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The Patriots' path will be determined in four games.
2008 NFL Mid-Season Report
It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to care about this NFL
season. Don't get me wrong, I still bleed for the Patriots, watch all
their games, think about them every day, and stew 'til I'm sick after
losses. However, I just can't bring myself to follow the league in
general the way that I used to. I think a large part of this is due to
simple self-preservation. When I actually take the time to look around
the league and see what's going on, I can't help but notice the
wide-spread horrendousness of the competition. This subsequently
causes me to realize what a cakewalk to the Super Bowl this year
would've been for the Patriots had Tom Brady not torn his ACL. When I
think these thoughts, I immeditately want to open the sliding glass
door to my 4th story balcony and take a swan dive down to the
pavement. So as you can see, it's much easier for me to bury myself in
other endeavors and forget the NFL exists except for three hours once a
week during the Pats game.
Seriously, is there even the slightest doubt that the Patriots
would be flying high at 8-0 right now with Tom Brady at the helm? The
Dolphins would have never been on the field long enough to unleash the
wildcat with Tom Terrific around. The Chargers game only became a
blowout after some unconscionable decisions by our coaching staff
around the end of the 1st half and the start of the 3rd quarter caused
us to completely implode. That doesn't happen with Brady around
either. And there's just absolutely no way that Dave Thomas' asinine
penalty completely destroys our chances of pulling off a game winning
drive against Indy with #12 at QB. Had Brady been around, that game
would've been over by the second quarter.
Yup, it's pretty safe to say that the Patriots would be halfway to
their second 16-0 season if Tom, Randy, and Wes were able to unleash
their legendary fireworks display. Even with the injuries to Rodney
Harrison and Lawrence Maroney, this team would still be sitting pretty
if only because of the lack of competition. Look around the AFC right
now! Indy's is decrepid, San Diego's in a conundrum, the Steelers have
issues, and the AFC East competition is still several rungs below a
Brady-led Patriots. Sure, the Titans would be right there with New
England at 8-0, but they've definitely been playing the role of the
tallest midget at the circus vs. a true NFL powerhouse. Over on the
other conference's side, the Cowboys have been tailspinning and things
have gotten so bad that you can seriously make an argument that the
Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons are vying for the #3 spot in the
NFC. Only the Panthers and Giants have looked anywher near respectable
at this point. This NFL season was a grand buffet for the Patriots to
feast on and then ended up getting a stomach virus eight minutes into
the meal.
However, as much as the "what if" argument helps to keep Patriots
fans' hopes alive for next season, the fact of the matter is that Tom
Brady won't be throwing a football for this team the rest of the year.
This is Matt Cassell's squad for better or for worse, and I'll give you
a hint that it's definitely not for the better. Despite the ghastly
string of injuries, the Patriots are leading their division (albeit in
a three-way tie) and were a unnecessary roughness call away from
actually being positioned to have a playoff bye-week. There are still
eight games to play and the Pats are in prime condition to take control
of their own destiny. Assuming that they can take care of business the
next three weeks with Buffalo and New York coming to town, followed by
a trip down south to Miami, the Patriots will have all but wrapped up
their division. If they pull off that division sweep, they'll get a
bye-determining matchup at home against Pittsburgh. Talk about huge!
I can't begin to overstate the importance of getting to bypass one
playoff game and have a divisional match-up at home vs. the on road
when Matt Cassell is your quarterback. That Steelers game could easily
be the differnce between being one and done and heading to Tennessee
for the AFC Championship game. After that, it really becomes a matter
of not stubbing their toe against Oakland and Seattle and taking care
of an Arizona team that should have everything wrapped up and nothing
to play for come Week 16. Hopefully by then, the final game at Buffalo
is a non-issue.
Yes, everything sounds nice and simple when you talk yourself into
an 6-2 or 7-1 run to end the season, but in reality things won't be
that simple. What's it's going to take for New England to be
successful is holding their own these next three weeks and clearing
house in the AFC East. If they can just do that, the table is set for
the playoffs and I'll let the the chips fall where they may from
there. Say what you will about him not being Tom Brady, Matt Cassell
has been looking more and more competent each week. If he continues to
improve at the same rate over this second half of the year, the
Patriots could be looking at a fully capable starter by the time
January rolls around. I've already mentioned how putrid the rest of
the league has been, so who's to say you actually need Tom Brady to win
the Super Bowl this year? After all, you don't need a bazooka to
exterminate a bunch or roaches. An unassuming can of Raid will do just
fine.
I try to do these updates once every four weeks. When the time
comes for the next column, the Patriots will have done their tour of
duty through their division and just come off that all-important game
against Pittsburgh. By then, we'll have a pretty clear idea of whether
this team is Super Bowl worthy or whether they're going to continue to
spin their wheels in the most anti-climactic follow-up to last season's
brilliance. It's time for the Patriots to finally step up and let us
all know the where this season is going: the gutter or Tampa Bay,
Florida.
Predictions:
NFC NORTH:
1. Packers
2. Vikings
3. Bears
4. Lions
It's a three-way toss-up of sucktitude here. All I can tell you is that the Lions won't be winning the division.
NFC SOUTH:
1. Panthers
2. Falcons
3. Buccaneers
4. Saints
The Panthers should take it. However, the bottom three represent some friskiness that could earn a wild card spot.
NFC EAST:
1. Giants
2. Cowboys
3. Eagles
4. Redskins
I think Dallas will recover from its funk with Romo back. It's the G-Men's division for the taking though.
NFC WEST:
1. Cardinals
2. Rams
3. Seahawks
4. 49ers
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have no doubt that Arizona will be in the playoffs this year.
NFC SEEDING:
1. Giants
2. Panthers
3. Cardinals
4. Packers
5. Cowboys
6. Eagles
The top three are pretty solid. I wouldn't be shocked if none of the bottom three made the playoffs.
AFC NORTH:
1. Steelers
2. Ravens
3. Browns
4. Bengals
I still think the Steelers have this, but the Ravens could make a play for the division
AFC SOUTH:
1. Titans
2. Colts
3. Jaguars
4. Texans
My how the mighty have fallen. This used to be the powerhouse of
the AFC. Now the Titans could have the division locked in three
weeks.
AFC EAST:
1. Patriots
2. Bills
3. Dolphins
4. Jets
It's all about the next three weeks. I still believe the Patriots are the best team in this bunch.
AFC WEST:
2. Chargers
3. Broncos
4. Chiefs
4. Raiders
Nobody deserves to win this division and get a playoff spot, and
neither the Chiefs nor the Raiders deserve to be ranked any higher than
4th. It's that bad.
AFC SEEDING:
1. Titans
2. Steelers
3. Patriots
4. Chargers
5. Ravens
6. Colts
I had a tough time making the call of Indy vs. Buffalo for the last
spot, but Indy appears to be improving while Buffalo does not.
Unfortunately, this would likely send Peyton Manning to Foxboro. It's
a rough matchup for Matt Cassell's playoff premiere, but if we just
bench Dave Thomas we should be fine.
NFC PLAYOFFS:
Wildcard Round:
Eagles over Cardinals, Cowboys over Packers
Divisional Round:
Giants over Eagles, Panthers over Cowboys
NFC Championship:
Panthers over Giants
AFC PLAYOFFS:
Wildcard Round:
Patriots over Colts, Ravens over Chargers
Divisional Round:
Titans over Ravens, Patriots over Steelers
AFC Championship:
Titans over Patriots
SUPERBOWL XLIII:
Panthers over Titans
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