makes me want to puke.

 

fyp
I fail to understand the correlation between Tampa's takeaways and the Pats scoring ranking.
But I'll play your game as your implication is clear that you think Brady was the difference maker for the Pats in 2019 and the Pats would have been better in 2020 with Brady.

The Bucs had the 4th best turnover differential of the year in the NFL with a +8. The Pats? +3, tied for 14th. That's 5 more takeaways.

Scoring difference is a little more complicated than TO Differential although TOs are important.

Turnover differential & team defense were the biggest differences in total points scored for the Pats when comparing 2019 and 2020 pt totals. Why do I say that?
Because the 2019 and 2020 Pats each scored exactly 1.9 points scored/drive on offense. That's a fact.
In 2019 the Pats were #1 in turnover differential with a +21 vs +3 in 2020 which gave the Pats 18 extra possessions in 2019. That's also a fact.
More drives = more points.

In 2019 the Pats had 247 passing yds/game. Fact.
In 2020 the Pats had 209 passing yds/game. Fact.
First of all, that's only 38 yds more/game and 2nd of all, that extra 1+ possession from 2019 to 2020 could make up the difference of 38 yds/game.

In 2019 the Pats scored 26.2 points/game. Fact.
In 2020 the Pats scored 20.4 points/game. Fact.
5.8 pts less/game in 2020. Fact.
2019 had Edelman for 16 games at WR and Watson & LaCosse at TE
2020 had Edelman for 6 games and Asiasi for 4 games and Keene for 3 games.
No comparison.

In 2019, the Pats defense was 1st in the league. Fact.
In 2020, the Pats defense was 26th in the league. Fact.

Therefore, I reject your implication that Brady at QB would have made a big difference in 2020 for the Pats.
I'm not saying Cam = Brady, btw. I am saying the 2020 Patriots was dealing with a short hand all around & the biggest downfall was defense no matter who was playing QB.

Brady would not have made a significant difference. I said before imho, we at best would have had 2 more wins, the Bills away and the home game v the Donks. And maybe we wouldn't have, Cam ran in 12 tds that Tom couldn't have done., that's 4th in the league for rushing TDs!

The Pats had just flat out poor talent. It's actually quite an achievement that Bill got to 7-9, one win away from batting .500 with all the factors in play, the opt-outs, covid disruptions, Edleman injury, new QB without a proper TC trying to learn the system and he never got to grips with it and questions are real now about Cam's ability to throw.

Brady is surrounded by top talent now in TB and is using them well, it's obvious. He would have been miserable again in NE this season and the reason many of us were glad he went was the bad attitude last season. There were no questions that he could still play a season or two at a decent level, there weren't serious questions about his abilities though there is an undoubted decline that is simply tied to age. Another season of Tom moping was what nobody wanted, I expect Bill as well and the players. And Bill, rightly, was not going to pay big money for a QB with two seasons left at best and no real talent for him to work with. It was the right move for both Bill and Tom for Tom to leave. He's in a team now who surrounded him with top talent, bowed to his wish to get the vile AB in and are going all in to win the SB and they are right to be doing this.

And Bill can start a big rebuild with decent cap space. Cam didn't work out the way we had hoped, but it was a risk worth taking.

I don't believe for second that Bill regrets Tom not being here and Tom is happy as well.

 

Wonder if Jules will head to Tampa this off-season.

Tom Brady Reacts To Julian Edelman's Congratulatory Post - NESN.com

Julian Edelman on Sunday used Instagram to congratulate Tom Brady on leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a playof win over the Saints.

nesn.com

 

What a zinger from Arians. It is all over our talk radio today. When you win, you get to talk. It is going to be a looong off-season for Bill.